Balancing External Approval and Internal Integrity in Personal Branding
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Branding, the cultivation of an ideal and saleable image, is no longer the sole domain of corporations, celebrities, and politicians. It is now also the purview of the individual. From macro to micro, we live in a world of unprecedented access and virtual transparency. Our information age now disseminates not only news about current events, but also anything anyone wants to know about YOU. Has personal branding caused us to define ourselves by exterior messages as opposed to our own interior voice? Social media has taken the scrutiny and appraisal of the individual to an exponential level. Today, the “personal” reveals the “professional.” It is essential that an individual’s “brand” be shaped and defined by their personal set of core values and principles. Just as every corporate and product brand must “know itself, its attributes, and its market,” so too must individuals know themselves, their talents, abilities, interests, and goals.
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Balancing External Approval and Internal Integrity in Personal Branding
- 1. BY MEL LIM twitter / @mellimdesign email / mel@mellim.com Personal Branding & Our Obsession with Being Liked: How to balance the need for external approval with internal awareness & integrity
- 2. “Every move you make Every vow you break Every smile you fake Every claim you stake I’ll be watching you.” — Sting
- 5. Are we getting drunk on the nectar of our own self image? Has “personal branding” caused us to define ourselves by exterior messages as opposed to our interior voice?
- 7. Should you be conscientious about what you wear and drive, where you dine and shop, what charities you support, how your home appears, or how firm your handshake is? Should YOU or others care?
- 9. Fake it till you make it? Only if you can back it up… RUNNIN' RHINO Design by Allan Faustino
- 10. Quiz yourself… • Who are you? • From macro to micro, what are you offering the world? Your industry? Your family & friends? • Why are you doing it? • Why should the world care? • What are my core values? • How much do I want to share with the world…?
- 11. “…Then the question of how much of my story do I want to tell and to whom. Because it is a precious story of building a life out of one’s own imagination. And the wisdom that comes from struggle. We don’t want anyone learning the wrong lessons, or making the wrong assumptions. Our story is our own personal treasure and it is the one thing we don’t owe the world. We choose when and how we make a gift of our story and our wisdom.” — Angela Blanchard, CEO of Neighborhood Centers, commenting on Mel Lim sharing her personal story on adversities, failures, and ambition. blip.tv/thebif/angela-blanchard_online-v1-hd-blip-5658518
- 12. So what is your story?
- 13. Reality Check: Numbers are numbers Some days you win and some days you lose
- 14. No Facebook No Twitter No Instagram — Jared Diamond Pulitzer Winner, Guns, Germs, and Steel TED Speaker, a polymath, author, educator, Scientist, geographer. http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_how_societies_can_grow_old_better
- 15. Avoid The Pitfalls Of “Outside Opinions” • Stay grounded. We are not flags on a pole, that blow willy-nilly in every direction. • Staying true to who you are allows you to radiate your authentic self. • Set boundaries between personal and professional. Sometimes it is the mystery that makes people want to know more about you but not necessarily all about you. • Those boundaries also help avoid giving the public too much power over your own self concept. • Set core principles and values that are unique only to you and stick to them to avoid identity paralysis.
- 16. The Centipede was happy, quite Until the toad in fun Said, “Pray, which leg goes after which?” Which threw his mind in such a pitch He lay distracted in a ditch Considering how to run.
- 17. What are your goals? • To be famous? • To be known as an industry expert? • To showcase your talents? • To be taken seriously? • All of the above?
- 18. Just as every corporate and product brand must know itself, its attributes, and its users, so too must individuals know themselves, their talents, abilities, interests, vision and goals.
- 19. Step #1: Keep It Real Be mindful of visibility, but stay true to who you are and not who others want you to be. http://vimeo.com/19463157
- 20. Step #2: Highlight Your Strengths But your “weaknesses” can also humanize your brand. Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for TechCrunch
- 21. Step #3: Showcase Your Discoveries Reveal your curiosity and sense of wonder. REUTERS/Stringer
- 22. Step #4: Convey Your Expertise The greatest way to really know something is to teach it http://www.makerfaireadelaide.com/meet-the-maker-hackerspace-adelaide/
- 23. Step #5: Tell Your Stories Frank + openness = Relatability + fascination PRNewsFoto/Science Channel/AP Images
- 24. Step #6: Express Constant Learning The world needs more teachers/leaders who are earnest learners.
- 25. Step #7: Embody Your Values & Principles Walk the talk.
- 26. Step #8: Show that change is a constant Change is more than expectation; it is certainty. And with change there is opportunity. http://www.forestwander.com/2009/05/stream-waterfalls-mill-creek-wv/
- 27. Step #9: Keep it timely, relevant, and interesting Be aware of trends, but have your own POV and know when to pivot.
