What Is Your Brand?

What Is Your Brand?

We all have a brand, whether you are aware of it or not. I will define this as the thoughts that come to you about a person and the character you perceive them to be. To give you a better idea of what I mean please do this exercise.
Get a pen and paper and write three thoughts after reading the name of the person below.

What came to mind for you? Tirant, antichrist, killer?

For the Nazi regime he was an idol, a leader. He is also given a lot of credit for pulling Germany out of an economic depression and improving their economy during his regime. Depending on who you are, a different perspective can be taken about the same person. How you are affected by the person directly or indirectly can influence your opinion.

Let’s do it again, with this person:

Pope Francis

What came to mind for you as you read it? Humble, caring, Catholic?

For Catholics around the world he is a very caring person, a humble individual, and a transformational leader. Something unique about him is that many people who are not affiliated with the Catholic Church also like him. Others in the same position have approached this role differently. For me, Pope Francis is a very nice man and inclusive of everyone.

I like to play a game with friends to exemplify my point about the personal brand.

Let me give it to you. It is actually fun and a good point of discussion at social events for me. Imagine you are in a restaurant in a booth and behind you there are three of your closest friends. They don’t know you are there and they start talking about you.

What would you like them to say about you? We can try to be what we want them to perceive us to be, but ultimately we cannot control what people say. For me I would like them to say something like this:

* He is a very caring good friend, always there when I am in need.

* He knows how to enjoy life and loves his family.

* He wears nice shoes all the time ? In my mind this is part of my mojo.