Building Talent Brand & Influence

David Lipien, PMP, MCP

Today’s objectives

1. Enhance your understanding of branding and its purpose.

2. Identify factors that define talent/personal brand equity.

3. Consider the importance of engagement.

4. Identify characteristics of one's own current brand equity.

5. Learn how to determine, evaluate and evolve your talent/personal brand.

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Brands and their purpose

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"Branding" began as a mark of ownership, trust, and quality, and evolved into a more sophisticated symbol of

differentiation and identification in the post–World War II era...The Four Ages of Branding

Source: Interbrand: Top 5 Best Brands

What comes to mind when you hear….

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Jim Nance

Play-By-Play Broadcaster NFL, College Basketball, Golf

What comes to mind when you hear….

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Anthony Weiner

Politician and former U.S. representative who served in New York

We are all branded…like it or not

1. First impressions are formed within the first 15 seconds of meeting someone.

2. The way you present yourself; your communication style, talent, political savvy, etc., is just as important as your performance.

3. When we meet someone face-to-face, 93% of a first impression is from non-verbal data.

4. When your initial encounter is over the phone, 70% of perceived first impression is based on your tone of voice.

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The brand called YOU

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“Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen

to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are the

CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc.... To be in business today, our most

important job is to be the head marketer for the brand called You.... You are a

brand. You are in charge of your brand.... You need to think of yourself

differently..... Being CEO of Me, Inc. requires you to grow yourself, to promote

yourself, to get the market to reward yourself".

Tom Peters in Fast Company:

What is your brand….and is it what YOU want it to be

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Peter Drucker – Managing Oneself

What attributes do you want your brand to include?

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What are the elements of your “ME” Brand? Examples

Personality Style Curious Nature

Competent

Confident

Dependable/reliable

Core Values Commitment

Competency

Consistency

Health and Happiness

Integrity

Personal Presentation The way you dress

The way you talk, the way you walk

The appearance of your office

Your Written Presentation Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile

Your Presentations

Your Email and IM style

What attributes do you want your brand to include?

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What are the elements of your “ME” Brand? Examples

Leadership / Management Style Dynamic Leader, Reserved Leader, Collaborative, Authoritative Style

Hard Driver Approach

Performance Top Performer…will get it done

Solid Performer…willing to do what it takes

Profession Seller

Consultant

Leader

Industry Banking/Financial Markets

Insurance

Competency / Strong Skills / Education /Certification Industry Expert, Requirements Expert, PM, Architect

Strengths Personal Building Customer Relationships

Building High Performance Teams

So you have a brand – now what? Get Social!

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Forbes.com

Professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members per second.

Forbes.com

65% of B2B buyers learn about brands, products, or services on social media.

Lessons for building a strong profile

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Creating & curating content that supports the brand

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While curating is the fastest way to get started with building your talent brand, creating your own

original content enables you to be in complete control of what’s communicated and how. Here are a few

tips to remember as you start producing your own content (blog posts, videos, presentations).

Be conversational Keep it short Be visual Offer consumable tips A call to action

Write like you speak.

Keep it simple, direct

and friendly.

The longer your

content, the harder it

is to process.

Whether it’s a case

study, a status update,

or a blog post, bring

your content to life

with bold and relevant

images and videos.

Readers love easily

digestible Top 10 lists,

bullet points, and

clear tips. Make your

content easy to scan.

At the end, always ask

your audience a

question to provoke

comments or include

a call to action.

Source: LinkedIn, 5 Steps to Boosting Your Talent Brand Through Content, page 9, 2014

Share that content with the world

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Generating quality content is only half the battle: getting it in front of the right audience is equally important.

Source: LinkedIn, 5 Steps to Boosting Your Talent Brand Through Content, page 9, 2014

Platform Considerations Peak Activity

Professional-oriented social network, so photos from your

family vacation are better utilized elsewhere.

7:00 – 9:00 AM and

5:00 – 6:00 PM

Less professional focus and more news, entertainment-

oriented; 140-character limit and short life-span due to high

post volume.

1:00 – 3:00 PM

Growing a following takes time. Best used in conjunction

with LinkedIn, Twitter or embedded in a blog.

Tuesday and Wednesday

24 hours per day

Industry interview, video resume, video about a previous

firm/job or self created content.

12:00 – 1:00 PM

Build Trust and Drive Influence

“Leadership theorists nowadays stress authenticity, EQ and relationships. This makes intuitive sense. But it isn’t just a fad; there is a solid reason behind the shift. It is driven by changes in the world. Above all, it reflects the growing importance of trust.” - Charles Green

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1. Be skilled at trusting, because trusting and trustworthiness enhance each other.

2. Realize the role of the trustor is to take risks; the role of the trustee is to be trustworthy. When each is

good enough at their roles, a state of trust results. If either party falls down on the job, trust will

disappear.

3. Operate from a clear set of values and principles, because opportunistic or selfish motives are clearly

seen and rejected.

4. Be more intrinsically than extrinsically motivated.

5. Lead by influence – do not be dependent on direct authority or political power.

Source: Why Trust is the New Core of Leadership, Charles Green, Forbes.com, 2014

Change is the only constant

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1. Concepts from: “To Sell is Human”, Dan Pink, 2012

1. Building your brand is not a one-time event, but rather a constant investment in your professional self.

2. Your brand is only as good as the product – YOU.

3. Influence and trust are key in the world of digital currency – move from the old ABCs (always be closing) to the new 1:

a. Attunement - get out of your head and learn to see things from other’s perspectives.

b. Buoyancy - in business, you face a lot of rejection; "not a pond, an ocean" – get over it and move on.

c. Clarity - convince someone to buy YOU; identify the problem they're trying to solve, then explain how you can help.

David Lipien is a Director with Microsoft’s Premier Services, where he works with clients

to increase productivity, mitigate risk, and leverage IT for business success. He manages

a multi-million dollar portfolio of diverse technology delivery contracts that are

managed by Microsoft Application Development Managers for clients across industry

and technology domains. His specialties include internet-based technologies, object-

based project methodologies, release management and global delivery.

David is a PMI Certified Project Management Professional and Microsoft Certified

Professional (MCP), and holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business

Administration. He has also completed an Executive Management Program at the

Harvard Business School. David has published numerous articles in the IT and business

space. Prior to joining Microsoft, David had the pleasure and privilege of working at

AT&T and IBM.

dlipien@hotmail.com@davidlipienwww.linkedin.com/in/lipien/