I can tell when a politician is talking without saying anything concrete on what people really need to know (I am sure you know what I am talking about) or when I get that e-mail telling me how someone I do not know in a very distant country wants to give me many millions out of nowhere for a very silly reason. It is not real; it is either a fake or a lie. People and Businesses do that all the time, don’t they?
I am sure Tony Hayward - BP CEO -did not mean to disappoint us with what he’s said to the media during the last few weeks but it seems he seemed to do so to many out there. I also believe that the Motrin manufacturers did not mean to sell an unsafe medicine for our kids, but they still did and a recall was generated. Or Toyota did not mean to hurt its Brand by contradicting messages about the issues/problems with the Toyota cars but they did!
I trust that you did not mean to mislead that potential hiring manager on your level of expertise in that particular software, but maybe you still did so! Or that you did not mean to sell that defective product to a client, but you did! Or that you did not mean to work on a contract that collided closely with your business ally's territory but you did, anyway!
Things happen! Bad thing happen to everyone. What can you do to mitigate being the originator of that noise or the ‘victim’ of it?
Decision Making is an art to master in a lifetime. A wrong turn and you are ‘history' until you manage to make a come back - if you can! One of the key evidences of your own Integrity is an open and transparent decision making process.
What distinguishes most of us is that we do not have the PR professional to define the communication strategy for our Brand or that Sales Department to handle sales. We are the CEOs of our Brand and as such we must confront the consequences of our actions whatever intended or unintended they are.
Acknowledgement is a first step on that direction. It is easy to say that others attack your Brand and because of it, your Brand gets hurt but it is wiser to say that the cracks in your Brand allow others to get in to see its weaknesses. Sit down and confront what is there in your own Brand that generates so much noise. There is a saying in my home country that states that if the river is noisy is because it brings stones meaning that if your audience is saying the ‘wrong’ things about your brand it may be you are the one to be blamed as the originator of that sound. Understand your vision and create your own Brand’s ‘white noise’ generating positive visibility and impact in those that cross paths with you.
Accountability in your decisions and their consequences. Unintended impact is always a risk, specially, when decisions are either not-well thought of, a result/product relies in a chain of providers/services or decisions are driven by emotions or quick delivery. When blaming starts getting into the picture your Brand's credibility gets highly impacted. If you are your own Brand’s CEO there is nobody else but YOU that others look at when your reputation is ‘at-risk’. When Mattel did a series of recalls with some of its toys I believe parents trusted mistakes were committed unintentionally and measures were taken for those not to be repeated, but when a famous furniture franchise business denied recalling a particularly popular bunk-bed after some kids were injured, then their Brand's integrity got damaged along the way. The same goes when your job is terminated and you blame your former manager for letting you go first or you reflect someone else’s Brand in your resume falling short on selling your own unique attributes to a potential hiring manager. You do not want to be any can of soda on that ‘job-supermarket’ aisle but the Brand that everyone wants to get in their business. Clear examples on how you can hurt your own Brand are available when you Google the key words ‘fired over Facebook’at http://tinyurl.com/24365b5.
Learning Mode On. We can all remember some very ‘popular’ class lawsuits filed against major manufacturers. We also notice news’ headlines when bashing out famous household names/personalities for potential wrong-doing. We have access to the news everyday. What about if you got the control wheel on your Brand and you could incorporate some of the big lessons available out there? It may be you are worried about equal employment opportunity, you are discriminating or feel discriminated against, or you are writing those passionate e-mails without further thought unaware that anything you do or say reflects your Brand everyday 24 hours a day! Learning is a key element in anyone’s Brand for it to survive and get into a growing mode. Go and research your own unique attributes. Clean your act, if needed. Learn from your past to build a better future.
There you go, live up to the words your Personal Brand means...Say it, do it, own it…mean it!
"Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You."
Tom Peters in Fast Company, 1997
Best Success,
Mariela Tinoco-Aramburu
Your Career Coach
'Because YOU can change what happens next'
+20 referrals available at www.linkedin.com/in/marielatinoco
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