Although the term Brand is sometimes overused. Enhancing your understanding of branding and its purpose. Identifying factors that define talent/personal brand equity. Considering the importance of engagement. As well as learning how to determine, evaluate and evolve your talent/personal brand are key for any professional.

1. Building Talent Brand & Influence
David Lipien, PMP, MCP

2. Today’s objectives
1.Enhance your understanding of branding and its purpose.
2.Identify factors that define talent/personal brand equity.
3.Consider the importance of engagement.
4.Identify characteristics of one's own current brand equity.
5.Learn how to determine, evaluate and evolve your talent/personal brand.
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3. Brands and their purpose
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"Branding" began as a mark of ownership, trust,and quality, and evolved into a more sophisticatedsymbol of differentiation and identification in thepost–World War II era...The Four Ages of Branding
Source: Interbrand: Top 5 Best Brands

4. What comes to mind when you hear….
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Jim Nance
Play-By-Play Broadcaster NFL, College Basketball, Golf

5. What comes to mind when you hear….
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Anthony Weiner
Politician and former U.S. representative who served in New York

6. We are all branded…like it or not
1.First impressions are formed within the first 15 seconds of meeting someone.
2.The way you present yourself; your communication style, talent, political savvy, etc., is just as important as your performance.
3.When we meet someone face-to-face, 93% of a first impression is from non-verbal data.
4.When your initial encounter is over the phone, 70% of perceived first impression is based on your tone of voice.
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7. The brand called YOU
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“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 the CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc.... To be in business today, our most important job is to be the head marketer for the brand called You.... You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand.... You need to think of yourself differently..... Being CEO of Me, Inc. requires you to grow yourself, to promote yourself, to get the market to reward yourself".
Tom Peters in Fast Company:

8. What is your brand….and is it what YOU want it to be
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Peter Drucker –Managing Oneself

9. What attributes do you want your brand to include?
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What are the elements of your “ME” Brand?
Examples
Personality Style
Curious Nature
Competent
Confident
Dependable/reliable
Core Values
Commitment
Competency
Consistency
Health and Happiness
Integrity
Personal Presentation
The way you dress
The way you talk, the way you walk
The appearance of your office
Your Written Presentation
Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile
Your Presentations
Your Email and IM style

10. What attributes do you want your brand to include?
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What are the elements of your “ME” Brand?
Examples
Leadership / Management Style
Dynamic Leader, Reserved Leader, Collaborative, Authoritative Style
Hard Driver Approach
Performance
Top Performer…will get it done
Solid Performer…willing to do what it takes
Profession
Seller
Consultant
Leader
Industry
Banking/Financial Markets
Insurance
Competency / Strong Skills / Education /Certification
Industry Expert, Requirements Expert, PM, Architect
Strengths Personal
Building Customer Relationships
Building High Performance Teams

11. So you have a brand –now what? Get Social!
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Forbes.com
Professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members per second.
Forbes.com
65% of B2B buyers learn about brands, products, or services on social media.

12. Lessons for building a strong profile
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13. Creating & curating content that supports the brand
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While curating is the fastest way to get started with building your talent brand, creating your own original content enables you to be in complete control of what’s communicated and how. Here are a few tips to remember as you start producing your own content (blog posts, videos, presentations).
Be conversational
Keep it short
Be visual
Offer consumable tips
A call to action
Write like you speak. Keep it simple, direct and friendly.
The longer your content, the harder it is to process.
Whether it’s a case study, a status update, or a blog post, bring your content to life with bold and relevant images and videos.
Readers love easily digestible Top 10 lists, bullet points, and clear tips. Make your content easy to scan.
At the end, always ask your audience a question to provoke comments or include a call to action.
Source: LinkedIn, 5 Steps to Boosting Your Talent Brand Through Content, page 9, 2014

14. Share that content with the world
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Generating quality content is only half the battle: getting it in front of the right audience is equally important.
Source: LinkedIn, 5 Steps to Boosting Your Talent Brand Through Content, page 9, 2014
Platform
Considerations
Peak Activity
Professional-oriented social network, so photos from your family vacation are better utilized elsewhere.
7:00–9:00 AM and 5:00 –6:00 PM
Less professional focus and more news, entertainment- oriented; 140-character limit and short life-span due to high post volume.
1:00 –3:00 PM
Growing a following takes time. Best used in conjunction with LinkedIn, Twitter or embedded in a blog.
Tuesdayand Wednesday24 hours per day
Industry interview, video resume,video about a previous firm/job or self created content.
12:00–1:00 PM

15. Build Trust and Drive Influence
“Leadership theorists nowadays stress authenticity, EQ and relationships. This makes intuitive sense. But it isn’t just a fad; there is a solid reason behind the shift. It is driven by changes in the world. Above all, it reflects the growing importance of trust.” -Charles Green
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1.Be skilled at trusting, because trusting and trustworthiness enhance each other.
2.Realize the role of the trustor is to take risks; the role of the trustee is to be trustworthy. When each is good enough at their roles, a state of trust results. If either party falls down on the job, trust will disappear.
3.Operate from a clear set of values and principles, because opportunistic or selfish motives are clearly seen and rejected.
4.Be more intrinsically than extrinsically motivated.
5.Lead by influence –do not be dependent on direct authority or political power.
Source: Why Trust is the New Core of Leadership, Charles Green, Forbes.com, 2014

16. Change is the only constant
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1. Concepts from: “To Sell is Human”, Dan Pink, 2012
1.Building your brand is not a one-time event, but rather a constant investment in your professional self.
2.Your brand is only as good as the product –YOU.
3.Influence and trust are key in the world of digital currency –move from the old ABCs (always be closing) to the new 1:
a.Attunement -get out of your head and learn to see things from other’s perspectives.
b.Buoyancy -in business, you face a lot of rejection; "not a pond, an ocean" –get over it and move on.
c.Clarity -convince someone to buy YOU; identify the problem they're trying to solve, then explain how you can help.

17. David Lipien is a Director with Microsoft’s Premier Services, where he works with clients to increase productivity, mitigate risk, and leverage IT for business success. He manages a multi-million dollar portfolio of diverse technology delivery contracts that are managed by Microsoft Application Development Managers for clients across industry and technology domains. His specialties include internet-based technologies, object- based project methodologies, release management and global delivery.
David is a PMI Certified Project Management Professional and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), and holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration. He has also completed an Executive Management Program at the Harvard Business School. David has published numerous articles in the IT and business space. Prior to joining Microsoft, David had the pleasure and privilege of working at AT&T and IBM.
dlipien@hotmail.com
@davidlipien
www.linkedin.com/in/lipien/