We recently launched a new LinkedIn group — Let’s Get Strategic About Communications! — that we’re hoping will generate some good discussion and sharing of best practice insights among communication professionals. It’s a closed group, meaning that we are carefully monitoring participation and limiting it to those who are committed to openly sharing information in a non-promotional manner. The trouble, we think, with so many LinkedIn groups is that they quickly devolve into blatant self-promotion and become nothing more than individual members saying “look at me!,” “look what I’ve done!,” “come to my webinar!,” “read my whitepaper!,” etc. Now, there is certainly (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘networking’
Developing Your Personal Brand – Yes, You Have One!
Tuesday, July 9th, 2013As someone who grew up in a family-owned business and then worked in the field of PR/corporate communications for a number of years I’ve long been well aware of how my actions, or inaction, impact not only my reputation, but the reputation of the organizations I serve. From the day long ago when my father chastised me for not returning a greeting from a classmate we ran into at a local department store to early training as a PR/media relations rep I’ve known that what I did — on or off the job — made an impression. While that knowledge, especially as a child, was sometimes burdensome, in hindsight it has served me well.
Some other early lessons: (more…)
Does Thinking Outside the Box Require Being Outside the Box? Yes – An Outside Perspective Breeds Innovation
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013Daniel Pink, one of the leading modern thinkers about work and the business environment, and the author of several books including, most recently, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, suggests in a recent The Telegraph article that we are more creative when solving other peoples’ problems. He presents the results of a very interesting experiment that demonstrates that a group of people working on a problem on behalf of someone else do far better than a group of people working on what they are told is their own problem.
Fascinating, but upon reflection, not all that surprising. In fact, (more…)
Writing Your Elevator Speech: Individual Branding for Personal and Professional Success
Thursday, February 14th, 2013I recently did a presentation for a group of Young Professionals that are part of a local Chamber of Commerce on how to create and deliver effective “elevator speeches.” Elevator speeches are those brief introductions that we’re all called upon to give from time to time, particularly in networking situations when we’re asked: “What do you do?”
For business owners, consultants and business leaders in any field, the opportunity to deliver an “elevator speech” is an opportunity to support your desired brand perception. We often fail to think of it that way, though–instead, we tend to think of it as simply a requirement to provide some general information about what it is we do.
Interestingly, as I worked on the presentation for this group it became very clear to me that just as when thinking about organizational brand impact, individually we have an opportunity to define and manage our personal brands. The steps are very similar to the steps I take when working with clients on branding-related issues. They are: (more…)