Branding Yourself in a competitive world.

I got this book from Bookxcess. It was relatively cheap. Bought it without much thought.

I was mainly curious about how to build brands with a good reputation (or personal brand for that matter). This book was a delight.

I read this book a while back, I’m writing this based on my recall.

Here’s the key takeaways

The key formula for Reputation relies on 3 fundamental things, how we behave, who is in our network and what we tell people.

Behaviour

• What we are and do on a daily basis.
• If we only talk and pay attention to politics without joining any political party, then we could be perceived as all talk, no walk.
• Behaviour is also how we react to things. We could flip the table or brush it off like it doesn’t matter or be totally indifferent to the topic all together.
• We could take it lightly and add comedic twists to enraging topics.
• Be a good person. Be a good brand.
• What kind of person/brand do you want to be remembered as?

Network

• Who are we connected to?
• Networks are kind of like circles. Who are we close to, and what kind of influence we have on them.
• Circle plays an important role that shapes us. The wrong group can have a negative impact on your reputation. E.g. gossip groups. Which drains energy to talk about ‘small stuff’ and petty matters.
• In a small family, when we’re known to tell lies, then it’s very unlikely for other members to trust our story.
• We all wear mask. In different social construct we are different people. E.g. How I act to my wife is different from how I act to my friends.
• Find a network that shares the same pain and dream.
• Get out from toxic group. They will only suck the energy out of you. 
• When you’re in a group, do participate. Don’t be an outcast and imposter.
• For brands, it could be community that you build (that’s why most Marketing books promotes this other than reducing cost of reach).

Narrative

• Control your narrative. What do you really do for a living?
• As Naval put it, no one will value you more than you value yourself.
• Have an elevator pitch: What problem you solve, how you do it and who do you serve. 
• In some network, you don’t have to pitch what you do. Tell them your occupation.
• Tech has made it possible for us to share our thoughts, which in term becomes our narratives.
• Think twice before posting something negative.
  We are what we write.
  We write what we say.
  We say what we think.
  What we think is who we are.
  It only takes one mistake to suffer bad PR, back lash.
• Be yourself. Don’t buy into anon unless you’re planning a shady move.

It's an ok book. I wasn't mind blown (nor was I expecting it). Perfect if you're trying to position yourself in the market for Personal Branding.