Todays Women in Business

Join Me At The Worlds First Global Personal Branding Telesummit

If you have wondered why I've been absent from posting here over the last few weeks, it's because I have been really busy organising some huge events and also participating in many events as a speaker.

One event that is a must for your diary is a global personal branding telesummit taking place on 8 November 2007.

I have had the priviledge of being the chair of the organising team who have all gifted their time to bring this event to life. We have attracted some amazing speakers who are authors on subjects related to personal branding.

All of these speakers are gifting their time to support us in our goals of reaching 100,000 people across the globe with this FREE event to educate people about personal branding.

Yes the event will cost you nothing to attend - just the cost of your phone call so make sure that you register. And if you are not able to attend the event due to your schedule, we will be making the recordings available after the event for you to access.

I will be attending 12 hours of programming from 3pm on Thursday to 3am on Friday morning as a moderator for the programme, during which time I will have the opportunity to participate live on four sessions:

• In conversation with David Meerman Scott, author of the great book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" about how to build your personal brand online
• In conversation with Stewart Emery, co-author of "Success Built To Last" about the strategies of world leaders of the most successful companies
• In conversation with Tim Demello, John Jantsch, Guy Kawasaki, and Andy Sernovitz about how to create brand evangalists to build your business and your brand
• In conversation with Leigh Branham, Orla Graham and Tim Zastudil about how to build your employer brand to win the war for talent.

This event is FREE to attend. If you would like to join me, you can register at the personal branding summit website - and if you can not attend then we will be recording all the seminars.

I do hope you will join me - there is a truly world class faculty - and remember you can access 24 seminars all for the price of your phone call.

Trust: the heart of your personal brand

As I continue to reference here and over at Biz Growth News, building your personal brand as a leader takes many forms and we can build or destroy our reputation in just one action or comment.

Today I received an urgent call from a client who was distressed by a conversation she had had with a potential designer. She had been connected to this person in good faith by her local printer as she wanted to work on developing a new visual identity for her business.

What threw her was the downright rudeness of the designer. During the course of the conversation they completely savaged the website and reputation of one of her colleagues, quoting what can only be construed as gross fabrications and lies - yet they had never met my clients colleague or knew anything about thei business.

They then went on to be dismissive of her business without knowing much about it.

When you are in the early stages of developing a business, it is easy to be put off course by people who are "nay sayers" and this conversation today was of little help to my client.

I was only too pleased to have been on hand to talk to her.

Bottom line, this designer has done nothing to further their reputation or credibility. As my client stated:

If they are like that about people they do not even know and they are talking about someone I respect hugely, there is no way I could put my trust in them.

In that short conversation on the phone, that designer has put into question one of the most important things we must develop for healthy relationships in business and our personal life - trust.

It takes time to develop, a moment to destroy and an eternity to rebuild.

While we may have beliefs about our own expertise against that of others, don't forget that to be dismissive and rude about others says more about us than it does of the other person.

Safe to say, my client now has the contact details of four designers I have recommended to her!

A Carnival of Personal Branding Tips, August 2007

You might recall some time ago I mentioned that we would host a blog carnival of Personal Branding Tips.

Well there seemed to be a problem with the submission form for the first carnival and this months carnival has unfortunately only a few posts that have been submitted.

So all of you who write on personal branding do make sure that you submit your articles for future editions.

The purpose of this carnival is to provide readers with high quality articles providing practical tips to develop their personal brand, so not all posts that are submitted will be acceted if they not meet the requirements of the submission guidelines for "A Carnival of Personal Branding Tips".

In the meantime, thank you to Pushpa, Bhupendra and Ian for their articles which you can find below:

Pushpa Sathish presents The Business Blogging Toolset: 100 Resources for Entrepreneur-Writers posted at Bootstrapper.

Bhupendra Khanal presents Top 10 Mantra for Professional Success posted at Analytics Bhupe, saying, "Work for yourself and for noone else."

Ianternet presents Ask the Number 1 Question in Branding posted at Ian Fernando.

If you have an article that you would like to submit for consideration for the next edition of “A Carnival Of Personal Branding Tips” you can do so at our carnival submission form.

The New Rules Of career Management: 3 steps To Jump Start Your Career Search In The Next 30 Days

Are you one of the 54 percent?

Did you realise that more than half of the people in any organisation at any one time are either actively looking for another job or would seriously considering leaving if the right opportunity presented itself?

Perhaps you didn’t realise that your competition for finding that next great role would be so great?

If the time has come for you to explore new career opportunities, here are four actions you can take in the next thirty days to jump start your job search.

1. Research the current job market – If it has been some time since you were looking for a role either inside your business or in the external job market, it is important to get re-acquainted with the market as it currently stands.