- 28. Step #10: Check in often Ask yourself, if your “personal brand” makes people and their communities better. dpa / picture alliance
- 29. Step #1 – Keep It Real The persona you create online should reflect who you are offline. Digital / Social Media Strategies Step #2 – Highlight Your Strengths It's okay to have a typo in a tweet or make a mistake on a Facebook post. Step #3 – Showcase Your Discoveries The great thing about social media is that its a place for real-time conversations and real-time sharing. Step #4 – Convey Your Expertise Share what you know with the intent to educate, not self-congratulate. Step #5 – Tell Your Stories Social Media like Medium or Youtube makes your stories and ideas accessible Step #6 – Express Constant Learning Learning, like living, is active and requires participation. Learn constantly to lead confidently. Step #7 – Embody Your Values & Principles Don't misrepresent yourself by teaching or sharing things that you wouldn't do yourself. Step #8 – Show That Change is A Constant Your personal brand will necessarily undergo change and transformation. Step #9 – Keep it timeless, relevant, and interesting Your content should be helpful — it should have a purpose. Step #10 – Check in often With Social Media, we are empowered to nurture the world around us.
- 30. Yes, it’s wonderful to be liked. Validation is a powerful motivator. But “like” is an impulse which fades and passes.
- 31. In our epidemic of digital intimacy and social insecurity, immunity is found in being grounded in your values, your mission, and your awareness of what it is you want to be known for.
- 32. The Social & The Inner Peace • Guard your reputation – A moment on Facebook = a lifetime on the record book • Focus on the present moment • Personal branding is a full time job, but you are the captain of your ship. So steer with intention. • Expand your outreach — Twitter, Medium, LinkedIn, blog, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. • Be mindful of consequence and legacy • Be accountable for how you define and live your personal brand • Know that active engagement/personalized
- 33. Personal branding is a tool for designing your life. When you create a personal brand, you invite people to come into relationship with you.
- 34. Remember, you are generating expectations as you deliver your experience.
- 35. twitter / @mellimdesign email / mel@mellim.com web / www.mellim.com/conversations Special Thanks: Carole Jerome — Brand Strategist Suzanne Ito — Designer Kriselle Laran — Digital Strategist
Hinweis der Redaktion
- At MLD we focus on empowering brands and people, helping them create meaningful and mindful experiences through design thinking and craftsmanship. We help companies tell their stories, and connect to their customers and communities, through CX, UX, UI and brand identity design. We work with a variety of companies but mostly in the tech and software space…company of 2 people to a global company that just went IPO last year. The timing of this webinar is purely synchronistic. We are currently writing a book that invites people to take the time to create in ways that are mindful and meaningful. Personal branding can also benefit from a deeper consideration of what is appropriate and important to share in social media venues, whether you are a student, an entrepreneur, a professional, etc. One look at the global communities, and environment around us gives us clear messages that we are long overdue for a mindful approach to the experiences we create and send out into the world. All that is around us mirrors back to us who and how we are. With technology moving us along at such a dizzying speed, we seem to have lost our balance, and even our awareness of who we truly are at heart. It is time to bring calm to the chaos through a reflection on values, a revived appreciation of mindful and meaningful approaches, and an emphasis on craft, curated selection and integrity.
- Let’s explore because the world is watching. Everything that you do. It’s not unlike the lyrics from Sting’s song “Every Breath You Take.” Every move you make Every vow you break Every smile you fake Every claim you stake I'll be watching you
- From macro to micro, we live in a world of unprecedented access and virtual transparency. Our information age disseminates not only topical news about the tangible world and current international events, but also anything anyone wants to know about something as seemingly innocuous as the “individual.”
- We can safely state that the personal is for all intents and purposes “public.” And given the popular success of all the social media sites, people love the attention.
- With the mirror of the world reflecting back to us who we are via what we project, we can get drunk on the nectar of our own self image and crave those social media likes and responses to validate our personal impressions and expressions. By putting value on veneer, has our existence become superficial? Are we engaged in institutionalized narcissism? Has “personal branding” caused us to define ourselves by exterior messages as opposed to our own interior voice?
- Branding, the cultivation of an ideal and saleable image, is no longer the sole domain of corporations, celebrities, and politicians. It is now also the purview of the individual. A regular Jane can become a millionaire, building empires through social media. And a community organizer can be the President of the free world. Thanks to social media, today the “personal” reveals the “professional.”
