Etiqueta: personal brand

Clueless? Don’t panic

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When a problem arises, there are two different type of responses. One is to try finding the answer on what we know or did in the past that apparently worked. The other is to seek for out of the box solutions.

But sometimes happens that the challenge/problem was never approached. Or, at least, there are no close references to look for. Then, we tend to panic. And we can do two things here, face it and do (move) or just stay behind and see what’s done. Those who conform the first group are usually scared, putting on themselves too much responsibility. «No one showed up, but it had to be done. Will I be doing the right thing? Is this the most adequate path?» They are immersed in a continuous sense of being clueless.  Will the rest of the team notice that I am not certain about doing the right thing?

Too many questions, too much pressure on yourself. But don’t be so hard on yourself. Because, guess what? The rest is as clueless as you are. But at least you took a step forward.

Giving advice, is not that simple

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The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Last week, two different conversations took place, the first around giving advice only when being asked for and with lot of caution, the second… receiving advice without even asking for.

For sure that most of the times when someone is «advising» you is with the best of the intentions, but should it happen?

  • We are sharing thoughts, experiences, decisions. And out of the blue, comes a » I would…», «If I were you I would not…», «are you sure about…».
  • We ask for it, and in return we get a one size fits all, even if we gave all the necessary pieces for a «bespoken» advice, or even if we only gave the few pieces we wanted or we could share. «everyone is», «you should go to… it worked for us/them/…»
  • We hire a specialist, to have a different, unbiased point of view. From someone who already has been through it and can give us the best options. We do not like what we hear, and we ignore it. We just wanted to pay to hear what we thought it was right.
  • We hire generalists, or specialists to tell us what we think is the best or what we want, to justify what we have already decided.

As bad as receiving non requested advice can be the just-to-be-able-to-tell-myself I knew I was right requested one.

Like many other times, trust lays behind a call for help or seeking for a point of view. Any other thing is for free and unnecessary.

By the way, when we ask, we need to be ready to hear something that can not be of our taste.

What helps to build a brand can destroy it

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Brand development

It can take years to build a brand, a name, a reputation and only a few actions to take it down.

Companies want to sell products, an image, an experience. They then decide what do they want to be recognized for, start they brand. They put a lot of effort in marketing for their products, slogans, on how to sell better their products. There is a lot of investment on employees so they internalize and potentiate what makes the company (in case it’s a service company) or the product unique. Like this, they can focus on what is key, focus on achieving the expected results.

We, as individuals, do also want to sell something. We have to figure out what do we want to be recognized for. Is it because you are a hard worker? do you keep your word? Are you an expert on something? You decide, this will be your presentation card, and brick by brick construct it.

But Companies and individuals have two sides. The one we have described is the commercial, professional one. We sell THIS IS WHAT WE ARE GOOD AT. You can rely on us.

The other one is the behavioral side, HOW DO WE ACT. What does define ourselves, our values. In a Company, it’s written down and shared by all employees. Would I want someone working with us if they didn’t share our vision of customers, products and services? Will they bring the same passion? Are they able to help us build the image we want to project? In the case of individuals it becomes a bit more tricky. Because we can be loyal to ourselves and apply our principles to everyday actions or we can decide we want to be recognized for something we are not. Then, we need to double our effort, as we will be playing a role.

In any case, to build a reputation can take years, it’s the result of the sum of many actions. When what we sell differs from what we do, a crack appears. When it happens more than once, what helped to build what we are known for disappears. Trust, which is the basis of any brand disappears. And it doesn’t matter if it’s personal, digital, … it doesn’t matter. It is always the «do the talk» thing. In any possible interaction you have.

That is why is so important to keep as honest and simple as possible what you are and what you sell. Then, we can focus on what we are good at, besides on what we would like to be without effort.