Keeping up with the Joneses: Future-proofing your career

Ellen posted a link to her iPhone commercial, which was funny in a way that only Ellen can make funny.

So she admits that she is not the most tech-savvy person out there, but she does make the effort in keeping up with trends and changes.

Sad to say, many people in their professional lives do not. They are content to just keep on doing whatever it is they do and not work on areas which may need an upgrade. Now you may not be the best writer in the world, but you can work on improving it by writing more each day or each week. You may not be the most techonlogically inclined person, but you can understand a little bit what new trends are impacting your organisation and how it will impact the way YOU work. You may not understand social media for example, but try exploring how others are using it and don't just surrender to ignorance.

Most people get bored with their job at one time or another. Even the media-glamourised communications field gets pretty darn stale sometimes. Some days, I just don't get it - why am I here? I was glad it was not just me. But I have found that exploring the career you have chosen for yourself and finding new and innovative practices, networking with peers and sharing experiences with them, and keeping up with the Joneses basically helps to stem mental/emotional inertia, as well as adds value to your YOU brand.

And it does not mean going back to school necessarily and getting an expensive degree. You can work on yourself from your couch, with weekend reading, be it via your professional blogroll, industry publications or papers, or through membership in associations and participation in think tanks, or using some initiative and trying new ideas in your professional activities. My weekend projects add some variety to my day job, and provides opportunities for trying new things as well and learning something new from the fab women I interact with.

I have interacted with a lot of people who are just willing to settle with what they do and get paid for what they do, without trying to build on their personal product. Just...could not be bothered. Noone is good at everything. You may suck at some things, may literally loathe some areas of your job, but do you have to be a complete and total failure? No. You can work on that area of weakness so it does not become a liability, but instead an opportunity. And if you try to love what you do, then trying to keep up with what you do becomes less a chore and more a desire. My God...don't aim to become a relic in your profession. Some old cars have antique value. But you're not an old car, so don't bet on resting on your laurels and being sought after.

So while Ellen's ad is funny and whimsical, in real life, being that clueless is not that endearing. So how are you keeping up with your professional Joneses.

Bo Obama - PR Superstar!

This weekend I discovered Bo. Bo Obama.

Now while I knew about Bo, what I did not know is that Bo had such a huge online presence. And I am not just talking about articles about Bo, but official and unofficial blogs and tweets and Facebook pages Bo is a social media superstar. Is it any wonder, considering that his master used the tools so skillfully in his presidential election campaign?

Ole Socks has nothing on Bo the dog! (rest his soul)

Now what I like about Bo, besides being a dog lover myself, and loving anything doggie, is that Bo is just another piece of the Obama brand and a piece that has not been forgotten. Of course all eyes are on the President when it comes to policies, both home and foreign, and all that other presidential stuff, but the President is also a regular guy, with a family and of course, a dog.  And say what you will about it, Bo is part of public relations gold, because there will always be an audience out there who is interested in the other parts of the president's life - what he likes to eat, read and what's going on with the kids, and the dog. While the parents may not want to open up the kids to such public scrutiny, I don't quite think Bo Obama minds being such a public sensation.

Politics aside, most people would agree that President Obama is a masterful communicator. Obama is really our nation’s first public figure to adeptly embrace the full power of the new media buffet. - Aaron Kwittken

It's just another part of the brand machinery behind the President, who has opened up the White House to the world as never before, and who has leveraged both traditional and new media to keep in touch with the public on both business matters and not-so-much business matters. Though there have and will be missteps where this is concerned, he continues to have a broad appeal and you can be sure that the peek into his everyday life has helped that.

In much the same way, customers want to do business with real people and though I hardly advocate pets' blogs in order to achieve this, the insights which can best be shared via social media should be encouraged. And whether it's sharing information on staff activities in communities, or creative peeks at the daily operations of the business, now is the time to start building communities not just around your products and services but around your people, ultimately humanising your brand. Brands should not be afraid to talk about themselves and of course there are still issues around employees and how they use social media to promote the brand, but the time to start not just thinking about it, but doing it is now.

I still love Bo though. He's such a star!

More Bo?

Official Bo photos from the White House
Bo on the official WH blog

As well as
Bo blog (too cute)
Bo videos

Who's managing your brand?

Yesterday afternoon, after a week of craving, I headed to this particular fast food outlet to just get it over with. What I saw when I got there was alarming to say the least. There was one girl at the counter, and she was both cashing orders and packing them. That is a problem in itself but that was not the issue. What struck me was her appearance! The young lady was wearing the company branded shirt, and it was riddled with holes. Not tiny pinholes but gaping wounds in the fabric. I looked at her in horror as she stood there, non-plussed about her appearance, casually serving people their artery blocking meals.

