Why Not Live Your Personal Brand Statement?
Creating a personal brand statement?!??! You gotta be shittin’ me. Isn’t there software for that? Oh wait……that’s why there are so many ‘gurus’ that are more than willing to help you find a brand that fits.
Unless you are a vampire, you have at your disposal the best and most sure fire way to find your brand; a mirror.
Why hide from yourself by creating something that truly isn’t you? Why attach yourself to products, services and information when you should be attaching these things to who you are?
One slip of the tongue, one chink in the false persona and the gig is up. All the work to build trust and honesty is gone quicker than than the last bear claw at the policeman’s ball.
There’s an old piece of advice given to lovers and married couples that says they shouldn’t try to change the person they fell in love with. If they do demand and get changes from their partner, then their partner is no longer the person they fell for.
Same goes for us as individuals. We all have wonderful attributes and deep rooted flaws. These are our life size fingerprints. These are what makes us unique.
Why not use both the best and worst of who we are in an honest and genuine fashion? Why not let other people know this is who we are? WYSIWYG. Trust it.
A Tale Of Two Assholes
When I first started working in manufacturing I was in a start up shop that was trying to find an identity.
The first shop foreman was an asshole. He was an asshole from 6:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. He was an asshole outside of work. For two years I dealt with this asshole.
Then, the owner finally got fed up and fired the foreman and replaced him with a two faced man who was driven by sucking up to who ever he was talking with at the moment. This is how he maneuvered into the foreman position.
After about a month of working under the two faced, back stabbing foreman, the owner came to me and asked, “Isn’t working for this guy a lot more pleasant than working for the last guy?”
My reply was something like, “Are you serious? At least with the other guy, I knew he was going to be an asshole know matter what. I could trust him. This guy, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with if he was half the damn world away.”
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who gave a truthful answer to that question, because the second foreman was relieved within two weeks. Something about things he said about the owner that didn’t match with things he said to the owner.
I know a lot of folks who would be pissed at me for writing this post on their blog, especially as a follow up to their post about having a personal brand in beta, but I also know Amanda well enough to know that she was winking at us all.
But, I would write this post anywhere because I believe in my personal brand statement, even if others don’t.
drifter0658
Chef Keem 11:00 am on October 31, 2009 Permalink |
WYSIWYG. And what you get is Drifter. No less. No mistake. Now THAT’S branding!
Thanks for saying it like it is, Alex.
drifter0658 12:15 pm on October 31, 2009 Permalink |
Thanks chef. I just can’t figure out which Drifter wrote this.
mysticmama 2:15 pm on October 31, 2009 Permalink |
Most people are afraid to truly be wysiwyg, and in all reality as someone who is compulsively wysiwyg…I know that there is a downside to being real as well.
Unfortuneately, we live in a world where people are dazzled by the shiny plastic packaging and really don’t want to see what lies beneath it. They are comfortable and happy living the fantasy, and only having to see the final product.
Everyone wants to eat the hamburger, but no one wants to slaughter the cow. We wysisyg people may just be a dying breed.
Alex 2:35 pm on October 31, 2009 Permalink |
Timing can be a funny thing. I am in the middle of writing an article about the bad psychology of Web 2.0 and this discussion plays right into it.
I see no downside to being WYSIWYG, because we have to always be true to ourselves before we can be true to anyone else.
The moment we hinge our lives on what others are saying about or to us is the moment we become sheep. If we play into the mindset that we have to put in all these hours so we can be “mini-stars”, we become the one off the production line.
If we live who we are, we stand a greater chance of being trend setters rather than trend followers. Be the better mousetrap, the one that honestly gets rid of the rats, and folks will beat a path.
If I die a pauper, I’ll have more people remember in the following years than someone who was a star because they changed themselves to be like everyone else.
Chef Keem 4:41 pm on October 31, 2009 Permalink |
Bambi – I bet you’ve experienced this in your life: you give useful advice to someone and they shrug it off, or resist it, or deny any need for it…but down the road, when the initial defensiveness has passed, that ’someone’ might actually follow your recommendations.
I know I have done this many times in my own life – for some reason, when given well-meant advice, I tend to react first with some form of denial…I don’t need to exercise more, my emotional state is just fine, I don’t need any therapy, etc.
Why do I mention this in connection with ‘personal branding’ and WYSIWYG?
All we can do, is be our best and most authentic self when we try to contribute to the world. Whether the world is ready to accept our offer or not…is out of our control.
Yes, there may be a downside in being too open about our personal problems and wearing our hearts on our sleeves. But I bet we’ll never know just how many folks find something of value for themselves through our sharing. It might take a while, and they might not even remember where their inspiration had come from, originally, but we have done our job well.
Reminds me of some of the most powerful ‘personal brands’ in history…folks with a message that has survived and even grown over the course of centuries. They got crucified, or shot in Alabama, or something…
Maybe I’m getting carried away with my high-flying comparisons here, but then again – why not? We aim high, and then we do our small part. Makes us feel good, doesn’t it?
mysticmama 8:21 pm on October 31, 2009 Permalink |
I totally agree with everything you both are saying, and I wish we lived in a World where more people were courageous enough to be wysiwyg!
Fear of being labeled as different, strange, a rebel or trouble maker is exactly what keeps so many people in “sheep” mode.
I wish more people like you Alex, would encourage others to be wysiwyg…because it truly is the wysiwyg people who stand out from the crowd…the risk takers are the people who discover “purple cows”
cjsysreform 5:58 pm on November 1, 2009 Permalink |
Can’t wait to see that article on the psychology of web 2.0, sounds fascinating. I haven’t found a lot of good writing on this subject… a new Drifter niche in the works, perhaps?
cjsysreform 6:38 pm on November 1, 2009 Permalink |
“They got crucified, or shot in Alabama or something.”
I love it when the Chef gets all deep.
Chef Keem 8:21 pm on November 1, 2009 Permalink |
My mother always said, “Boy, your ‘deep’ thoughts will get you in trouble, one day…”. But then Jack Handy beat me to it.
cjsysreform 8:38 pm on November 1, 2009 Permalink |
Jack Handey is a freaking genius. “The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw.”