If you are looking for a move within your business, you can do this by talking to key people in the department or function you are interested in moving to or with your line manger or business mentor. This has the added benefit that they will also get to know you are interested in a career move so making a great impression with them as you undertake research about your future career is imperative.

If you are looking for a move outside your business, you can research the market through reading specific trade publications, through on-line research, talking to people in your chosen field or through discussions with recruiters.

2. Create and implement your professional development plan – When was the last time that you invested in learning about your area of expertise that you want to build your career in other than through on-the-job learning? Do not get me wrong, learning skills in your current role and then applying them is not to be undervalued.

However if you really want to position yourself as an expert in your field, it is important to continuously build on your current knowledge and capabilities. This might be through reading current books, articles and attending seminars or conferences.

Capture your professional development plan onto a one page document where you can track the investment you make in your development and also how you put the new skills and knowledge into action.

3. Update your resume or CV – If you have not looked at your CV or resume in the last six months, I can guarantee that it is out of date. Make sure that you take the time to review and update it. This is not a job to be rushed but is worth every minute that you spend on it. Consider it your personal marketing brochure.

Most times in a job search, your CV or resume will be the only thing that is evaluated or considered before a decision is made by a corporate recruiter to meet you or not. You need to ensure that it stands out from the crowd and your personal brand statement demonstrates your unique point of difference.

As a rough estimate, drafting, reviewing and finalising a professional CV or resume will take on average 8 hours of your time. You might consider this excessive, but isn’t it worth investing the equivalent of just one day to ensure that your years of experience and expertise are represented in the most effective way possible?
YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ACTION PLAN

If you are looking for your next career move make sure that you implement these three steps before you commence an active job search.

Before you explore the external market, don’t forget to share your career aspirations with your current line manager. Remember if you do not tell them what you want to achieve in your career and how you can at the same time help them grow the business you are working on now, the chances are that they will never get to learn this. The grass is not always greener in another business, and the opportunity to expand your career could be just a conversation away.

If you do decide that the time has come to move on to a new role outside of your current organisation, taking the time to undertake the three steps mentioned in this article will ensure that you are in a strong position to jump start your job search through on-line job boards, recruitment agencies and executive recruiters.

If you have a question about how to build your personal brand for career success, do drop me an email and I will answer your questions in a future article.

© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s publication “The New Rules of Career Management”.

Seven signs that your career has stalled

Have you recently found your mind turning to that question we often ask ourselves – just where is my career taking me?

Is it time for you to get your career back on track?

Here are seven signs that you can identify your career has stalled and actions you can take to over come them:

1. You are undertaking similar accountabilities as you were 3 years ago

2. You have not invested in developing your skills in the last 12 months

3. You are unclear about your career goals and where you would like to be 3 years from now

4. Your CV or resume was last updated more than 18 months ago

5. You find it challenging to come into work on a Monday morning – in fact you almost dread it

6. You can not recall when a recruitment agency or executive recruiter contacted you

7. The most attractive assignments and projects at work always seem to go to someone else.

If you don’t see yourself in these statements – great – your career is on track.

If you say a resounding yes to between 1-3 of the statements then your career is in neutral but that is fine – you can take action using the tips below.

If you say a resounding yes to 5 or more of these statements then your career has stalled.

Take action today to get your career back on track perhaps by reading a career management book from your local library or working with a personal branding coach who can guide you to greater professional and personal success.

© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s publication “The New Rules of Career Management”.

The New Rules Of Career Management: 5 Actions To Shift Your Career Into Fifth Gear

Have you noticed that colleagues and friends seem to be enjoying greater career success than you recently?

Are you wondering how you can get your career back on track?

Don’t worry, help is at hand. Here are five actions you can take to get your career back into fifth gear:

1. Get focused

If you are not sure what you want to achieve in your career your first task is to focus on your vision of success. If you know what you want to achieve in the next 5 years in your career then it will be easier to plan the actions you need to take to achieve your career goals.

Do not create a goal that you think will be acceptable to your family and friends. This is your life, your career. Create a vision of success that will inspire you to stay the course of action.

2. Turn your vision into a plan

It is great to have a vision. But how do you ensure that you vision does not just remain a dream?

The key is to ensure that you translate your vision into a career goal that you document, review and refine over time. You plan should also include actions to take to further develop your strengths and develop core capabilities that you will be required to demonstrate in the roles you seek to undertake in the future.

If you do not have specific goals that you want to achieve to support your career success in the next 12 months, take time out to draft your career goals today.

3. Acknowledge your strengths

Are you clear about your core strengths – the areas that come so naturally to you that you do not have to work at them - and the things that you are passionate about, so that when you are engaged in these areas time just flies?