There was a huge hole, probably the size of a 50 cent piece in the front of the shirt and she simply wore a matching red tank under the shirt, in some lame attempt to disguise it? I don't know. I cannot fathom what purpose this was supposed to serve. There were holes at the back of the shirt, some sloppily patched up with black thread, which by the way, was a stark contrast. There was, what looked like a bleach stain on the back,  and the shirt's collar looked as though rats made a meal of it. But yet on the breast was the brand EMBLAZONED for all to see.

I am not sure what the managers of these outlets are responsible for, but I would hope they would be caretakers of the brand in the absence of a Marketing VP. It is NOT the responsibility of a Marketing VP or Human Resources VP to monitor how the brand is represented to the public. Did her manager not realise she needed a new polo? Was a request made for one? I shudder to think that a request was made and denied, or that they don't have extra polos lying around. It was pretty distasteful and I don't care if you're frying french fries or giving a speech on global television, there is something to be said about image and how your employees maintain the image of your company. Even if this employee could not give 2 hoots about her ratty shirt, someone else should have.

I was just rather stunned by this as you can tell. It reminded me of any evening, at happy hour, I saw a young lady, resplendent in her bank's uniform, going down low with glass after glass of spirited drinks in her hand. And I thought, "Couldn't she go home and change out of the people's uniform before she came to embarrass herself in this manner?" There is something to be said for engaging your employees about how your brand lives everywhere, even in their appearance and actions. Every individual in an organisation is a brand ambassador. It's not solely the responsibility of the people in the Board Rooms to protect and manage the brand. It starts from the frontline and goes all the way up. Clearly this escapes some.

I don't think this franchise is in dire financial straits that they cannot afford polos for their staff. The long lines on any given day, at any given time remind me that fast food is king in Trinidad and Tobago. And while not everyone may care about the image of your brand and just want their box of oily mess, good Lord...the employees should care. How much do you care about your corporate brand?

The ME brand

We seem to be quite content to be branded in one way or another. My brother is a brand whore, and God knows I cannot shop for him because he only wears the expensive urban brands. I'm a MAC girl and love their makeup. You may just be a Mac person, in love with all things Apple. I have seen more than one car here branded with the "Keep Walking" brand logo from Johnnie Walker, so we do brand ourselves. But do we really sell the most important brand there is? The ME brand. To me, that's an invaluable commodity but do others see it the same way?

I'm not sure if people are truly paying attention to their personal brand here in T&T, or rather not enough people. We sell the concept of the brand, yes but at the corporate level and as part of a corporate product or service marketng machinery. But what about the investment in our skills, our capabilities, our professionalism, our talents? How many of us are selling and truly pimping ourselves out? Are you?

It may seem easier to just be part of the bigger picture type branding, to just fall into a prepared strategy. But in fact, if one is confident in one's expertise, then the selling is much easier. But are you selling yourself?

There are great instances of personal brands here in various sectors. Machel is a brand for example. People have come to expect a certain type of performance from him, one that is high energy, high quality and original. You never expect to go to a Machel performance and hear him singing other people's songs. So he is doing it, he is working it and his brand is a strong one. We now need to take the concept of personal branding from that sphere to our personal situations because people hear branding and somehow they never equate it to their own professional circumstances, which is where we probably lose sight of its relevance.

And in much the same way you make a distinction between a Carib and a Heineken, one must ask oneself, "what sets me apart from Jill or John?" What is your feature benefit? In what ways do you bring or add value to a team or to a project? Is your brand consistent and reliable? Are you dependable and bring your A-game more times than not?

Personal branding is not about logos and slogans but more about the intangible benefits which you can deliver. But first you have to have something to sell and not just any product but a damn good product. So take the time to

• develop a brand statement that speak to you and what you have to offer
• develop your expertise in your chosen area 
• gather feedback from your peers about how you are perceived
• examine your track record and identify your strengths and weaknesses; harness your strengths, work on the weaknesses
• build credibility and a solid "customer" base which can defend your brand
• be visible - set yourself apart from the crowd 
• have a vision of what you are and where you want to be; clear cut goals
• have a plan of how you intend to get there
• execute the plan

Remember:

When you're promoting brand You, everything you do -- and everything you choose not to do -- communicates the value and character of the brand. Everything from the way you handle phone conversations to the email messages you send to the way you conduct business in a meeting is part of the larger message you're sending about your brand. - FastCompany.

