Personal Brand: What Should it Be?

We've established that everyone has a personal brand, whether we are aware of it or not. We've established what a brand is. We've even gone as far as establishing what our brand currently is. The next step: What would I like my brand to be?

This is not the same how do I get my brand to be that (that's tomorrow). This is the sort of "blue sky" thinking where we should engage our fondest wishes, dreams and desires to what we can be perceived as and associated with - just as we should undergo the same sort of exercise when we start looking at personal and professional goals. But in a way, personal branding is more exciting, both because it can help us achieve our goals and because it ends up far more rooted in reality: I may never go to Mars (which may be goal), but I can be "branded" as an risk taking, entrepreneurial, forward thinker.

How do you determine what your personal brand can be? I don't know that there is one method or concept. Things to consider might include:

- Traits and attributes I admire

- Reflecting on times when I've been praised or have done a good job. What did I do to accomplish that?

- Role models and mentors. What is it about them that attracts you?

- What are you good at? What do you want to be good at?

- Examine the things that you purchase. Is there something associated with those that you also would like to be known for?

- Perform the exercise Stephen Covey calls "Projecting into the Future". Write your obituary. What would you like said about you?

How complete should your branding be? There are two answers to this question:

1) Select three to five words that represent traits or attributes you would like to be known for (for example, Brian Tracy in TurboCoach lists over 100). Just like Coke was "Cool and Refreshing" or Apple is "Hip and Cool", simple is better.

2) Go through and develop each idea more fully. If you want to be known for wisdom (one of mine), what would that look like? How would people react? In your personal and professional life, how would that be evidenced.

Companies spend a great deal of time and money positioning their potential and actual brands to ensure that they hit the correct demographic with the correct message. They have marketing teams and consultants - we have ourselves. As the individual ultimately responsible for determining our own brands, we would be well advised to do the same sort of deep thought and planning.