[acb-hsp] Branding Your Uniqueness

[Claude Everett]

Good article, now how do we find that inner uniqueness and put it out there
to get  that special niche?


Claude Everett
American By Chance , Californian by Choice.
Every one has a disability, Some, are more aware of it than others.

-----Original Message-----
From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of
peter altschul
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 10:22 AM
To: Acbhsp
Subject: [acb-hsp] Branding Your Uniqueness

Expert Perspective
  Your Best Brand Asset Is Understanding Yourself
  BY Phil Cooke 07-17-2012 8:30 AM
  This article is written by a member of our expert contributor community.
You're a beautiful and unique snowflake.  But does your personal
brand--honestly--reflect that?
  The world isn't looking for a copy of an existing writer, musician,
politician, CEO, or leader; they're looking for someone new, innovative, and
original.  Your job is to discover how your unique gifts and talents can
differentiate you from everyone else.
  You have no idea the number of people who call our offices each week
asking us to "do the same thing for us that you did for your national
clients." They want to copy someone they admire, and they're asking us to
help get that story out there and get noticed by the national media.  But
they've got it backwards.  
There's already one of those famous leaders.  A stnewst person needs to
emphasize his or her unique differences.
  Besides, each of our clients were unique and brilliant long before I ever
met them.  Probably the most powerful gift these leaders had was an
understanding of who they were and what their talent and calling were about.
  That's something worth repeating: Probably the most powerful gift these
leaders had was an understanding of who they were and what their talent and
calling were about.
  Having an accurate understanding of what makes you unique and different is
absolutely critical.  For many, an accurate understanding is obscured or
undermined by a lack of professionalism, bad ideas, poor taste, inept
leadership, insecurity, lack of people skills, bad assumptions, and more.  
These sorts of things plague many leaders today and hamper their
effectiveness.
  What makes you different from all the others competing for your position?
  There's even more competition out there within the greater culture.  In
today's world, everybody competes.  For media creators, product producers,
sales professionals, and more--how can you compete with all the
entertainment choices, lifestyle options, or new digital technologies that
struggle for the limited time of the average person today? You may not have
the resources, finances, or assets the competition has, but you can tell a
better story, and the key to finding that story is discovering what makes
you unique and different.
  What could it be that makes you different? Perhaps it's your unique
communications style, your writing ability, your personality, or an
expertise in an unusual area.  Being different can mean many things,
including perspective, content, skill, and delivery.
  If competition from others is making it more difficult to get noticed,
then perhaps you should consider a different niche.  
Some organizations have decided that because of duplication of services by
other companies in the area, they should find a different way of doing their
work or do it in a different place.
  Hollywood is particularly good at this; studios track what other studios
are developing so they don't release a similar film.  Corporations spend
enormous amounts of money following their competition's product development.
  Even smart employees watch for potential changes in company staffing or
structure to ensure they don't get pushed out of a job because of
duplication or competition.  It's not about conniving or cheating behind the
scenes--it's about being aware and sensitive to the future.
  Ultimately, it's all about authenticity.  Being unique and different
shouldn't mean stfakest.  In our efforts to relate to the culture or a
potential customer or audience, we sometimes go over the top and end up
conveying a message that's obviously dishonest and far from authentic.
  I'm told I was born with the gift of saying what everyone else in the room
is thinking.  Whether it gets me in trouble or not, I often feel compelled
to talk about the elephant in the room that everyone else sees but ignores.
That's why this issue of authenticity is so important for me.  I was born
with a very sensitive BS button, and anytime a client presents an
advertisement, website, TV program, or other presentation that smacks of
insincerity, I light up.
  I regularly meet people who live out others' dreams and refuse to act on
who they were created to be.  What about you? Have you watched your boss so
closely that you've started becoming more like him or her than you? Have you
followed a celebrity to the point where his or her style is obscuring your
own? Have you followed trends to the point it's difficult to discover what's
really inside you?
  Don't become something you aren't; developing a personal brand is about
becoming who you truly are.  It happens even in the best of ways.  One
friend got involved in raising money to build medical facilities in Third
World countries.  It was a great cause and she certainly could have spent
her life doing worse.  
Ultimately, it wasn't really her passion.  But she put off confronting that
fact for years because it was such a great cause.  The problem was--it just
wasn't stherst cause.  When she finally had the courage to step out into
something she was personally passionate about, she had already wasted years
of productivity.
  I know others who are trapped working in a company, church, or
humanitarian organization who--although they do great work-- are settling
for second best in their lives.  I can see they have so much more potential,
but when I bring it up, they rationalize it with the importance of the
cause, the need, or the great work they're doing.  They've been sucked into
a regular paycheck, or refuse to change because they're not willing to risk
taking a hard look at their lives, their gifts, and their future.  I
understand, because I've been there.
  Finding your honest voice in the middle of the madness is absolutely
critical.  But being absolutely truthful about what distinguishes you from
the pack is a critical step to finding your identity.
  Excerpted from One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to.
_______________________________________________
acb-hsp mailing list
acb-hsp at acb.org
http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/acb-hsp