Review your career history and consider those times when you not only had just the best time in the work you were doing but you were also highly successful. Were these times when you were playing to your strengths? What were the other things that contributed to your success at that time?

As you complete this review, if your CV or resume is not up to date, now would be a great time to review and up date it.

Consider how you could change your role and responsibilities in your current job to inject more of your strengths and the factors that supported your previous success.

4. Express your personal brand

One of the reasons that your career may be in neutral or has stalled is that you have not taken the time to define and fully express your personal brand – in other words, how you are differentiated from your competition.

There may be many other people seeking the same career path as you, but by developing and nurturing your personal brand you will be sure to stand out from the crowd.

5. Get known now

So often it is easy for us to be busy in the day to day activities of our role that we spend little time connecting with others both inside and outside the organisation.

Now is the time to get visible and nurture your network – the biggest mistake you could make is not beginning to nurture your network until you are looking for your next role.

Create your career networking plan so that you build your personal profile and reputation inside your business, in the local community and in your industry.

YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ACTION PLAN

Take just 90 minutes this in the next week to give your career a health check using the tips in this article.

If you are on track for the success you are looking for – fantastic!

If your career is in neutral or has stalled, what actions can you take so that you can look forward to a bright and successful career – one in which you are proud of and with accountabilities that enable you to play to your strengths and realise your full potential?

Many of us spend more time planning our vacation than our career success. The new rules of career management require that we take steps each day towards our career success.

What have you done today to ensure that you are going to enjoy greater career success in years to come?

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007. All rights reserved.

Reprinted from 'Biz Growth Express', a Oneocean Ltd publication for leaders in professional services practices, featuring inspiration, strategies and tips to build your corporate, employer and personal brand and enjoy greater success with less stress.  Subscribe today at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com and access free branding and business development teleseminars with experts from across the globe on how to build your brand and expand your professional and personal success.

Your employees impact your personal leadership brand

At every meeting with my clients I talk about how they are taking steps to bring their corporate brand, their employer brand and their personal brand to life.

But have you ever considered that as a business leader, the actions your people take not only impact how your corporate brand is perceived in the eyes of clients, business partners and other key stakeholders?

How your people behave influences how others perceive your own personal brand.

You see, the behaviour of your team reflects what you as a leader sees is acceptable behaviour - in other words what you are condoning.

As an example, today I was in a meeting with a potential client.

On arriving at the office, I was shown into the Managing Partners office.

The meeting commenced. We were in full flow of a conversation but just then the office door opened. A member of the team came into the office. The Managing Partner continued to talk, the team member came in to shuffle papers behind us, said a few works and then left.

Suprisingly to me the Managing Partner said nothing about the incident. Nor had the team member knocked the door or said "excuse me" or "sorry for interrupting you".

Then ten minutes later the same thing happened agin.

Now perhaps I am being old fashioned, but I was left with a distinct view that this was not professional behaviour.

Have my team members ever interrupted me when I have been in a meeting? Yes from time to time. But they would say "excuse me". However as a way of working, if the office door is shut and I am with a client, then they know not to disturb me unless it is an emergency.

Was the team member wrong to come in unannounced? My belief is yes.

However the lasting impression is that the Managing Partner was in fact impacting his reputation and personal brand in a negative way as this was clearly behaviour he condoned and felt was acceptable.

I wonder if this also happens when they have prospective clients with them for a meeting? How would you feel if that happened to you as a prospective client?

Building a strong reputation and personal brand as a leader and executive, remember to look arounf you in terms of what you are prepared to accept as behaviours in your team and consider if it reflects your personal leadership brand as you would like it to be perceived.

Why not take the chance to review what people coming into your business or meeting your team would take away about how your people behave and therefore what you stand for as a leader?

How to increase your chances of being a guest speaker

How do you enhance your chances of being selected as a speaker for conferences and events?

Well let me let you into some insider secrets from someone (me) who has organised hundreds of events with industry experts from across the globe.

Just yesterday I was speaking the event manager for a professional association who is planning the events for their UK organisation.

I'm heading up the Irish events team, and we were discussing how to ensure that we select great speakers for the forthcoming year. Even though we do not pay speakers, as it a not-for-profit and voluntary organisation, that does not mean that we don't want to hire engaging speakers with great content.

I was sharing with her the fact that this week I had been conducting podcast interviews for an organisation I am working with to help promote a forthcoming conference. One of the speakers who I interviewed for the podcast was so monotone and uninspiring in their deliver, that even though they have good content, I would not have hired them as a speaker if I had been the event organiser.

What I suggested to my colleague in the UK is that as part of  the selection process for the speakers for the professional association, that they include a telephone conference interview as part of the selection process. The event organiser in the UK particularly concerned about how the speaker would not only deliver content in terms of energy but also their ability to respond to questions live. Having a telephone conference would enable a number of people to be on the phone line and the speaker could then present and the panel ask questions.

