Paul Copcutt - Just My Toonies Worth

What is holding you back from your personal brand?

Through my wife's business I have had the opportunity to be connected to Keith Kochner at Mentorfish.com for the last few months and have found his teaching exactly what we need in the 21st century. Lots of great content, he is prolific with new insights and learnings - even for someone like me who tends to explore and read a lot! 

Keith is coming to Toronto next week to hold a live evening event so you can get a full experience of what he has to offer. Cost is just covering running costs of the event, but I know you will get way more value - hope to see you there. 

Are You the Master (or Mistress) of Your Own Domain?

In all my presentations the subject of Google comes up. I usually ask the question;

"Who Goggled me before they came today?"

A few hands usually get raised. Then I ask;

"How many people here have Googled themselves?"

Invariably almost the whole room lifts their arms. I joke that it is called ego-surfing.

But beyond the immediate fun and frivolity it is a serious situation. If you do not know what is being said about you online then people may be drawing the wrong conclusions. Or worse they do not find you at all.

So what do you need to do to ensure you are the master of your own domain? Here are some first steps;

1. Own your own domain. Go to Hover.com and check out what is available with your name and buy it - NOW! (I have an affiliate discount so if you use 'copcutt' in the coupon area you will get 10% off) If you have a common name the chances are high that someone else already has it so you might have to be a little creative in getting yours. Using your middle initial might be a solution - but remember you then have to use it in all forms of communicating your online brand.
2. Determine what you want to be known for. Keep it simple one or two themes only. Set out a plan to communicate that theme in many of your online interactions. It does not have to be all of them but remain focused and consistent. Figure out how you are going to use that newly purchased web address to communicate this.
3. Ensure that your LinkedIn profile reflects who you are and what you want to be known for. Does the short form description after your name say it? Does the longer professional summary capture who you are and what you do? Do your recommedations support all this?

If you are going to do one thing today make sure it is taking that step to own your domain. The future suggests that more and more emphasis will be placed on checking your online profile. Better that you have some control.

100 Toonies Worth

With consistency and progression comes change. As you spend more time consistently delivering on what you say your brand is and find your career progressing in the right direction, you are going to reach a point where new challenges and opportunities arise. New skills are developed and new ways to communicate your uniqueness present themselves. 

This week see's the 100th edition of the Tuesday Toonie weekly e-tip, which I feel is quite a milestone. Thank you for reading, commenting and recommending to others for the last 2 years. 

It is also a great time to announce some small changes to the format and delivery of this weekly resource. When we started the Tuesday Toonie the rise of Facebook and Twitter was really starting to gain traction and people subscribing to news and blog feeds was rising. Now this weekly Tuesday Toonie is only being read 10-20% of the time by people via the e-zine delivery method - the rest of the time you are reading it or getting to it via social media or directly at the blog. 

This does not make the content any less valuable but with our inundated in boxes and busy lives it does beg the question about sending it out in full format in an e-zine rather than a quick mailing, linking to the blog for the full content. So going forward the Tuesday Toonie is going to be a 21 second or less read. Enough for you to maybe stop and think for a moment about your career and if you want to understand more then go to the blog to get more on that weeks topic.  

We will be continuing with the monthly Inukshuk e-zine that delves deeper in to the subject of career management and personal leadership branding and provide in there links to all the previous months weekly Tuesday Toonies for anyone you might have missed. We also continue to blog and post other very latest links and resources via social media - especially our Facebook page and my LinkedIn updates, or you may just prefer to be made aware of the Tuesday Toonie via one of these methods - so if you have not done so please connect with us at;

www.facebook.com/personalbrand and http://ca.linkedin.com/in/paulcopcutt 

Thank you again for reading and we look forward to continuing to serve you. 

Is LinkedIn a Waste of Time?

It still seems to be almost a week never goes by without an invitation to another networking / social networking/ connections platform that is going to be the next best thing since sliced bread or at least since Google +.

But how do you know if you should join or not?

Revisit (or start) with what communication objectives you have set for your personal brand. Just because someone in your network has invited you to join Ushi.com for example it may not have any relevance to what you are trying to achieve in connecting and networking. (Ushi.com by the way is for networking professionally in China).

