Tag Archives: Professional Development

Why Branding Makes Decision Making Easier

Daily you are faced with choices. Where I should go? What should I do? How should I do it? The answer to these questions establishes your priorities? When you don’t have a clear understanding of who you want to be in the marketplace, the choices are endless overwhelming and costly.

The branding process can eliminate the confusion and overwhelm. Whether you deliberately create a brand for a product, business, or for personal and professional development, here’s what you can expect:

1. A process that provides focus to your daily activities and behaviors.

2. A vision that guides your decisions, helping to alleviate some of the stress associated with making decisions.

3. A platform to focus and market your skill sets and receive compensation accordingly.

4. Greater negotiation power when signing contracts, getting a new job and interacting with a loved one.

5. People talking–creating buzz about you that expands your network and opportunities.

Additionally, what you may find most fascinating about going through the branding process is being awakened to the many human conditions that adversely affect our world, becoming aware of how you’ve been directly connected to a specific problem for a long time, and discovering how your experiences prepared you to address that problem.

Are you looking for a fool-proof guide on how to establish your own brand, find your own invaluable skills and emerge victorious in an ever-changing business world. Whether you are looking for a way to take your personal business to the next level, market your unique skill set or build lasting, meaningful relationships, The Bridge to Your Brand Likability, Marketability, Credibility will  help you identify, plan and achieve your goals. And if you want to learn how to create buzz, visit www.srenee.com to receive my FREE 90-minute audio course.

Copyrights 2018 All Rights Reserved S. Renee Smith.

Position Yourself: Employment Opportunities Will Never Be the Same

The Internet has leveled the playing field and literally opened the market giving us access and innovative, exciting ways to find employment, build businesses, and connect with family, friends, clients, and, yes, even strangers. YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, ODesk, Twitter, and other business development and social networking sites have broken the chains of tradition, becoming gateways to accessing a vibrant buying, selling, and hiring marketplace.

In addition, the new economic, political, and social climate is inspiring us to swiftly redefine our passions and priorities and how we express them. The workplace as we have known it is rapidly transitioning; creating an open market. A corporation no longer has to hire a person on their native soil to get work done. They can literally hire someone in another country to make and receive calls, build and update their websites, and solve technical difficulties.

Subsequently, forward-thinking leaders are shifting company cultures and projecting how to best attract, recruit, and retain the most dynamic trailblazers of upcoming decades. These leaders are looking for responsible partners not employees. The partners come fully loaded with utilizable intellectual property and presence that adds value to the organization’s goals and direction. The partners come knowing that they are knowledgeable, but don’t know it all. Therefore, they’re open to growth through experience and learning centers—books, internal and external development workshops, and industry conferences and forums.

In the ever-changing, extremely competitive marketplace—in addition to slaying micro-managed leadership styles that squash creativity and risk-taking—a well-rehearsed, staged presentation that fits what you think leadership is looking for is not going to fly anymore. Therefore, an image that mirrors leadership is no longer a guarantee for success. If they already have one, why do they need another? You have to give them a logical reason to want to pay the big bucks for you! And unlike the last several decades where showing up for work on time, keeping your mouth shut and doing your job secured rewards, career advancement now depends on innovation, intellectual property, and value proposition.

ARE YOU OUT OF STYLE? What you should know that leadership isn’t telling you.

In the ever-changing, extremely competitive marketplace—in addition to slaying micro-managed leadership styles that squash creativity and risk-taking—a well-rehearsed, staged presentation that fits what you think leadership is looking for is not going to fly anymore. Therefore, an image that mirrors leadership is no longer a guarantee for success. If they already have one, why do they need another? You have to give them a logical reason to want to pay the big bucks for you! And unlike the last several decades where showing up for work on time, keeping your mouth shut and doing your job secured rewards, career advancement now depends on innovation, intellectual property, and value proposition.

Get this: According to Google, Googlers (the term used to describe employees of Google) “thrive in small, focused teams and high-energy environments, believe in the ability of technology to change the world, and are as passionate about their lives as they are about their work.” Notice how they describe their environment as high energy. This is what we used to call fast-paced environments. Fast-paced describes a behavior that leads to a mindset. The mind is often overwhelmed, confused, and frustrated because its environment is controlling its thought process. High-energy describes a mindset that leads to a behavior. In this case, the mindset is already established prior to entering the workplace. It is focused, creative, and free to make decisions. Big difference, wouldn’t you say?

Also, take note of the statement that they are as passionate about their lives as they are about their work. This means that their work doesn’t create their life, their life creates their work. When your life mirrors your work then you are living your passion at home and at work. When your work mirrors your life you are trying to make your life fit the work. This path has led to a lot of unhappy people. In the past, our work defined us. When the shift came we were given permission to define our work by bringing our experiences, creativity, and passion to our jobs. As Rick Warren, bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life was urging us nearly a decade ago to find and live a purposeful holistic lifestyle. Read more 

©2011 All rights reserved. The Bridge to Your Brand Likeability, Marketability, Credibility will be available in paperback beginning August 15, 2011. Pre-order your copy today.