by Karen P. Katz on November 10, 2009
The Reach Personal Branding group recently circulated a post that deserves wider circulation. William Arruda, a respected advocate for personal branding and co-author of Career Distinction, commented on a NYT piece by Thomas Friedman called, “The New Untouchables.”
Arruda makes the point that those who will survive and flourish during challenging times are those who can distinguish themselves – those who can become the purple cow in the herd of brown and white cows. As I prepare to meet MBA students who aspire to be the corporate and entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow (Net Impact Conference 11/13 & 11/14), it seems timely to extrapolate these words from William’s post:
As I see it, this is all about personal branding. What do you offer that is not available from anyone else? What emotional brand attributes do you add onto your competence that gets people excited about you? What unique talents and abilities put you in a class by yourself?
Will you make the case to a prospective employer that you understand their issues – that you are prepared to integrate your education, experience, and personal qualities in a plan that makes an overwhelming case for hiring and retaining you. Will you make yourself indispensable?
by Karen P. Katz on September 17, 2009
A new post on the Netshare.com newsletter offers yet another strong suggestion to employ S-W-O-T analysis as a job search tool. Since 2007, I have recommended this business analysis tool to my clients; now I am happy to suggest that clients check-out the S-W-O-T prompts posted by Katherine E. Simmons, President & CEO of Netshare.com. Ms. Simmons offers some fresh prompts that can help with brand clarification, e.g.:
Strengths:
* What advantages do you have? *What do you do better than anyone else? *What unique or low-cost resources do you have to offer? *What do others see as your strengths? *How do you help close the sale or reduce overhead?
Weaknesses:
* What areas can you improve? * What areas should you avoid? * What do peers in your market see as weaknesses? *Where do you fail when trying to close a sale or reduce costs?
Recently, I have recommend that candidates take the S-W-O-T analysis tool to the next level by applying it to their target companies. In other words, use S-W-O-T as the framework for company research, e.g.: [click to continue…]
by Karen P. Katz on February 12, 2009
This is an amazing opportunity for those whose entrepreneurial ideas are ready to launch, similar to the government's criteria for "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects.
Cuban offers venture capital to those who can meet his 13 criteria. The competition itself will spark innovative thinking; the process will be public, and therefore inspiring; the winning business plan may spark a stimulus of innovation. The time frame is NOW – its all about responsiveness and accountability.
Need help writing your business plan? If I can't help you, I'll find someone who can. Check-it-out…<http://tinyurl.com/djwbbu>
