How Passion Could Damage Your Personal Brand

I am not what I would call a particular fan of 'celebrity' but I do find celebrity fascinating.

Just like you and me, celebrities have personal brands. Some even have two: one for the stage and another for when they're at home on the sofa drinking Milo, wearing ill-matching socks.

Where personal branding is of special interest to me, is when a so-called celebrity deviates from his or her usual guise.

Adele, a usually well-behaved and feminine singer, was 'caught out' yesterday making an obscene one fingered gesture at the Brit Awards.




On the face of it, such a mistake could be quickly forgotten and her 'brand' remain untarnished. Yet undoubtedly, a simple slip like this could also come back to haunt her.

In itself, a two second one fingered 'salute' might not damage Adele's image but the subconscious residue that lingers very well might.

When doubt is thrown over a current perception you have it means you question whether you 'had it right' in the first place. It also leads you to be on the lookout for further evidence to support the new perception.

What are your thoughts?

- Have you made a comment or gesture you later regretted?
- Or perhaps a comment or gesture that was out of character?
- What was the result?

Rebecca

Why Your Current Career Plan is Failing You

Watch this tip on video!

If you want to get ahead in your career in 2012 it's vital that you have a plan. It shouldn't be complicated - this is actually why most plans fail.

In fact it's far better if it's not. Here's a 4 Step process sure to take you to the top!

STEP 1
First up, think about your BHAG for the year. What's a BHAG? A Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

Your BHAG might have nothing to do with work. Perhaps your BHAG, like my friend Lisa, is to run a marathon in 2012.

Maybe you want to be promoted at work.

Whatever your BHAG, think BIG and think AUDACIOUS!

STEP 2

Next, ask yourself what 3 outcomes you absolutely need to ensure to see your BHAG is met. Say your goal, as it is for many of our clients, is to get promoted this year. Your three outcomes might be to:

1. Ensure I am known to key senior decision makers

2. Have an opinion and make sure it is heard in meetings

3. Find out what POs (performance outcomes) I need to meet to enable me to argue my case for a promotion

STEP 3

Create a table with your three outcomes in the left column. Then divide your table into 4 columns with each one representing a quarter (January-March for example).

STEP 4

Lastly, decide on what actions you need to take each quarter to ensure each of your outcomes is met... and stick your plan somewhere obvious, where you'll see it every day.

And then TAKE ACTION! Without that, you have nothing!

Is Your Gut Taking a Back Row Seat in Your Decision Making?

Intuition is something we all have. It could be described as a 'gut feeling' or 'a natural instinct'. It's what makes you feel uncomfortable when you're in the company of someone you really can't stand!

Okay, so now we all agree as to what intuition is we now all need to agree to use it more often!

A Neon Zebra is an individual who stands firm. She is committed to defending her own opinion and trusting her gut feel.

Think about the situations where you trust your intuition and consider too the times when you don't.

* Is there a pattern?

* Do you question yourself more around particular people for instance?

* Do you buckle more easily under pressure or greater stress?

* Notice when you are more likely to hesitate or procrastinate about making a decision. What are the patterns here too?


The greater awareness you have about how you do things means you can make a choice to 'do things' differently next time!

- Rebecca

Do You Need Technology To Be Successful?

I am what you might call a 'technological laggard': I am super slow to adopt anything new.

I was buying a Discman (for CDs) when the Mini-disc Player came out.

I was buying a Mini-disc Player when the iPod came out.

I never bothered getting an iPod; I am still satisfied playing CDs on my ghetto blaster.

An interesting survey I recently read points out that women who embrace technology are 'more likely to be highly successful'.

I suppose this means that technology makes life easier and allows us women to get even more done, even more efficiently than we would do without it.

I don't have an iPhone (go figure) but I do have a Blackberry... which I adore. And I must say, it does enable me to get more done... and makes me even more efficient than I was before the said smartphone graced my world.

But perhaps success isn't about 'productivity' or 'efficiency'. Perhaps it's about having more time to spend doing all the other stuff in my life once I've got all my work done.

What do you think?
Does technology make you more 'successful'?
And what does 'success' mean here?

All comments welcome!

- Rebecca

Why Roger Federer Is Not A Champion

There you go - I said I wasn't an avid Australian Open fan and here I am posting comment on it for the second time in a week. Perhaps these late night viewings are helped by the fact that I've now got a newborn in the house?! Yes, you read it correctly... I am posting this at 425am!

