Have you noticed the world’s top corporate brands are durable?
In Interbrand’s annual survey, the perennial No. 1 is Coca Cola, celebrating its 125th anniversary, and most of the Top 100 brands are more than 60 years old. Across economic ups and downs, vast structural changes in the global economy, and changes in corporate ownership, the value of top brands persists and grows.
We see a corresponding leverage in personal branding as well. Developing your personal brand puts more of your career and personal destiny in your hands and maximizes your value over a long period. It’s also key to not being at the mercy of corporate maneuverings or the economy. Personal branding helps you blend your career goals with your lifestyle and family priorities, giving you greater power to make career choices consistent with your values. You already have a current brand image. So, how will you refine and maximize your unique value proposition going forward?
EC’s Personal Branding Practice
At Executive Connections LLC, we partner with successful, progressive, senior leaders to create their inspiring personal brand vision and plan, integrating leadership, lifestyle and legacy elements. When we support and transition C-level executives into their new position, we also support them to develop their personal brand as an integral part of superior job performance.
As a marketing specialized boutique firm, we introduced this concept of personal branding to our executive coaching practice in 2002 before it became mainstream.
“We believe proactive personal branding is the #1 best practice for executive career management because you’ll learn how to develop/position your brand, then polish, package and communicate it with everything you do going forward.”
We apply many of the same processes of strategic corporate branding when working on your brand:
- How are you perceived today?
- What do you stand for?
- What are your distinctive characteristics
- How relevant are these to the needs of your target audience?
- How do you articulate your core promise?
Introducing EC’s Personal Branding Retreats for the C-Suite
To create a powerful brand future, we find C-level executives get so tied up in their day-to-day responsibilities, they typically don’t take time for personal development or network building necessary to achieve the next level. When unexpected business events occur (i.e., leadership change, merger, financial tsunami), they panic because they are unprepared to deal with contingencies that are more and more a common part of the new business world.
Therefore, we created a Personal Branding Retreat Center — an oasis where select clients may carve out focused time to confidentially work on what is next for their brand.
- What if you could build on all the reasons you’ve risen to the top to create an even more powerful and satisfying brand future?
- What’s the value of your personal brand and are your current industry and company the best vehicles for maximizing this value over the long-term?
- What would you gain from having a dedicated personal brand manager to help you design your brand plan and keep you focused on getting what you want?
We know our clients need an action-oriented, straight-talking consultant rather than a coach who will leave you with more questions than answers. That’s why our personal branding retreats come bundled with six months of customized follow up (either monthly or weekly phone, Skype, or in-person meetings, depending on the accountability you’d like) to ensure your plan gets results!
When we believe in your personal brand and can partner with you as your advocate, you will be unstoppable in walking your brand talk in everything you do.
Don’t wait to derive the benefits of personal branding, including:
- Increased compensation, satisfaction, and long-term career control
- Improved performance in career, family, and community areas
- Avoiding the costly mistake of making the wrong career and personal choices
- Expanded perspective and creativity to leverage your successes to-date
- Eliciting the very best in yourself and those you lead
“One of the most exciting opportunities and value add we see in C-level personal branding is the positive effect it also has on the employer/company brand. Those who invest in personal branding create wins for everyone.”
“‘The Personal Brand Retreat’ is a gift everyone should gift themselves! You will find yourself completely immersed in a tranquil environment—free of day-to-day distractions—where you will be guided through a series of interactive exercises that stimulate one’s best introspection and thinking around brand attributes, personal values and goals. This experience is for the person who truly believes in the power that clarity, vision and self-discovery bring. I am a believer!”
- P.F., Executive who invested in a personal brand retreat
For more information about how personal branding can work for you to build upon your strengths and facilitate your professional and personal growth, please contact us today, or download our brochure.
Explore our Personal Branding Case Study (below) and contact us to discuss your how we can help develop your brand.
PERSONAL BRANDING CASE STUDY
Personal Branding + Corporate Branding—Finding the “Win-Win”
We’ve been coaching the head of a division within a major financial services company who began working on his personal brand for becoming an industry spokesman for “best practices” within his division’s business area. As part of this process, he pushed for industry recognition for his division as a leading best-practices e-commerce provider. The equity he built in his personal brand by becoming an industry leader on this issue helped convince the CEO to back his division’s continuing growth initiatives.
The result?
His division grew to become recognized as the No.1 performer in its industry sector. The parent corporation is now thinking of spinning off the division and will certainly earn a premium for it because of this recognition. Our client effectively blended the two worlds of corporate branding and personal branding. The company benefited, of course, by his efforts, and his visibility and credibility was raised in both his company and the industry. Regardless of what happens with the spin-off of his division, he is bound to benefit from the strength he built in his personal brand. Our client has also been approached by the other two category leaders in this sector to interview for more senior-level positions.
The Personal Branding experience is exquisite! Lola and Jeff modeled their own brands while assisting me to define, own and give language to mine. Their on-target, strategic and practical business and marketing experience has given me a specific action plan for taking my business to the next level. The unique combination of their caring styles resulted in a form of business parenting that left me inspired. Give yourself this gift of focused work on your brand development! You won’t regret it.
- Siobhan Murphy
POWER CIRCLES
Connecting Powerful People to Powerful Connections for Powerful Personal Branding
At Executive Connections LLC, we talk daily with senior executives who are attempting to steer a clear course for their business through uncharted waters, dealing with staff cutbacks, or who are in transition and needing to proactively manage and reposition their personal brand. Of course, you know that times of economic uncertainty are also the breeding ground for market share gains—IF you embrace change and assertively innovate in ways that resonate with customers.
To do this, you need support structures, strategic counsel, and introductions to others who can help you achieve your goals. You need people on whom you can rely to help you make breakthrough personal and business changes. You need advisory resources and role models—people who can inspire you and support you as you focus on forward motion to get where you want to go.
Part of our mission at EC is to connect our clients to other senior executives who can assist them in various ways: identifying new business or career opportunities, finding strategic alliance partners, providing project management or short-term consulting, obtaining financing, and other strategic business needs. We make many powerful connections every day for our clients.
This is why we created “Power Circles,” in which we form exclusive “virtual” groups of 8 to 10 hand-selected C-level leaders with adjacencies in their businesses and personal brands that enable them to tap into synergies through engagement with other Circle members. EC will facilitate these circles, providing executive coaching, consulting, and advising on both a group and one-on-one basis.
To reserve a place in the Power Circles program, please call or email our CEO, Jeff Gundersen (941-323-8300 or jgundersen@executiveconnectionsllc.com). We look forward to partnering with you in this exciting program!
If you would like to send us your bio, resume or CV, please use our contact form.