Three things to determine before you sign up for the next network;

1. Who is your target audience? Get very, very clear on this and gather as much information as you can about who you want to reach. 

2. Spend some time on the network to see who is already on there. Do they fit the profile you drew up from Q1?

3. How many of your current network are on there already? There is nothing worse than getting the label of 'Johnny No Mates' by joining a new network and having 3 connections. Many of the better designed ones allow you immediately to download existing networks and databases or even make direct connections. That way you can connect with everyone you already know and make it appear you are in the know immediately. 

The key with any online networking is not a case of my list is bigger than your list, it's the value you offer to your network in terms of help and relevant information.

Better to have 200 targeted connections who are good prospects for business, referrals, resources etc than 2,000 social media gurus or online at home business experts!

Connect with me on LinkedIn if it's a fit http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulcopcutt

Personal Brand Leadership Book Review - Paul Allen - Idea Man

Paul Allen - Idea Man - a memoir by the co-founder of Microsoft. 

© 2011 MIE Services LLC - 358 pages hardback  $- US 27.95  / Cdn $35

PERSONAL BRAND LEADERSHIP POINTERS

From this book you will learn:

• The importance of having several avenues of interest to round out your brand.
• How you can enjoy your passions AND make it part of who you are.
• Remain true to your core beliefs and not wavering. 
• Understand the power of doing what you're uniquely good at. 

Paul Allen is certainly best known by many as the co-founder of Microsoft, who left in the early 1980's but still wound up a multi-billionaire. Many might also choose to pick up this book to find out the insider scoop on what really happened in his 'fall out' with Bill Gates. Certainly the publishers have positioned this book to portray these very two renowned key points. 

However there is much more to this autobiography than just dishing the dirt and making billions from Microsoft. It could be argued that Allen has had more influence across a wider spectrum with his various successes and failures since, than an ever lasting impact with what remains of his legacy inside Microsoft. After all how much of Allen's work or influence even is in what the company is now - over 35 years later? 

What was more insightful was Allen's ability to think ahead of the technology curve (and beyond tech.) in a number of ways. This is more where the title "Idea Man" comes in to play - he invested, in some cases more closely gambled, on technology such as streaming content, wireless technology, consumer space travel. Some proved successful, others failed, but likely more from being too soon than completely wrong. 

The book can appear in places dry (read - too much technical information that may not have been needed) and although you learn of the trappings that wealth brings - yachts, sports teams, playing guitar with Bono - you certainly also understand Paul Allen to be a very private man, close to his immediate family but you learn little of his own personal life - something in an autobiography is lacking. 

Overall an interesting insight in the personal brand leadership of a technology titan, a community leader and philanthropist and some interesting lessons about business. 

Personal Brand Leadership Rating - 3.5 stars

About the Personal Brand that is Paul Allen; Paul Allen is the billionaire technologist and philanthropist who started Microsoft with Bill Gates. He is founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc., the company that oversees his business and philanthropic activities. 

Allen started Microsoft with Gates, a childhood friend, in Albuquerque in 1975. He was the company's chief technologist until he left in 1983. 

Since then, Allen has become one of the nation's leading philanthropists and continues the search for knowledge that led to the creation of Microsoft. Allen's multibillion dollar investment portfolio includes a major real estate redevelopment in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood and holdings in dozens of technology, media and other companies. 

He also owns the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League, the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association, and is part of the primary ownership group for the Seattle Sounders FC, the city's Major League Soccer team. 

In 2004 Allen funded SpaceShipOne, the first privately-backed effort to successfully put a civilian in suborbital space, winning him and designer Burt Rutan the Ansari X-Prize. 

His independent film company, Vulcan Productions, has won numerous awards for feature films and documentaries, including the Emmy-award winning Rx for Survival–A Global Health Challenge; and the Peabody award-winning Judgment Day: Intelligent Design. 

With lifetime giving of more than $1 billion, Allen has also pledged to leave a majority of his estate to philanthropy. He gives back to the community through the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, whose goal is to transform individual lives and strengthen communities by supporting arts and culture, youth engagement, community development and social change, and scientific and technological innovation. 

