What role does Branding have in your business and/or your personal life?

Last week our Boardroom Leaders networking group took some time to discuss “Branding” and the role that it plays in our business. One of our members, Mike Long of CF Web Professionals expanded on it in a recent blog: Personal Branding. Great job Mike! Today, I want to piggy-back on what has been said and invite us to take a closer, more personal look.

Language plays an important part in helping to paint our personal picture. Unfortunately words and how we express them are often misunderstood. The internet has connected us globally. Culture, language and personality all contribute to different points of view.

Without action that supports our message, our words are meaningless. How many of us lose faith in our heroes when we realize that their lives do not live up to their message?

It’s about … Authenticity.

Lost in someone else’s vision for our life, some struggle to define their brand. It becomes impossible to live up to someone else’s story and as a result, our actions often don’t follow our words.

I began my personal journey to brand definition by asking myself these questions:

• Who do you say you are?
• What do others say about you?
• Does your communication support who you say you are?
• Consider all the roles you serve. Are you who you say you are in all of those areas?

These are impossible to answer without an understanding of what matters most. I took the time to define my personal mission statement, to become grounded in my beliefs setting a standard for my core values and then painting a Vision that puts this all into action.

What about you? Branding, is it personal?

More on the subject of Authenticity: Google – Truth Finder or Not? Authenticity