Category Archives: Thought for the day

The Portable Personal Brand

By DavidSCohen | Published: July 10, 2009

Is your personal brand portable? Is your message easy for others to carry and spread?

Sometimes we get too caught up in our own message – we labor over the words, trying to get the nuance just so; making sure we get the essential essence of our value proposition; delving into details; artistically articulating skills, services and strengths… only to find out that everybody else refers to you as “the guy with the funny hat”, or “you know, that lady who sells real estate”, or “the dude with the stale coffee breath”.  It happens.  But there is a lesson to be learned here: if you show up often enough people will remember you, but are they remembering you for what you want or for what they find convenient?

What if you could combine the two?

The portable personal brand is about getting known in that straightforward, easy to identify, easy to remember way, but also in a way that points people toward your value.  You can’t do this with  a complex message: “Oh you know Dave, he’s the guy that went to art school after getting a math degree, and went on to startup companies and then built a career in marketing, blah blah blah…” It is too much. I can’t remember it all and I lived it, how can I expect someone else to carry all that info?  And even if they could what would they do with it all?   But if I give myself a label, “the brand therapist”, and tell people one thing I can do, “help people brand themselves to get more business” then maybe, just maybe someone might remember that.  Maybe then, when someone meets a person with a murky message who is not getting results, they  will say “Oh you should talk to Dave, the brand therapist, he can help you”.

Simplicity is portability, but there is a trade-off:  there is more I can offer, but I have to leave it out otherwise it is distracting and cumbersome. There is certainly more you can offer than will fit in a sentence or two, but it is unreasonable to expect people to remember it all.  And if it isn’t simple it won’t function as a trigger.  When you network you will meet great people who are willing to help you, don’t you owe it to them to make that job easier?  Equip them to help you with a simple way to understand your value. Build a portable personal brand that makes it a reflex to relay people to you who need your help.

Also posted in branding, Branding Thoughts, commentary, mad scribblings, networking, personal branding | Tagged , , | Comments closed

The Everest Question

By DavidSCohen | Published: May 30, 2009

There is a difference between getting great advice and getting the great advice that helps you get to where you want to go.  The key is to ask your Everest question.

So what’s the Everest question?  Let me explain.  I could walk up to you and say, “I’m 44 and I want to climb Mt. Everest, what should I focus on for the next couple of years?” and you’d probably be surprised, but after a pause you’d give me your best, well-reasoned, well-meant and practical advice. However, if instead I only asked, “I’m 44, what should I focus on for the next couple of years?” while I’m certain that I’d also get your best, well-reasoned, well-meant and practical advice – I’m equally certain that the subject of climbing Mt. Everest would simply never have come up.  Even hiking would have been a long shot. 😉

It is important for any business leader to seek counsel, but do yourself and your advisers a favor: if you have a burning desire, a vision, a big audacious goal that you simply have to reach, then don’t forget to include it when your asking for input.  And even though you respect the people you have gathered to give you guidance, don’t be shy about challenging them if their great advice isn’t moving you closer to your vision. They can’t help you climb your mountain if you don’t make it clear that the goal is to get to the top.

What’s your Everest question?

Also posted in commentary, mad scribblings | Comments closed

What are you doing to grow your business?

By DavidSCohen | Published: February 18, 2009

***Update: I wrote this post in early 2009, but I think the message is still relevant today, perhaps even more so.***

I can’t sleep because I’m worried about people falling off boats.

If you are clinging to the side of a ship while wearing a life preserver, you may take some small comfort in knowing that if you fall the vest will help get you back to the surface, but it doesn’t change the fact that you know in your bones that you’re going to get wet.

I think that’s how a lot of folks are feeling about the current state of the economy. We’re afraid of the plunge. We can get paralyzed simply grasping for something sensible to hold onto – Ok, so now we have a stimulus package, maybe that’s the life preserver, but if you’re already hanging over the wrong side of the rail it can’t keep you dry.

So what are you going to do? Just hang on tight and hope that a safety net comes in time? Not if you’re smart. The smart play is to scramble and climb back over onto the right side of the rail before your strength gives out.

Scramble. Climb. Grow. Get strong. Save the economy.

That’s right, save the economy. Why not you? It’s not like the government can do it alone. Besides, this is America. we are a community of scramblers and self-starters – and it is the small businesses like yours and mine that make the difference. When we grow the economy grows. While so many are asking “What can I do to hang onto my business?” the question I urge you to ask of yourself and your colleagues is “What are you doing (even now) to grow your business?” Even now. Especially now.

