Reflections of a Square Peg

Lost for words? - Well I am just in the pink!

How do you get 70+ MBA students and a room full of alumni talking if its not immediately about jobs?

Hold a networking event where there are 4 chairs like this that are sold for $10,000 each!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with one of the current Ivey MBA classes on personal branding , time just flew by as we talked about personal brands and how they might start to look at the way they are communicating and portraying their brands differently. I feel that we shifted, I was certainly energized by the students interest and enthusiasm for the subject and certainly the feedback was positive - many liked the fact that the presentation included references to pop culture and related to them much more.

It was then enhanced when we got to spend a few hours in the evening at Ultra Supper Club on Queen Street in Toronto where they had just taken delivery of the Verve Cliquot loveseats designed by Karim Rashid. The full story on the chairs can be read in this Globe & Mail article.

A fun conversation piece, an ice breaker even - it just went to show that sometimes you do not have to worry aobut what you are initially going to say when you have a fibreglass chair in the room!

Women May Not All Be Geeks - But They Do Use Technology

According to a recent survey "Lady Geek" put out by Saatchi & Saatchi in the UK - women are feeling left out of the equation when it comes to buying technology.

You just need to take a look at the advertising that most of the Canadian electonics retailers put out there to understand if they get it or not.

Future Shop is all about loud music systems and TV's that cater to the sports jock - I do not recall seeing an ad that is female oriented.

Best Buy did have an ad recently that had a woman watching a love scene in a movie on a big screen tv - but the guy with the sales associate switched it to a foreign language sub-title - hardly women friendly! Although Best Buy in the US recently announced store makeovers to be more women friendly.

As technology becomes more and more the norm for all of us to use and be building our personal brands in the process, then women will be equally demanding in wanting the latest and greatest to do that - and making it fluffy and pink is not going to cut it. 

The 'Art' of Personal Branding

So just how original can you be with your personal brand?

How about to the point where you (i.e. your own DNA) IS the piece of art?

DNA11.com, a Canadian based company, has developed a process to collect your DNA and then turn it in to a one off piece of art. They also do the same with your fingerprints.

Perhaps this is the ultimate in displaying your personal brand!

Is Personal Branding Just About Image?

To some the answer is yes. To most of us in the world of personal branding absolutely not.

But, it was not until I worked with an image consultant (Amy Casson of Polished Image) that I realised how critical it really was - it can sometimes be the difference between success and failure.

You know how great you feel when you are in your favourite suit or outfit (think about when you have an important meeting or interview you always reach for THE outfit) it can make the difference between sealing the deal and feleing so so about the meeting.

A recent article in the Globe & Mail reminded me how important it is to look (and feel) from your head to your toes - this Italian showmaker written about is a perfectionist and a master craftsman and the journalist could almost think he was not wearing shoes - and the shoes were initialled.

Now just how great would that make you feel?

What Street Entertainers Can Teach You About Personal Branding

This coming weekend in my home town of Dundas is Buskerfest. Its a 2 and a half day street entertainment event that sees the main street closed and various international street performers plying their trade up and down the town - it is one of the best small town events I have been to.

Street entertaining is all about personal branding - knowing what your unique value is and communicating it effectively - standing or falling (and getting directly rewarded) on being your very best - you are truly on stage to perform your very best - EVERY TIME.

I have just returned from a three day trip to Montreal for a Mastermind Group meeting, 10 coaches from the UK and North America coaching each other on the development and direction of our businesses.

Chris Barrow is one of the coaches and he wrote some great blog articles about the three days - including this one about a street performer called Raphael - a pure an example as you will find of a street performer who gets personal branding - see the post by clicking here.

Chris rightly points out the following about Raphael;

• Proud of himself
• Good at what he does
• Knows he makes a difference
• Knows what he expects
• Not afraid to ask
• “Over it” if you don’t pay
• Doesn’t suffer time-wasters
• Doesn’t give discounts

Perhaps Raphael's 8 steps should be a new personal brand mantra!

(Cross posted at Career Hub and Branding Personal blogs)

Were You Expecting a Tip?

I was having a breakfast meeting with a client recently and it was interesting to notice the assumptions that were being made by the waitress who was serving us.

Generally for the first few times coming to the table her focus was on me, my order and making an impression - my female client was almost entirely ignored. At one point she commented on this when the waitress went away and we watched her behaviours on her return to the table - there was a minor improvement but still we were assuming that she was expecting me to pay the bill.

At the end of the meal my client very kindly paid and there was a noticeable shift in the waitresses attitude - perhaps thinking that she may have blown the chance of a good tip.

Regardless, today it is a very poor assumption that in a business meeting the woman is not going to pay, or that the man is the more senior at the table - we were not rushing to get out, we were both dressed in business attire and we did not ask for too much - was it too much to ask in return that we be treated at least as equals?

Brand Connections

There is an interesting white paper recently placed on Brandchannel.com - "The Seven Doors of Connection" - the seven areas as the potential common grounds that can bridge relationships and build connections between people and brands.

This directly relates to personal branding - people love to connect to people - the essence of personal brand perceptions and also what many are looking for in terms of their relationship with their employers, jobs and lives.

Photo by Chris M70 on Flickr.com

Cross posted on Branding Personal blog

Think Your Resume Works?

In the presentations that I deliver on personal branding I always like to cover some background as to why personal branding is now becoming a key part of career management.

One such area of discussion is the increasing rise of exaggeration or out right lies on resumes, latest surveys place this at over 50% of all resumes!

That's why in the work I do with clients I advocate the need to produce other more unique and quantifiable career marketing documents to use in their job searches.

Last night I was presenting to a group of Human Resource professionals for a local chapter of the HRPAO and asked for a show of hands as to how many of them viewed a resume with 100% belief - the answer - which was shocking to me - NONE!

Now how well do you think your resume is working?

Monster Roars!

10 years ago when I first arrived in Canada the daily main newspapers were full of jobs, on a Saturday as many as 30 pages - now you are lucky to see 3!

The on line job board has taken over, but according to CareerXRoads survey their impact is not as great as perhaps you the job seeker might think.

In fact I will bet that if you are in active job search mode you are spending way more time looking on the job boards than is either necessary or warranted.

The smart job boards are starting to try and do something about this.

Monster.com has added a couple of new features recently that make your job searching life a little easier and even let you know how you stack up against other candidates for a particular job;

- Previously on this blog the JASPER (Job Assets and Strengths Profiler) was mentioned

- Last week they introduced the ability for job canddiates to compare their application against others and see how they stack up - see Press Release. Job seekers can now tell what percentage of other applicants share similar qualificiations in terms of educational level and years of experience. This should also enhance more quality matches. 

- Also there is a quick online assessment you can take to see what type of personality you are, what jobs you are suited to and then direct links to the list of similar positions on their job board. See Discover Your Perfect Career

I was advised that career counselling, management consultancy or HR is where I belonged - PHEW - I thought I was going to have to look for a new job!

Laugh Yourself Silly!

Last night I attended a workshop put on by the recently launched Hamilton / Niagara chapter of the Canadian Society of Training & Development.

It was a really fun event. - Using Laughter to Reduce Stress & Enhance Morale.

The facilitator was a friend and colleague Sandra Summerhayes, the founder and organiser of the annual Leadership Expo.

I did not know quite what to expect but Sandra soon had us laughing and giggling at each other and ourselves - I am sure no-one left that workshop other than smiling and also spent some time today telling others about it.

Great stuff.