Dear Friends,

Do you feel the winds of economic recovery pushing you forward? We definitely do and that's a good sign.

Last year was dominated by cost-cutting, projects on hold and layoffs during an unprecedented global economic recession. It's a year we want to remember ONLY for how we can learn from it!

In a mere 18 months, we have moved from devastating economic losses to a year (2010) when real global economic growth is forecast and the majority of CEOs have begun to hire critical sales, marketing and general management talent to get back to growing their businesses.

It speaks to the resiliency of the global economy we live in today, doesn't it?

Here at EC, 2010 has started with a bang. We completed our first placement for 2010 and are in the process of negotiating job offers for two additional clients. All of these transactions are in financial services, one of the categories that saw almost nothing but layoffs beginning in mid-2008.

Similarly, we are seeing action heat up in the marketing services sector, as many companies are hiring senior business development, account directors, and presidents to strengthen their performance outlook (particularly revenue growth) early in the year.

While many forecast a slow, steady recovery, we are seeing and feeling a lot of pent-up demand for talent from CEOs who know they cut their organizations to the bone last year -- and sometimes into the bone. So don't be surprised to see a sharp pick-up in opportunities in your sector.

Are you prepared?

If your phone is not starting to ring off the hook, you need to ask yourself why not? What's missing about my personal brand?

As we begin 2010, we start with a two-part message: (1) 2010 is going to be a year full of new career and personal brand opportunities; and (2) this is the time to redefine, reposition and re-plan your personal brand in order to gain the maximum personal and professional leverage.

Our call to action this month is for you to go to our website (if you haven't done so already), download the worksheets from our Personal Branding series and read our article this month, Be On Brand in 2010. Now is the time to polish your personal brand and put yourself in play.

If you have not set your personal SMART goals for 2010, January is the month to nail these down, so you can take your business and your personal brand to the next level. Remember, if you were compromised financially, personally, professionally or emotionally for the past 18 months, now is the time for a personal financial correction.

BOTTOM LINE: Make yourself a top priority for 2010!

"People don't plan to fail; they fail to plan." ~ Zig Zigler

Jeff Gundersen, CEO jgundersen@executiveconnectionsllc.com
and Lorraine White, Chief Coaching Officer lwhite@executiveconnects.com
Executive Connections, LLC
Executive Search, Executive Coaching & Consulting for Top-Level Executives
Direct: 941-323-8300 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              941-323-8300      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
http://www.executiveconnectionsllc.com

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In a Career Transition? Want a Head Start on 2010?
3 Spots Open for EC's Personal Branding Support

Last fall, EC sponsored a complimentary webinar series, "Managing Your Personal Brand: A Year in Review," which was extremely well-attended and well-received.

As an added value to this series, Lorraine White -- EC's Chief Coaching Officer -- has begun working one-on-one with several senior clients on managing their personal brand through a change in categories or career direction.

Lorraine has three spots open for our clients and connections who would like to get a head start early in 2010.

Working with Lorraine, you will engage in a personal exploration to enhance your personal brand and create a totally new and fresh chapter in your career.

Please call Lorraine directly for a 30-minute complimentary call: 941-323-8333.

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Be On Brand in 2010!

In 2009, businesses around the world faced one of the toughest tests of their brand strength. Some brands prospered amid the hard times, while others slipped, according to the Interbrand list of Best Global Brands. Testifying to their brand durability, the Top 5 brands retained their Top 5 positioning.

We saw personal brands take a corresponding rise and dip, pointing to the fact that the need to develop and leverage your personal brand is greater than ever, particularly as the economy begins to recover. The lessons of 2009 drove home the point that developing a personal brand puts more of your career and personal destiny in your hands and not at the mercy of the economy.

As we discussed in our three personal branding webinars last fall, the issue isn't about creating a personal brand but refining and maximizing the value of the one you already have. Here's a refresher on personal brands and how to make your personal brand work for you in 2010.