It is easy to fall into the recession mindset. Easy to look only at cutting costs, saving the bottom line, but if you make the effort to keep this question in mind, “What are you doing (especially now) to grow your business?” you can change that mindset – and change your results. Ask the question every day. Especially now.

This isn’t about being reckless. The fact is that some prudent pruning might be just what the doctor (or accountant) ordered, but don’t just cut for the sake of cutting. Trim a weak branch if it will help a tree to grow, but trim too much and everything withers. The point that I think is essential is to keep this idea of growth top of mind. Sure, it is unapologetically optimistic, but it also implies keeping an eye out for opportunity. It is a reminder to keep planting seeds. The concept of asking for growth despite the tide is a deliberate challenge. To meet that challenge takes creativity, cooperation and bold execution – all good muscles to flex for any business – especially now.

So what are you doing to grow your business? Ask yourself. Ask your neighbor. And let me know when the conversation goes to “What can we do together?”

Also posted in commentary, mad scribblings | Tagged , , | Comments closed

You Can't Swim on Dry Land

By DavidSCohen | Published: March 18, 2008

Scuba Bunny

Have you ever tried to walk across the bottom of the deep end of a swimming pool? It may have been fun bouncing along under the surface, but you certainly didn’t get anywhere very fast. What works very efficiently on dry land is almost completely ineffectual under the water.

Now imagine trying to swim down a sidewalk. Sounds painful doesn’t it? Without the buoyancy you would just grind in place. Change your medium and what was once an asset can become a liability, a successful tactic might just be limiting your progress or bringing it to a grinding halt.

I’m a big believer in paying attention to context, what works in print may not work in radio. What works on the radio, might not work for TV. The big new swimming pool is social media. Not every marketing tactic is going to work the same in the social web. Some old standbys may not work at all. Trying too hard to control the message and interrupting people will leave you bouncing in one place running out of air. Sharing, educating, listening and participating seem to be the better strokes in these new waters.

Also posted in Branding Thoughts, commentary, context, mad scribblings, social media | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Setting expectations

By DavidSCohen | Published: November 8, 2007

We TryWhether we realize it or not, the actions we take are measured against expectations created by our brand. In some cases this can be a slippery slope. Consider the deliberately expectation-setting tag line for Avis car rental service, “We Try Harder” – certainly this phrase leads to an assumption that the service from Avis will reflect more effort than their competitors. We infer that the extra effort will result in better service. It’s a memorable phrase, and a noble goal, but is it good branding? That depends on the follow-through of every Avis employee you meet. If the company culture promotes a positive, service-focused, can-do attitude across the board, then yes, this is good branding. If however, the trend is to have service that is poor, attitudes that are uncaring, or worse, surly, then the brand message collapses under the weight of the failure to live up to the expectations created in the mind of consumers. In the age of the blogosphere, disconnects between promise and follow-through can be rapidly exposed. The lesson boils down to “walk your talk.”

Since Avis has used the “We Try Harder” line for a long time now I will gladly assume that it has been a fair reflection of their actual brand experience. However, not every tag line is so overt in the expectations it sets. What promises does your branding imply? And do you deliver on those expectations?

Also posted in Branding Thoughts, commentary | Tagged , , | Comments closed

"Don't be humble, you're not good enough."

By DavidSCohen | Published: October 29, 2007

No, I’m not picking on you, I’m quoting an old mentor of mine, Archie Rand. Archie is an artist and teacher and walking encyclopedia of art history (and music history for that matter). I don’t know if the line is his originally, but it is a gem I’ve hung on to for over 17 years, since I was a long-haired MFA candidate with more paint on my clothes than on my canvases. And no, Archie wasn’t picking on me either – he was giving me a gift, and in a way paying me a compliment. His point was that none of us is so good that we should just rest on our laurels or risk being passed over for the sake of mere modesty. Think about the most talented, successful people on the planet – what do they have in common? A publicist.

“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” That’s a risky strategy when Inferior-Mousetraps-R-Us has a weekly newsletter, a larger sales force, better distribution, and a keynote at the next cheddar cheese conference. No matter how talented you are, no matter how top-notch your team, or how world-beating your business process is, a little self-promotion, a gentle reminder, even a bit of selective bragging can do you a world of good. Think first: think about who you are, how you want to be perceived, how you bring value and can genuinely benefit the customers you serve, but don’t think you’re doing anything wrong by telling people about your skills, experience and successes.

And if you find yourself the target of praise (lavish or otherwise) don’t be the one “who dost protest too much.” Instead, take the advice of another sage, my late grandmother: “Say thank you, and sit down.”

Also posted in Branding Thoughts, networking | Tagged , , | Comments closed