(And I did touch on how our other social media activities for example, can impact the personal brand here and here. )

So it's not that we don't understand the concept of branding but we don't think it applies to us for some reason and it's time we start focusing on how we can develop strong brands and not just promoting the brands of others. By consciously working on deevloping your brand, you are consciously working on developing your product, your service, actively examining how to improve your skills and ultimately, yourself.

So the next time you choose Coke over Pepsi, or vice versa, ask yourself why did I do that because in today's world, you're either a Coke or a Pepsi, and someone will have a preference based on what's on offer and how well it is sold to them.

The Two Face Dilemma with Social Media

I came upon a really timely and interesting blog entry yesterday, because it is something that impacts me and I am sure some of you as well. With social media being everywhere, including in business, one has to seriously think about the identities which one has online and how it impacts your professional and personal lives. I blogged on this already but felt a need to "wheel and come again". Most people would have started off with a personal Facebook profile or a personal blog. That's how I started. Then companies started getting involved in social media and the landscape changed from being just about "me" and more about "us", and especially in a case where you are actively involved or recognised professionally, your social media profiles probably need a review. Not only that, but there is greater convergence of the personal and professional.


I have several social media identities, between work and play-

• Blogs - this one is more professional while I have others, which are more personal in nature
• Twitter - a healthy balance of the two
• LinkedIn - I don't know if there is any other way to use LinkedIn other than personal branding for business and professional networking
• Flickr/Photobucket - personal
• Facebook - my profile here is strictly personal

But here is the rub. I also manage a few professional profiles on YouTube, Flickr and of course, Facebook. Before pages came along, one had groups and if any of you have a group, you would know that when you send messages to your members, regardless of the name of the group, your personal profile photo and your name go out with the message. I cannot tell you (though my friends would know cause I complain about it enough) how many people I do not know personally, but whom I would probably interact with via my groups' activities, send me friend requests. Some may want to keep me close as a company insider for when they want assistance and some may just want a date, which sadly seems to be the usual reason. Not only that, but you have to then be mindful of the photo you have up. Can you imagine getting a message from an organisation you're following and the admin's photo is of him/her in a bikini/speedo, with a beer bong, and a spliff? How would that inspire you?

Now while I support networking and social media for business especially should heartily support interaction, am I willing to let customers and interested persons into my personal space? I say, without hesitation, no. With pages, I now can interact with customers from a strictly corporate profile which keeps the lines firmly in place and you can still contact me directly.

My personal spaces are for personal things. I don't want to share my vacation photos, my notes, my status updates about all my craziness with people I do not know personally. And you do continue to meet people in the course of doing business and they may want to "friend" you on Facebook, but those relationships are also different to the ones I have with the people who are my friends on Facebook. So do I have a professional Facebook page, for this purpose - without personal family photos, videos and the like? Do I ask you to become a Fan of my professional Page? Sure I think I am awesome but the word "fan" has this connotation and I am not that vain to think I am SO popular or SO interesting that I would attract "fans".

This is not to say that I would not become friends with people I form virtual relationships with. Not at all. I think social media allows for rich interactions which you may not have via the traditional channels. I DO have people I have met through work on my profile - once I have developed that relationship with them. I DO sometimes share stuff that is non-work related on my blog or in my not so personal spaces. And at the same time, I DO harness my personal profile for work sometimes, by sharing work stuff, asking for feedback or running ideas past them (and many thanks to my fab friends for being so supportive). So where does one draw the line then?

I try now to use what I have to network professionally. So LinkedIn and Twitter work for me right now and I have had great interactions there thus far.. My Facebook, let me say it right now, is off limits for people I do not know personally, or even people I work with. I do not subsrcibe to mixing my professional life with my personal life. And my Facebook profile is still not half as bad as some of the profiles I know are out there - with sexy profile photos, status updates about their sex lives and fetishes etc - and which are open and welcoming to colleagues, suppliers, bosses. Do you want to update your profile, which your boss has access to, saying that you're in Tobago when you called in sick that day? Scary stuff, man. I see some things sometimes and cringe. Not only that but I know of people who have unwittingly lost a chance at a job or a business opportunity because of stuff on their personal profiles, which they have opened to the masses.

But it's just different. Your personal voice and your corporate voice. Your personal profile and your corporate profile. Different but not separate. They still, I think are interwoven, especially if you are a marketer who really forms great, personal relationships with clients. Customers rarely want an autobot, do they? But as social media continues to permeate our lives, the lines will continue to get more and more blurred. You just have to decide where, when and IF you want to draw hard lines of demarcation.