In his Fast Company article, Tom Peters wrote that this is ‘The Age of the Individual,’ and that everyone, from the receptionist to the CEO, must take charge of their own careers by becoming the CEO of The Brand Called You. That was back in 1987, and many people have already caught on, creating a very noisy space. But that means that it’s more important than ever to have your own personal brand as strong as possible.

• How do you determine your own personal brand? You answer the following questions: Who are you, who do you help, and how do you do it? This is the basis for people understanding if they’re interested in you, if they want to do business with you, or hire you. What is your brand telling them right now?
• There are a lot of people who don’t believe in personal branding. They believe that people shouldn’t be treated like ‘tubes of toothpaste,’ shouldn’t be packaged and neat and pretty, because it’s inauthentic. Yes, some people try to brand themselves in a way that isn’t authentic, but you might also consider personal branding as ‘reputation management.’ In fact, you already have a brand – or a reputation – whether you like it or not.
• Let’s dive into what a brand really is, and the definition is pretty simple. When someone says the name of a person or company, brand is the first thing that comes to mind. For example, saying Starbucks evokes the green goddess logo, along with coffee. Maybe for you, it’s ‘comfortable,’ ‘meeting place,’ or even ‘my reason for living.’ That is brand. Think about Apple – it evokes certain feelings for you, one way or another. Those feelings might not all be positive, and that’s important.
• In terms of people, Oprah is a brand and a person. She evokes both positive and negative thoughts. But here’s the important part: she communicates the positive aspects through her work. It’s the message she chooses to share, and it’s what makes her so incredibly successful. Martha Steward is another great example. Jailbird might come to mind, but below that, you have a woman who is a master at home and in the kitchen, and she shares it with the world.
• So what does all this mean for you and your personal brand? People want to be involved with others they like, have positive associations with, or promise something they want. That is true when you’re a job seeker, entrepreneur, author, or already employed and looking to rise within the company. Building authority and influence – and communicating it through your personal brand – helps you succeed with that.
• We mentioned that there’s a lot of noise and the professional and online world is very crowded. Which means that people, more than ever, are looking for others they resonate with. If you haven’t tended your brand, you’re setting yourself up for mediocrity. As Kary Oberbrunner said, “clarity attracts, and confusion repels.” If you don’t know who you are, what you have to offer, and how you can help others, neither will anyone else.
• You don’t need to ignore this lesson because of semantics. You can call it whatever you want: brand, reputation, story. Names aren’t important, but how you communicate with the world is. At the end of the day, people will have impressions about you, just like they do with Starbucks, Apple, and Oprah Winfrey. Would you rather have some degree of control over what those impressions are?

Want a little help creating your personal brand?

Jennifer has a free resource for you. The Personal Brand Workbook will help you figure out what your personal brand is today and what you want to be known for in the future, as well as how you want to impact the world. Download it today!

The Brand Called You – Fast Company

Impact Makers Episode 7 – How I Became A Speaker And Entrepreneur

SHRM Annual Conference

Society for Human Resource Management

Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy

Adam Grant

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

WorkLife with Adam Grant: A TED original podcast

Talent Magnet Institute podcast

Jennifer McClure – Personal Brand Workbook

Are you ready to meet the Oprah of HR? On today’s episode of Impact Makers, Jennifer sits down with the infamous HR wizard, Kris Dunn. He is the founder of two popular blogs The HR Capitalist and Fistful of Talent and is also the CHRO of Kinetix, an Atlanta-based recruiting, RPO and HR consulting firm.

• Where does the story of Kris Dunn start? Kris talks about his rural Missouri roots, the value of his basketball coaching experience, and the general arc of his career that led him to the HR world.
• For Kris, working in HR was where everything finally clicked into place. Jennifer asks Kris about how and why he knew that HR was the place for him. He shares with the audience the importance of mentorship that helped him find his path, and provides some practical advice on how to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
• At this point in his career, the Monday-to-Friday thoughts of Kris Dunn are read far and wide. But it wasn’t always so: Kris shares what spurred him to enter the world of blogging and what the early days were like before The HR Capitalist and Fistful of Talent started gaining traction.
• As one of the first well-known HR bloggers, Kris is known for his conversation tone, fun references, and an impressive 5-day-a-week schedule. Jennifer asks him how this consistency has played into the success of his blogging and writing endeavors.
• If you can manage to build and maintain a following of readers like Kris has, the potential for meeting new people and finding new opportunities skyrockets. Jennifer and Kris talk about the various relationships – both personal and professional – that have come about through blogging, as well opportunities for career advancement. Kris talks about how his blogging fit into his career at different points in his life.
• Is being an entrepreneur all it’s cracked up to be? Jennifer asks Kris about his feelings around entrepreneurship as someone who might not have founded a company, but had invested his family’s future in an existing business.
• No one starts or becomes a partner in a company just for the hell of it. Kris talks about a couple of the items on his entrepreneurial bucket list that he has been able to cross off while working at Kinetix.
• With all the blogging that Kris has done over the years, it seems like there is a collection of books just waiting to be written. Jennifer asks Kris about the possibility of writing a book in the future, his Boss Leadership Training materials notwithstanding. Jennifer and Kris also talk about their experiences as facilitators of the Boss Leadership Training.
• As an HR, recruiting and training professional, Kris has met all kinds of people in all kinds of fields. He passes on some advice for how to make an impression and build up your career in today’s working world. Here’s one for the road: Keep detailed records of your project work – professional or otherwise – and always be ready to bring it to the table to make a lasting impression.