In 2003, the Allen Institute for Brain Science was created with a $100 million commitment from Allen. The Seattle-based Institute is an independent, nonprofit medical research organization dedicated to accelerating our understanding of how the brain works. The Institute takes on projects at the leading edge of science—far-reaching projects at the intersection of biology and technology. The resulting data is available, for free, to researchers worldwide. 

Allen is also founder of Experience Music Project, Seattle's critically-acclaimed interactive music museum; the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame; and the Flying Heritage Collection, an assemblage of rare World War II aircraft restored to flying condition and shared with the public. 

The Brand That Was Steve Jobs

The passing of Steve Jobs resulted in an outpouring of emotion and praise that I would suggest was almost unprecedented. A Google search shows over 234,000,000 web pages - 70,000,000 more than Obama!

Now part of that visible reaction was due to the fact that we have so much more ability to communicate to many more people - ironically in many cases using the very tools that Jobs helped develop. 

Also that technology and it's speed helped produce fast reactions - with many online eulogies, pieces and collections (see below). 

Also significant media responses such as whole ad-free magazines ( like Business Week, Time ) and newspaper inserts ( San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times) dedicated to him. E-books launched ( by Wired) and sold on Amazon within hours and an upcoming biography rushed forward by 6 months. 

And the inevitable surveys on the future of Apple;

Poll: How will Apple perform without Steve Jobs?

They'll do just fine (52%)

Become stagnant (21%)

Fail (10%)

I'm not sure (18%)

In currently reading Paul Allen, Co-founder of Microsoft's autobiography  it is apparent that Steve Jobs was not always a liked man, or a pleasant leader to work with and for. 

But the ultimate test of a strong brand is defined "by a perception, good or bad, that your customers or prospects have about you".

In Jobs case it would appear that with his own personal leadership brand the many positive attributes, skills and unique abilities far outweighed the negative in the vast majority of eyes. He will certainly be missed by many. 

12 contrasting and insightful perspectives I found on Steve Jobs: 

Steve Jobs commencement address at Stanford University 2005, watched the day after his death by over 8 million people. 

 

Steve Jobs - The Builder- blog post from Jonathan Salem-Baskin who worked on the PR account of Apple in the late 90's.

Steve Jobs - A Tribute - obituary from Steven Levy at Wired.com. also check out his podcast at Harvard Business Review -  The Legacy of Steve Jobs - a perfect CEO

Steve Jobs dead at 56, his life ended prematurely by chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer - hard hitting commentary on Steve Jobs health choices and the impact of Apple from Mike Adams, Editor of NaturalNews.com

What I learned from Steve Jobs - reflections from Guy Kawasaki, former Chief Evangelist at Apple

Apple under Jobs was quintessentially corporate - Financial Post Comment from Terence Corcoran, commenting on the irony of Occupy Wall Street protestors using Apple products. 

Social media reaction immediately following his death, captured by the Globe & Mail 

Gallery of Fortune Magazine covers with Steve Jobs on the front 12 of them in total!

The Top Ten Lessons Steve Jobs Taught Us - Forbes magazine  

The Legacy of Steve Jobs - Harvard Business Review

and of course Apples own tribute.

Is this the latest workplace Eye-Pod?

For most of the 43 years that my Dad worked, he always took 15-20 minutes after lunch for a nap, even though he worked in a traditional, professional, office environment. It would appear that this idea of rest time is becoming more common and accepted - this company Podtime have been installing sleep pods in UK workspaces for some time now. 

And according to a Pew Research study from a couple of years ago, napping for those earning above $30,000 but below $100,000 a year was below the norm, but above $100k it went back up.

So if you are looking to jump a pay bracket or two get the (sleep) blinders on! 

"I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation."

These are not always the words you would expect to hear from a leading CEO when admitting that a move they made in the market was the wrong one, or at the very least one that should have had a more considered approach. 

They are certainly not the words that Jim Balsilee the Co-CEO of Research in Motion, makers of the Blackberry, has uttered (well at least not publicly). The latest analyst reaction to RIM's worsening performance is not positive, siting current executive leadership as one of the barriers to returning glory.  