If you are a speaker or want to build your personal brand as a professional speaker, adding a podcast, the recording of a teleseminar or a video of you speaking to your events page or media page on your website, if well executed, will enhance the chance of you being selected as a speaker.

You see you are taking away some of the risks and fears of the event organiser as they will have been able to "sample" your ability to engage with an audience just by listening to your audio or watching you on the video.

Interestingly, I was reading a post from David Meerman Scott who reported on the way that the team at the Business Software 2007 conference are selecting some of their speakers this year.

Business Software 2007 are inviting potential speakers to create a short video of themselves speaking on a topic that will inspire, and be relevant to, an audience of software executives. They are then inviting their newsletter subscribers to vote on the speakers they want to hear at the event.

That certainly takes event organising to a different level - with the engagement of the potential delegates for the conference deciding who they want to hear speak.

So if you are a professional speaker or an aspiring professional speaker, consider how you can show case your expertise through video and audio to showcase your personal brand as a speaker.

And if you are looking for additional guidance on building your reputation as a professional speaker, don't hesitate to register for our forthcoming no-cost teleseminar, "Speak your way to success" which takes place on the 13 August at 1pm ET.

PS - more on David Meerman Scott soon - I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of his new book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" - it arrived in the post earlier this week so I'll be reading it and posting my reflections in the next week or so.

Build your personal brand through your profile

Whether you are in an organisation and developing your career or you are the leader of your own professional services practice, one thing you can be sure about....

.... at some stage in the next 12 months you are likely to be asked to present yourself on paper.

That could be for a proposal you are submitting, a job you are applying for or a profile you have to present as a speaker at a conference.

But when was the last time you reviewed your personal profile or CV? And does it accurately reflect your expertise and experience?

I was recently working with a professional association to support them building their brand on-line. They had developed a new web site which gave the members of the association the opportunity to add their details to the data base, providing them with increased visibility.

However, the quality of the personal profiles was so poor, they certainly were not likely to attract interest from potential clients or strategic joint venture partners.

I was also recently working with an executive who was looking for their next career move and we were working on developing their personal brand. However when we looked at their personal marketing materials - their CV - it certainly did not enhance their reputation.

I am frequently asked for a copy of my personal profile and what I have some to learn is that we need to have a core profile available at a moments notice so that we can adapt it to the needs of the audience requesting our profile.

You see it is much easier keeping your profile up to date and relevant than having to create it the first time.

So if your personal profile or CV is out of date, here are this weeks personal branding action steps to ensure that your profile projects your personal brand.

THIS WEEK'S PERSONAL BRAND ACTION STEPS

1. Print out a copy of your current personal profile and identify which elements are no longer current.
2. Update your profile - whether it is a CV or professional profile make sure that it does not exceed 2 pages.
3. If you are not sure if your profile accurately reflects your personal brand and expertise, ask a colleague or friend to review it and provide feedback.
4. If you need additional assistance consider the support of a resume writer or personal branding coach to help you create

TERMS OF REPRINT: You are welcome to publish this article in your own online ezine or news letter, providing the article is printed in its entirety and is left unedited and you include the copyright notice and the following statement:

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007. All rights reserved. Reprinted from 'Biz Growth Express', a Oneocean Ltd publication for leaders in professional services practices, featuring inspiration, strategies and tips to build your brand, attract your ideal clients and enjoy greater success with less stress.  Subscribe today at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com and access free weekly teleconferences where we interview experts from across the globe on how to build your brand and expand your professional and personal success.

No-Cost Training: Speak your way to success

Have you been asked to present to a group but have found yourself fearing the event?

Are you concerned about what it takes to be an inspiring and credible speaker?

Perhaps you know that you should be speaking to build your personal brand and expand the reach of business but you are not confident about your skills?

Well in our next content rich audio tutorial, I will be taking you through 5 biggest mistakes to avoid if you want to build your reputation as a compelling and magnetic speaker.

I'll also be sharing strategies you can employ so that you attract more clients and more business opportunities whether you speak for free or for a fee - guaranteed.

Over the last 24 months I have spoken live at conferences in Ireland and overseas on over 100 occasions (and many more hundreds of times leading virtual events including teleseminars and webinars) and each time I speak it results in more clients, new strategic partners and more profit.

So if you want to discover the strategies I have employed, be sure to join me on the 13 August at 1pm ET/6pm Ireland and the UK for a content rich 60 minute seminar on how to develop your skills as a professional speaker. Register today at Biz Growth Live.

If you have questions about how to 'Speak Your Way to Success' you can post your questions before the call here:

http://www.bizgrowthlive.com/asklive