Artesian Publishing: Brand You: Press Coverage

Brand You comment by John Purkiss

Director, 16 April 2009
If your business is based on who you truly are, you will naturally attract those who want what you do

In her recent Director comment ("Lose the Ego", April), Jane Simms describes graphically how efforts to build your personal brand can backfire. She gives examples of celebrities who put style before substance, with disastrous results. However, in my work as a headhunter I meet lots of directors and senior executives who have the opposite problem. They are very good at what they do, but not enough people know about them.

This realisation spurred me to write a book together with David Royston-Lee, who is a business psychologist. It is called Brand You. Our starting-point is that your brand should be authentic. In other words, it should be based on who you really are. The first step in answering that question is to identify your talents—the natural abilities with which you were born. You can discover these by looking back over your life and identifying the high points, when you loved what you were doing. Then you examine the circumstances surrounding each of them. What were you doing? How were you doing it? With whom?

The second step is to identify your values, which determine how you use your talents most productively and enjoyably. Two people with identical talents but different values will probably pursue completely different careers and build entirely different brands.

The third step is to identify your purpose: imagine the work you would choose to do if you had unlimited money and were immortal—but no one else was. That will give you a strong clue as to why you are on the planet. Once you know where you are heading and why, you can build a brand that is both authentic and powerful. You will naturally attract the people who want what you do, in the way that you do it.

Brand You will be published in May 2009.

Posted 16 April 2009 : Director.co.uk

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	Press Coverage: Brand You Brand You comment by John Purkiss Director, 16 April 2009 If your business is based on who you truly are, you will naturally attract those who want what you do In her recent Director comment ("Lose the Ego", April), Jane Simms describes graphically how efforts to build your personal brand can backfire. She gives examples of celebrities who put style before substance, with disastrous results. However, in my work as a headhunter I meet lots of directors and senior executives who have the opposite problem. They are very good at what they do, but not enough people know about them. This realisation spurred me to write a book together with David Royston-Lee, who is a business psychologist. It is called Brand You. Our starting-point is that your brand should be authentic. In other words, it should be based on who you really are. The first step in answering that question is to identify your talents—the natural abilities with which you were born. You can discover these by looking back over your life and identifying the high points, when you loved what you were doing. Then you examine the circumstances surrounding each of them. What were you doing? How were you doing it? With whom? The second step is to identify your values, which determine how you use your talents most productively and enjoyably. Two people with identical talents but different values will probably pursue completely different careers and build entirely different brands. The third step is to identify your purpose: imagine the work you would choose to do if you had unlimited money and were immortal—but no one else was. That will give you a strong clue as to why you are on the planet. Once you know where you are heading and why, you can build a brand that is both authentic and powerful. You will naturally attract the people who want what you do, in the way that you do it. Brand You will be published in May 2009. Posted 16 April 2009 : Director.co.uk << Back to Brand You << Back to home page	<<BACK TO PRESS