But this is exactly how Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix started off a recent blog post to explain that the move the company made on increasing prices without consulting their customers was perhaps the wrong one.  He went on to admit the fears he faces from being so successful in one realm that any other new ventures may never match up. Finally he went on to say:

"I want to acknowledge and thank our many members that stuck with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.

Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions."

Some commentators felt that this was just too little too late, given that the price changes were announced back in July and that this open letter of apology only came after Netflix reported losing over 1 million subscribers. and they had a 'new' service to launch, namely the re-branding of the mailed DVD service to Qwikster. 

Both close in age, Hastings a masters graduate of Stanford and Balsillee a masters graduate of Harvard are certainly no dummies - so what are the lessons you can learn from their respective personal leadership brands?

1. Clear belief in a vision that was inspiring, innovative, and moved markets to a whole new level. When you have such a vision be sure to clearly communicate it to those that need to know about it and don't waver from that belief and message. 
2. Know that you cannot do it all yourself. Identify where your strengths and your operating uniqueness lies, do that and find other ways to get the rest done. Your leadership will be much more effective hiring others to do what you do not do well, outsource areas that are not a core expertise, be open to others input and insights. 
3. Listen to what is going on in your marketplace. Trailblazing got you to where you are, but it may not sustain you as your market matures, competitors catch up or overtake you and customer demands change. Gather feedback, ask for opinions, watch reactions to ideas - but then act on them, do not plug your ears, sing loudly and pretend you cannot hear the noise. 
4. When you make a mistake fess up. And do it sooner rather than later. in today's world where transparency is so evident and expected, people may not love what you have done but will respect you more for admitting when you are wrong and doing something about it versus hoping its all going to go away or continue doing what you have always done. 
5. Know when it's quitting time. When you have built something so impactful stepping aside is going to be extremely tough - look at how hard it must have been for Steve Jobs. But sometimes the damage you are doing to yourself as well as the products, service, company and all of its employees is greater than the benefit of your staying, bow out gracefully versus getting the Carole Bartz phone call. 

Define what you want your personal leadership brand to be and stick to the plan. 

Three uses for the volunteer experience section on LinkedIn profiles.

LinkedIn's move last week to allow the addition of volunteer experience and causes seems on the surface to be a great addition in communicating your personal brand to your professional network.

Three benefits to you of being able to see other peoples volunteer experience;

1. You can see who in your industry, voacation or network has similar interests to you. Particularly if you are looking to connect with that person, it is another area of commonality in which to make that first approach. 
2. You can search by areas of interest or volunteer experience that are the same or similar to yours to see what others are doing career wise. It might offer new areas and avenues to explore for your own career. 
3. If you are targeting a particular company or person, volunteering at the same organization as they support will give you potential exposure to them and chance to show your skills in a different, less intimidating setting. No stalking though!

A LinkedIn survey conducted as part of this launch found that 20% of hiring managers said that they hired a candidate based on their volunteer experience. So it is certainly an area of your profile that you want to consider adding to.

A few things to consider;

• Highlight the experience where you had roles of responsibility and influence and you can talk to certain successes that you had. 
• If your causes or volunteer experience are particularly relevant to an industry or company you are interested in be sure to include them.
• Do not under estimate the importance of the annual cancer run you participate in or local food drive - community giving is highly prized by companies and viewed very positively. 

Also if the organizations you are listing are not showing up as having a page on LinkedIn, do them a favour and let them know they have an opportunity for further, no charge, exposure to a very key group of people. 

Oh no.......not the comfy chair!

McDonalds Canada is investing over $1 billion on its 1,400 stores to rip out the plastic seating and replace it with leather seating, plasma TV's and fireplaces in a bid to woo more customers. 

But does a comfy chair or two change the perception of the brand? 

Starbucks has comfy chairs and wi-fi, but then I expect that, it's an integral part of their brand - but wi-fi and fireplaces in McDonalds seems to be a disconnect. I can remember many years ago when living in the UK and studying their tactics to get you in and out as fast as possible. Now they want you to linger a while, but will it make you spend any more or even come back to them? 

The staff have not changed and neither has the menu, the brand still seems tired, I'm just waiting for Five Guys to get up here and have a real burger that is Zagat rated!