Resources & Links:

Kris Dunn / The HR Capitalist

Kris Dunn LinkedIn

Kris Dunn Twitter

Kris Dunn Instagram

Kris Dunn Facebook

Fistful of Talent blog

Kinetix

Shannon Russo

Boss Leadership Training

Laurie Ruettimann

Impact Makers Episode 2 – The Thriving Contrarian With Laurie Ruettimann

William Tincup

Impact Makers Episode 5 – Radical Candor In Marketing With William Tincup

Tim Sackett

The Talent Fix: A Leader’s Guide To Recruiting Great Talent

Impact Makers Episode 15 – Rewire Yourself For Growth With Tim Sackett

Are you struggling with developing your personal brand?

You can now download Jennifer McClure’s Personal Branding Worksheet to help you ask and answer the right questions so you’re making the best impression.

Check out another trailblazing HR powerhouse!

HR expert Laurie Ruettiman hosts a podcast called Let’s Fix Work where she speaks with a diverse array of people about how to change the way we think and work for the better.

Give us a hand getting the word out!

Do you want to spend your personal and professional time making a lasting impact on others? Do you want to be the kind of leader people love? Subscribe today and we will bring you new ways to change the world every single week.

The old adage that preaches “to follow your dreams” might seem outdated in today’s precarious working world but get ready to meet a visionary that’s turning fantasy into reality. In this episode, Jennifer talks with Mary Miller, the CEO of a Cincinnati-based janitorial services company called Jancoa, and about their pioneering Dream Manager Program — and how to create a genuine culture of caring is a serious game changer for both employees and employers.

• First things first: Who is Mary Miller and what brought her to where she is today? The short answer? Herself! Tune in to hear more about how Mary went from being a bankrupt twice-divorced single mom with two kids to being the CEO and primary shareholder of Jancoa.
• When it comes to living a journey like Mary’s, there are lessons around every corner. Mary talks about what she learned from her past and how she applied it to her future.
• Here’s a taste of Mary’s philosophy of work: instead of keeping a laser focus on the task at hand and the money, making space for recognizing opportunities will take you to the next step.
• Mary brings her wealth of experience to her coaching with Strategic Coach, where she works with business owners and entrepreneurs. When talking to her clients about keeping an eye out for opportunity and growth, she uses a question developed by one of Strategic Coach’s founders Dan Sullivan: “If we were sitting here a year from now, what would have to happen for you to be really happy with your progress?”
• For Mary, intentionality in not only goal-setting but reflection that can give you the breathing room to check in with yourself and your efforts — and adjust if necessary. Mary sets aside one day per quarter to reflect on the last 90 days, specifically to track down lessons that can be applied in the future.
• How did The Dream Manager Program start at Jancoa? Mary talks about how the idea for the program sprouted out of their efforts to retain employees after chronic turnover problems.
• After meeting the best-selling author Matthew Kelly, Mary and her husband Tony – the founder of Jancoa – told him their story. Their program served as the backbone of the business fable featured in The Dream Manager book.
• For many of Jancoa’s employees, their dreams were about uplifting their family and future generations to come. Mary talks about how enabling this kind of success amounts to a culture-shifting endeavor.
• Let’s talk metrics: with their Dream Manager Program, Mary and Tony set out to create a workplace that makes people want to stick around. Mary discusses about the results of those efforts from a business perspective.
• Thanks to the Dream Manager Program, there are countless success stories that come out of Jancoa. Mary shares some of the highlights with us and talks about how as the business grew, the formal Program has transformed into a broader culture of caring that consistently attracts quality employees.
• Now that the second generation is overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company, Mary now travels for speaking engagements and coaching workshops. She talks about how her role as a CEO has her more occupied with questions of long term vision and workplace philosophy than ever before.
• Mary recently published a book about the backstory of The Dream Manager Program called Changing Direction: 10 Choices that Impact Your Dreams by Mary Miller. She talks about the first point: you’ll never get anywhere if you can’t learn to embrace change.
• So what’s next for Mary Miller? She talks about her speaking work and her own dreams to transform the lives of others and make an even bigger positive impact in the world. Mary also gives us some tips and links for resources to follow.

Resources & Links:

Mary Miller LinkedIn

Mary Miller Twitter

Mary Miller – Speaking

Strategic Coach – Mary Miller

Jancoa

The Dream Manager Program at Jancoa (Program)

Floyd Consulting

The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly (Book)

Changing Direction: 10 Choices that Impact Your Dreams by Mary Miller

Mike Sipple, Sr.

BucketList.org

Impact Makers Episode 1 – What Does It Mean To Be An Impact Maker?

Are you struggling with developing your personal brand?

You can now download Jennifer McClure’s Personal Branding Worksheet to help you ask and answer the right questions so you’re making the best impression.

Check out another trailblazing HR powerhouse!

HR expert Laurie Ruettiman hosts a podcast called Let’s Fix Work where she speaks with a diverse array of people about how to change the way we think and work for the better.

Give us a hand getting the word out!

Do you want to spend your personal and professional time making a lasting impact on others? Do you want to be the kind of leader people love? Subscribe today and we will bring you new ways to change the world every single week.

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Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

We all need other people in order to help us grow! Whether you’re looking for a job, a contact, promoting a service or looking to collaborate, there are many ways to go about it. In today’s episode, Jennifer shares some thoughts and pointers on how to network by building and maintaining relationships with generosity and respect.