You've got to hand it to them - Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal certainly know how to put on a show.

The point I want to make here echoes the observations I made a couple of days ago about the Li Na vs Clijsters fixture...

Mental toughness is what wins you matches.

Federer is without a doubt the most gifted technical tennis player the world has ever seen. His achilles heel? His mind.

Tonight he played Nadal in the semi-final and at 9pm the fireworks (to mark Australia Day) erupted over the Rod Laver stadium. There was a break in play.

Having won the first set 7-6, Federer came back after the break a different player.

His focus was off. His famous backhand (and equally famous forehand) were failing him and as fate would have it, all the luck was going Nadal's way.

Whilst Nadal loudly celebrated every point he won (even the ones at 15 love), Federer became even more silent and brooding.

It wasn't his game that led Federer to lose the match, it was his mind.

Mindsets win matches.

Your mindset is no different. It can be a phenomenal asset or a devastating hindrance. And here's the really interesting part:

- There may be a limit to the level of skill you can attain (let's face it, we can't all be as good as Federer)
- But you have TOTAL control of your mindset

The difference between Federer and Nadal is simple:

- Federer values 'skill set' most highly.
- Nadal values 'positive mindset no matter what' most highly. The result? His competitive advantage.

In my view, Nadal's got it right.

What do you think?

- Rebecca

A Lesson from Tennis: Believe in Your Own Convictions

For the first time ever, I've been quite engrossed by the Australian Open, watching a number of matches over the last few days (I'm more of a Wimbledon-once-a-year sort of tennis viewer).

But last night, there was a gripper.

All the hopes of China rested on Li Na, the only professional tennis player ever to have represented China and her opponent, Kim Clijsters was back from retirement and also battling a serious ankle injury.

By the end of the second set it looked like Li had it in the bag, achieving four consecutive match points.

Having been behind throughout the entire match, Clijsters surprised everyone by defending each of those points before going on to breaking Li's serve twice and then convincingly winning the next set and therefore the match.

So where did it all go wrong for Li?

Well to sum it up in two words, she had a mental meltdown.




Li speedily transitioned from being comfortably ahead; acting decisively; and going for difficult shots to questioning her judgment and making a series of unforced errors.

Noticeably she also began to listen to the advice shouted to her from the sidelines - her husband (who doubles up as her coach) began encouraging her to challenge line calls which she wouldn't normally have queried.

His judgment was proven wrong twice and, due to the fact a player has a limited number of valuable challenges they can make, this only added to Li's frustration and dwindling focus.

Isn't it interesting how people question theiur own judgment more readily when under pressure?

'Are other people right and therefore I am wrong?'
'Am I on the right track?'

Having presence of mind is vital when building your powerful personal brand and learning to trust your own intuition - whatever the pressure - is a skill that will absolutely help your self-certainty soar.

When have you stood firm and trusted your intuition under testing cirumcumstances? I'd love to see your comments!

- Rebecca

Words I Like: EXPERIMENT

I'm in the midst of reading Timothy Ferriss' "The 4 Hour Workweek" full of ideas and strategies to live life and run a business more efficiently.

The word 'experiment' comes up often. I like it. I think it should be used more often in conversation.

When coaching, the concept of having 'the' right answer rears its ugly head time and time again with different clients:

"What if I don't have the right answer? I'll sound stupid."
"What if I say the wrong thing? I'll look like a monkey."

Fears like these are commonplace so if you see yourself saying either of the above, you can rest safe in the knowledge that you're not alone. That said, it doesn't mean that either statement is likely to propel you forwards.

Let's re-wind the clock.

Think back to being young. Remember how wonderful it was to have no woes. At age 5 the biggest worry you'll have had was whether or not to wear blue or white shoes.

These were days of play. Of experience. Of learning. At this age we were content seeing how things worked, how they could be broken and put back together again.

- We were okay if the building blocks fell over. We just built them up again.

- We were okay if we said the wrong word. We just saw it as an opportunity to learn.

- We were okay if we made chocolate chip cookies with pink icing on top. We just saw it as a means to get more sugar in our bellies.

We were EXPERIMENTING. And not only was it 'okay' - it was also a heap of fun.

Here's a thought: give yourself permission to experiment. To play. To get things 'wrong' and see the funny side.

Life and work are so much more fun when we get curious and choose to experiment rather than seeking the truth or the 'right' answer. Who knows? You might uncover something even better.

Mmmm ... Choc chips cookies with pink icing ... I could be onto something!

- Rebecca