The talented but the unbranded

Have you ever met people who are talented, educated, wise and experienced, but are grossly underpaid, underemployed, and underappreciated? Then one day, they just drop out of work never to be heard again.

I certainly have.

Life isn’t fair?

Of course it isn’t.

Had life been fair then all of us would have been building condominiums.

Whether we talk about businesses or careers, success really depends on what people think. Perception is the key and sometimes, perception is reality in the eyes of many.

If people think you are a dynamic business leader, then of course you are. You will be interviewed in TV, your picture will grace the magazine covers and you will be invited to give talks in important business conferences. But if people think that you are a second-class “B” player, then of course you are -unless you change their perceptions.

Creating positive impressions in the minds of people is a very important job. Marketing people call this differentiation.

This is important because there was a time when the most crucial question asked in determining the perfect candidate was: “Can you do the job?”

Now that technology has leveled up the playing field and age is no longer a guarantee of wisdom as many people can do what we can, it has to be about something more; we need to differentiate ourselves from others.

Catherine Kaputa wrote a brilliant book titled, “How Smart People Brand Themselves For Business Success.” In this book, she presented a very convincing and eloquent argument about the advantages of a brand against a generic product.

She said that brand is something both significant and cherished, whereas product is stagnant and unremarkable.

A brand is unique, exposed to many and can easily stand out. While a product is something people will only briefly glance at, and won’t get much attention, or in other words, forgettable.

Now, here is the key to everything.

You are your most important asset. You need to create your own brand.

Your boss is not a bad person, he or she just might be too busy doing business and promoting his or her own brand. You cannot fully entrust your future to them.

Branding is not about sucking up to your boss or grabbing credits that do not belong to you. Let me just remind you this, grabbing credits that do not belong to you is the same as committing career suicide.

Personal branding is not just about achieving greater successes, represented by money, fame, and self-esteem. It is about becoming who you truly are.

Branding could be a composite of your point of view, your vision, and your style -even your uniqueness that makes you special and relevant!

John Mason said, “You are born an original. Do not die a copy!”

Discover your unique gifts, work on it and be excellent. Then find your niche and be a “Specialist.”

As we have learned from Catherine and her great book, having a great brand requires work, both sides of our brain –the analytical left side and creative right side- work together to form our brand. This will then result to a ‘visual identity’ and a ‘verbal identity.’

To simplify it further, let me condense this into easy-to-understand terms:

Visual Identity is your packaging, in other words, how you look.

Verbal Identity is your brand messages, in other words, what information are you spreading about yourself.

Start working on yourself and be the best you can be.

Stop whining and stop being envy because these will not add value to your success goals.

God engineered you for success, but it is up to you to operate efficiently.

Be a winning brand and work on it right now.

(Mark your calendars. Spend two inspiring days with Francis Kong learning leadership and life skills as he present Level Up Leadership on Sept. 23-24 at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Inspire at 09158055910 or call 632-6310912 for details.)