Your Personal Brand, Like It or Not

"Everyone has a personal brand, whether they like it or not," says Peter Montoya, a personal branding expert and author of The Brand Called You, one of our recommended books. In Montoya's words, a personal brand is "the powerful, clear, positive idea that comes to mind whenever other people think of you." It's the values, abilities and actions you stand for, or, as he puts it, your personal brand is "who you are, what you do and what makes you different or how you create value."

The value of personal branding is a little easier to see as it relates to the small business owner or solo entrepreneur -- for whom personal branding and corporate branding tend to blend together -- and this is where much of the personal branding literature is targeted.

However, we find that it is C-level corporate executives who, in many ways, have the most at stake in developing their personal brands. Senior level executives get so caught up and tied up in their day-to-day responsibilities, that they don't build personal network or take time for personal development.

The Personal Branding Process

Consider the first steps that go into the strategic branding process. Here, the goal is to identify and articulate a company's core promise (or the core promise of a product or service) that it makes to its customers, employees, business partners, investors, stakeholders and to itself. This process, as it unfolds, must result in clear answers to the following questions: What does the company stand for? What are the distinctive characteristics of the company's products or services? How relevant are these to the needs of the marketplace?

The personal branding process is very similar, only you start with…you. Beginning with a personal brand assessment, you have to essentially go through a personal SWOT analysis, honestly assessing what you offer your organization, how you are perceived beyond your organization, and where opportunities exist for further strengthening your brand.

Building upon that, you define who you are, what is truly important to you and what makes you unique -- and then you build your brand around that core set of values and focus areas. In marketing terms, you uncover your "unique value proposition." From there, you can more easily define what segment of the "market" you want to serve, both in terms of your current job and career, and your life goals.

Personal Branding + Corporate Branding--Finding the Win-Win

For many senior executives, some part of this introspection is often part of the job-hunting process -- particularly for someone mapping out a long-term career trajectory. But in our coaching and consulting with C-level execs, many of whom we've placed in new positions, we work more broadly on how to manage and develop your personal brand as an integral part of superior job performance.

For example, one of our coaching clients (the head of a division within a major insurance company) began working on his personal brand by becoming an industry spokesman for best practices within his division's business area -- something he feels very strongly about. As part of that process, he pushed for his division to be recognized by the industry as a leading best-practices provider. The equity he built in his personal brand by becoming an industry leader on this issue helped convince the Board to back his division's initiative.

The result is that his division was recognized as the No. 1 performing company in its industry. Our client effectively blended the two worlds of corporate branding and personal branding. The company benefited, of course, by his efforts, and he looked good in the perception of both the company and the industry, strengthening his personal brand.

One of the most exciting things we see in personal branding is that this kind of synergy between the personal brands of C-level executives and that of their corporate employers is going to become far more common. As we move into an increasingly service-based economy, it is clear to us that the opportunity for personal branding -- indeed, the requirement for personal branding -- can only reinforce the branding focus and activities of the business for which you work. The message is simply this: While you are doing the things you are required to do in building the brand for your business, focus on how can you build your personal brand and create a win-win for everyone.

Bottom line -- and we cannot emphasize this enough: Be on brand in everything you do in 2010!

If you would like to reprint this article in your ezine, blog or website, you have our permission to do so as long as it is accompanied by the following information:

Authors Jeff Gundersen and Lorraine White lead the team at Executive Connections LLC, an executive search and executive coaching and consulting firm, specializing in building and supporting powerful executive leaders in advertising, marketing communications, direct marketing/CRM/loyalty, digital marketing/e-commerce, financial services, healthcare and private equity financed companies.

© 2010 Executive Connections LLC

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Online Marketing Summit 2010
Mon, Feb 22 - Thu, Feb 25
Location: Paradise Point Resort & Spa, San Diego, CA

15th Annual Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium
Sun, Mar 21 - Tue, Mar 23
Location: Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Orlando, FL
NOTE: Jeff Gundersen, CEO, will be moderating a panel on mobile banking at this event.

ad:tech San Francisco
Mon, Apr 19 - Wed, Apr 21
Location: Moscone Center North, San Francisco, CA

The Power of eMarketing
Wed, Apr 21 - Thu, Apr 22
Location: Union Square Marriott Hotel, San Francisco, CA