- Individuals are constantly scrutinized and apprised. The author Tom Peters reflected on personal branding in his book The Brand You 50. He suggested that people must be conscientious about what they wear and drive, where they dine, shop, and attend church, what charities they support, how their home and building appear, how they shake hands, etc. Constant vigilance and self-monitoring are essential in a world where social media has taken the personal awareness of public image, and its accompanying scrutiny, to an exponential level. But there is a downside to all of this because when information about anyone and anything is readily made available, it assumes the potential that everyone could be a “celebrity.” Just consider how many YouTube videos are out there. People have become overnight sensations based on how many times their videos are viewed.
- The danger of media/ technology and the delivery of content makes it more difficult for consumers/customers to decipher what is real and authentic versus what is manufactured and overtly curated. Manufactured Authority Manufactured Reality Just because someone said something, doesn’t mean it’s real or true. What you see may sometimes be a performance, an act, or a fabrication. We must question.
- Presenting yourself across media sites where no one really knows you yet can make it tempting to showcase the person you’d like to be, the skills you wish you had, the interests you might some day cultivate, the credentials you hope to achieve. But communicating an honest public-facing image now prevents having to save face later. The truth always finds the light. Be real, be yourself. Communicate with integrity.
- So ask yourself… Who are you? (are you a maker, a designer, an artist, someone who helps others achieve their dreams, someone who believes that good design rules the world, someone who believes that joy comes from art…??) From macro to micro, what are you offering the world? Your industry? Your family & friends? (what are the tangible and intangible products or services? What is it?) Why are you doing it? (What is your intention?) Why should the world care…? (What makes your product, ideas, services better than anyone else’s? It doesn’t even have to be unique, it can simply be better. A better experience? What can people, businesses, learn from you?) What are your core values? (Zappos 10 core values: 1)Deliver WOW through service 2) Embrace and drive change 3) Create fun and a little weirdness 4) Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded 5) Pursue growth and learning 6) Build open and honest relationships with communication 7) Build a positive team and family spirit 8) Do more with less 9) Be passionate and determined 10) Be humble How much (and how much of the above) do you want to share with the world…?
- Your personal brand reveals the story of you, at least as much of the story as you are willing to share. How well do you know the story of you? Have you reflected thoughtfully on the details? On your strengths, challenges, passions and goals? Everyone who participates in social media feels they have, at least to some extent, a story worth telling. Every good story teller considers the relevancy of the details they relate. They understand why they are sharing the story, and they know the importance of including verifiable facts.
- And why would others care to know it? What makes it important? And why is it important for you to share it?
- Coz on some days, you may lose 3.5 million fans. And the numbers don’t necessary validate who you are. Is your focus on 1) winning friends, 2) influencing critics, or 3) stepping more fully into the truth of who you are? If you focus on the third option, one and two will follow.
- A great example of one of the many masters who I deeply respect is author Jared Diamond. His books have changed my world views, increased my knowledge of cultures and traditions, and have made me a better designer. He has no Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account; yet, his work has touched millions. He is both famous, and respected in the academic and business world.
- It is essential that an individual’s “brand” be shaped and defined by their personal set of core values and principles. If the individual focuses so much on the external messages to shape their identity, as opposed to naturally radiating their authentic selves, they are in danger of becoming collage. They will never be fully at their best and will eventually misstep and expose the ruse. There is a danger to giving public opinion too much power over one’s concept of self. Some might manifest identity paralysis with no idea of who they really are, what they really like or represent.
- There is an old Zen poem that goes something like this: Don’t allow others to cause you to doubt yourself. Know the brand that is you, backwards and forwards.
- Whether you’re a student, a professional, an employee or an entrepreneur, you can and must learn personal branding strategies for targeted outcomes: - achieve your goals and live authentically - network broadly - showcase your talents - gain recognition from peers, professionals, business people, and clients
- It all begins with the all-essential self-discovery.
- The persona you create online should reflect who and how you are offline. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not simply because you have the digital space to protect you. If someone meets you in real life, they should already know you from the way you present yourself in your social channels. This is Dale Chihully, the world-renowned glass artist. He still blows glass and makes his pieces. He doesn’t mind rolling up his sleeves and getting down and dirty to craft his work. It is what it is. Nothing changes.
- It’s okay to have a typo in a tweet or to make a mistake on a facebook post. Just be sure that you own up to it. Mistakes and weaknesses occur because we are human. But owning up to them demonstrates integrity and strength of character. Accountability combined with a demonstration of strong values and principles strengthens your image. Sophia’s stories on adversity made her a great, inspiring CEO. Read her book #girlboss. Founder of Nasty Gal, this tenacious lady didn’t go to some fancy school or have seed funding when she started her business. She made and paved her path to success through pure grit, and frugal means. Her weaknesses helped fuel her way to her great success today…. Sharing your “weaknesses” will make you feel vulnerable, but it’s that vulnerability that resonates with and connects you to other people.
