There are patterns within our life experiences that we may not be using to support our personal ‘branding’. Every one of us has had experiences that can catch the attention of those in business around us, once we turn them into focused statements. In a tough, competitive environment, being exceptional is not just important, it is critical.
Unfortunately, this will only work properly if you WRITE DOWN the answers.
Please try this NOW.
Step 1. List 5 unusual experiences you have had that no one around you is aware of (YES you HAVE had them... if you think it through, they will come to you)
Step 2. Determine 5 lessons that you take away from those experiences... (Saying “None” will not work).
Step 3. For each lesson, name five applications that you have not considered until now.
Step 4. Rank them in order of uniqueness first and value second.
Step 5. Pick five colleagues and READ ALOUD the top three experiences and lessons learned.
Step 6. Ask three questions:
1) Their first impression of your original experiences.
2) How distinctive are the lessons learned.
3) Whether hearing the experiences triggered memories and new ideas.
Step 7. After EACH session, capture key answers in writing and use them to adjust your next presentation.
Step 8. Wait a week and repeat the entire sequence with a new set of people, adjusting the experiences and lessons.
After the second sequence, turn the top result into a set of key phrases that start with, “What I have found to work best for me is...”
Incorporate these into how you present yourself (speeches, website, Facebook).
Present them at least once a month. Repeat the development process at least every three years.
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The Regis Group, Inc.
102 North King Street | Leesburg, VA 20176 |
June 2011
Part #2
Leading to Success
To be a winning leader it is critical to:
1.Be comfortable in your own skin...
2.Stay humble.
3.Resist giving up.
Humility
It takes a degree of self-confidence and self-assurance to arrive at a leadership position. Having gotten there, it is natural to take pride in those accomplishments that were critical along the way. Recognizing our own accomplishments alone can block seeing the contributions of others. We can lose sight of another important leadership quality, staying humble, and forgetting that others played a part in our success. If our efforts focus on self-promotion, we’ll never be truly successful as leaders.
Offer Meaningful Praise
Remember how it felt to do a good job and have someone respected say “Well done!” Let's take that one step further and challenge us to recall how it felt when we did a good job and did not hear those magic words, “Job well done” from someone whom we know meant it.
Perseverance (Resist Giving Up)
In 1776, the very first year of the revolution, George Washington and his army lost the first four battles of the war with the British (Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan and White Plains) but he learned through those initial experiences and was able to turn the tide at Trenton and Princeton.
Washington learned from his defeat. He remained focused totally on the mission of the army. He never forgot what was at stake, and he never gave up. In his correspondence with the Continental Congress, and in his general orders to his troops, he constantly referred to the need for perseverance in the face of adversity.
Without his remarkable ability to convey his perseverance to the army, the American Revolution might have ended as just another rebellion, and we might have portraits of the Queen in every court house in the nation!
Remember: Confidence, measured with humility and pressed forward with perseverance leads to success!
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New on our Website:
5 KEY QUESTIONS - That leaders should be asking themselves.
NEW LEADERSHIP TOOLS - Service-Related Branding Development
Can be easily accessed through our website under New From Regis:
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Focus on the Future
Guest Predictions:
Guy Blumberg
Guest Predictions is a regular feature in which we ask leaders in a number of professions a set of questions that affect us all.
Guy Blumberg,
Consultant-Coach-Mediator
Guy Blumberg combined 30 years of sales, marketing, and management experience to companies in four separate industries (health & fitness, women's fashion, children's education, and pr/communications). Guy has been a partner/owner of a sales and marketing firm in NYC, served as the Director of Advertising with Scholastic, Inc. in the Professional Media Group, and as Vice President of Business Development for Sensible City, LLC, a public relations/communications firm in Education, as well as sustainable energy and green technologies. Additionally Guy holds certifications in Coaching from NYU as well as Mediation & Alternative Dispute Resolution from Safe Horizon, a community service organization headquartered in Brooklyn NY. Recently he became a TRG Affiliate.
Q: What changes in your professional environment in the past 3-5 years have you found to be the most beneficial?
A: The rapid advancement of technology in sales and marketing. Social marketing is trying to overtake more traditional marketing and advertising strategies, but there is still a strong need for, and response to, traditional forms.
Q: What changes have been the most troubling to you?
A: The lack of personal communication. As e-mail and texting have emerged, working relationships have become less personalized. Some people have allowed themselves to believe that e-mail is an adequate substitute; however there is no substitute for direct interaction.
Q: How will globalization affect your professional area in the near term?
A: Positively. Globalization is no longer just the domain of huge multinational corporations. The internet has allowed small, independently owned businesses into the game. I have a friend with a small company in NYC who does more business overseas than he does in the United States… all out of a two room office. Through a web site and web marketing tools (Skype, Facebook, Twitter) his business is thriving without his leaving his office.
Q: What significant challenges might be anticipated in your professional area in the next few years?
A: The de-humanization of business. By “watching overhead” there is a danger of technology replacing, not enhancing offerings. Companies should retain their humanness because people buy products and services from people, even over the Internet. They may order products on line, but they want to know that human beings are in place to service their needs. They don’t want an e-mail address to be the end game.
Q: What are the greatest challenges confronting young professionals in Western culture today?
A: Overcoming their upbringings. Too many young people have been rewarded for just showing up (sports, school, etc.), not being expected to both win and experience losing. Subsequently, they don’t handle adversity well, even though there is plenty to go around in these difficult economic times. Having a seasoned executive coaching/mentoring, is the greatest asset a company can have.
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Marc Chinoy
President's Letter
PERSONAL BRANDING
On the surface the main article to the far left may sound like a simple ‘how to’ concept, or at worst a trick, but in reality the end result distinguishes us individually in a steadily toughening field of competition. And yes… arriving at a working outcome requires reality testing that may seem a bit daunting... but it IS worth the effort.
At the end of the day, there is considerable value once we truly differentiate ourselves going forward, taking those steps necessary to set ourselves apart, not by some ‘slight of hand’, but through a well considered effort over time.
Two requests… first, actually try the sequence completely… and second, if you find it is working for you, please do contact us at infotrg@regisgroup.com to let us know the outcome.
Best of luck in the effort.
Marc
BizSpeak!
Winner of the Month:
Robert Chirles, TRG Affiliate
Breaking into Ft. Knox
Definition:
Targeted activities that are tough at best; impossible far too often.
Related Terms:
Hitting a Brick Wall, Rocky Road, Heavy Lifting
"Trying to access federal funding these days can be like BREAKING INTO FT. KNOX! "
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