- People always want to know,…what inspires successful people. There are tons of articles out there, about what it is that sets them apart from all the rest. Well WE THINK, their secret ingredient is that, they are like curious little children with eyes wide open in wonder at the possibility inherent in every moment. Express a desire to know, to be informed. Ask questions and reveal findings. The great thing about social media is that it is a place for real-time conversations and real-time sharing.
- Convey your expertise. It is not enough to merely talk about what you know. Your expertise is not for your own edification or aggrandizement. You’ve got to be willing to impart your knowledge so that others can experience what you have to offer them. Own it. Show it. Share it. And collaborate. How? Be creative. Share and teach via a web interaction, or twitter chat, or a community online platform like Amex OPEN, or even a “how to” app.
- Share great, instructive and entertaining stories, either digitally or through traditional channels of delivery. Stories can also be shared via words, music, art, performance, etc. Content with the right medium of delivery can make your stories memorable. “Show,” don’t “tell.” Keep your stories interesting and relatable. Humor commands attention and makes stories memorable. Flaws also make stories interesting. There is no need to polish every little detail of your story. Talk about what you know; speak from your own knowledge base. And certainly be sure that your facts are correct.
- Your story, reveals you as an individual who has evolved through exposure to new ideas, learning new skills, and trying new things. Learning, like living, is active. It requires participation. Learn constantly to lead confidently. (oo I sound like a kung fu master there..)
- Let your thoughts, words, and actions be in accord. Inspire others, not through what you say so much as through what you do. Give “image” “substance. Do not allow what appears to be substantial to be found empty.
- Show awareness that change is a constant Did you know that we grow a new liver every six weeks; we replace every cell in our body over a period of four years. Your personal brand will necessarily undergo change and transformation. Heck, MLD is at version 7.0 since it was born 12 years ago. You evolve as the world evolves. If your brand did not require refreshment and updating you would have to question your own ability to grow, discover, and keep current.
- A client once asked for 1980’s UI design. He said, what’s wrong with it. It worked for him and he likes it. And he added that it didn’t matter just as long as the software works. Two things we learned from this incident: #1 is that we must voice legitimate concerns and explore the tension between proven achievements versus new methods and trends. After all, companies hire us for our expertise. It might have been easier to just give a client what he wants, but the right thing, though more challenging, is to build a case to prove him otherwise. #2Second thing we learned, was that in order to build a strong argument, we must be aware of current trends, industry standards so that we can be intelligently disruptive. Similarly, if you are sharing simply to share something, it can be registered as noise, which blurs your identity and messaging. Let’s try to generate content that is relevant. Don’t be an outdated 1980’s UI.
- You are of the world and in the world, but are you for the world? Is the world a better place because of your individual presence and engagement with your environment? Are you letting go of your need for approval, and nurturing a desire to improve the ways that you and others live?
- So a quick recap…these 10steps can also be applied to your digital or social media strategies.
- Oh yes…We all yearn to be liked. Especially creatives. The serotonin levels in your brain increase every time someone hits the like button and gives you a “thumbs up” on social media. Approval, literally, stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain as much as it strokes the ego, and can be addictive. But “like” is an impulse which fades and passes. Ponder fulfillment via your personal brand, and the longevity inherent in it.
- As we design for companies, and we analyze their competitors, trying to understand their users, appease their shareholders, ultimately, someone within the organization has to say, this is what we are about, and we are going to make this. And we are going to do it really well. This person is able to filter thru all the noise, demands, and chaos and have a clear sense of direction and purpose. Be the CEO of your own brand.
- SO here are some tips to help you become the CEO of your own brand and find inner peace…. Guard your reputation – A moment on facebook = a lifetime on the record book Focus on the present moment Challenge yourself to always be better Remember that personal branding is a full-time, 24/7 job Expand your outreach: blog, twitter Be mindful of consequence and legacy Be accountable for how you define and live your personal brand Know that active engagement/personalized communication increases social/professional capital
- Personal branding is a tool for designing your life. It is a way to convey a solid presence, communicate creatively, create a strong track record, and generate wanted attention. While you are actively expanding your personal reach, you are also broadening your social impact. Like no other time in history are more people able to invite the whole world to come into relationship with them.
- With human attention span apparently being less than a gold fish, you have only a moment to capture and captivate. So think big. Aim high. Be yourself. Your personal brand will live in the digital eternity of past, present, and future. Be mindful and be meaningful.