Jennifer McClure`

Equipping people leaders to navigate change — and design the future — with boldness and purpose.

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My Fascination Advantage® Is The Veiled Strength – What’s Yours? [free assessment]

Do you know what makes you fascinating? What draws people to you and differentiates you from others in your profession or industry?

How To Fascinate Graphic

[Want to know how you “fascinate” the world? Read to the bottom of this post and get your code to take a free assessment!]

As a self-proclaimed “Assessment Junkie”, I love the idea of answering a few questions, and within just a few minutes, being presented with a multi-page report that gives me all of the answers I’ve ever wanted to know about myself.

Well, not exactly.

But I do enjoy taking assessments to find new and different ways to understand how I best communicate with the world and where I can add the most value.

That’s why I was intrigued when I first heard Sally Hogshead talk about her new book and the research behind How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination on a recent podcast with Brian Kelly called What The Speak.

Since I’m currently doing some work to clarify my brand and product/service offerings, I bought Sally’s book and read it over the July 4th holiday weekend. I also took the related Fascination Advantage® Assessment, which is billed as the first personality assessment developed based upon the science of branding, rather than psychology. Unlike traditional tests (Meyers-Briggs or StrengthsFinder) this assessment doesn’t measure how you see the world, it measures how the world sees you.

Interesting.

So I took the assessment and was intrigued by the results. I like the detail in the 16-page report, the information shared about all 49 Archetypes, and the explanatory videos that were included as part of the assessment results.

By the way, my Archetype is called “The Veiled Strength” and below is a snapshot of my primary, secondary and dormant advantages, as well as 3 words that others might use to describe me.

Pretty interesting stuff.

At A Glance Fascination Advantage

 

Want to understand more about how others see you and how you can discover your highest value?

Great!

I’ve got a free code for the 5-minute assessment (normally $37) for the first 100 (update: now 500) people that use it. Just go to HowToFascinate.com/YOU and enter [BL-jmcclure] minus the brackets in the Book Code box.

After you’ve had a chance to review your report and take it all in, please take a moment to briefly share your Archetype and what you think about your results with me in the Comments section. I’d love to hear from at least one person for each Archetype!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Fascination Advantage® and how you can create your own Anthem using the information, share it with your clients and colleagues and even use it to improve the work of your team, be sure to get Sally Hogshead’s new book How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination.

I really enjoyed it, and I think you will too!

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Creating a Value-Based Positioning Statement

As a speaker, consultant or business owner, have you struggled with how to position yourself in the marketplace in order to create demand and eliminate the need to compete based upon price?

To solve these common problems, you have to begin by answering some fundamental questions.

Last week, the National Speakers Association (NSA) held its annual convention in San Diego, California, and although I was unable to attend in person, they did provide some of the sessions via live stream, which was a great opportunity to learn from some of the industry’s best speakers, authors and consultants.

One of my favorite sessions was from Hall of Fame Speaker and The Million Dollar Consultant® – Alan Weiss. I’ve long been a Fan of Mr. Weiss’ advice and approach. His Million Dollar Speaking: The Professional’s Guide to Building Your Platform book was one of the first that I read after starting my business in 2010. It’s full of great advice, examples and tips not only related to the business of speaking, but how to become an in-demand expert through effective positioning in the marketplace.

In his 75-minute talk at #NSA14 – “Million Dollar Positioning: How to Position Yourself as the Expert” – Mr. Weiss shared the basics of creating a Positioning Statement/Value Statement to convey expertise, value delivery and ultimately price in a crowded and noisy marketplace.

Figure out what you love – and what you’re best at. Take everything else away.

When you’re working at your best and highest value, you’re creating a great piece of art. And to create the great work of your life, you have to find what you love to do – and what you’re great at – and then carve away everything else.

It’s rumored that when asked how he carved out the amazingly beautiful and intricate David from a big square block of marble, Michelangelo replied, “I just took away everything that wasn’t David.”

Creating an effective and artful Positioning Statement is no different. Cull away things that aren’t really you or that you aren’t enthusiastic about so you can create your masterpiece.

Tell people how they’ll be better off after working with you.

Your Positioning Statement needs to answer these questions for your potential buyer:

How will you improve them?

What is the real value that you bring?

Ideally, you’re approach will be a bit edgy and provocative, and show that you think a bit differently. That way, your audience will want more – and because what you offer is unique, they’ll be willing to pay more to get it.

Position yourself as an Expert – not as a Speaker, Author, Consultant

There are hundreds and thousands of speakers, authors, consultants, etc. in the world, which means there is plenty of choice.

Buyers don’t want to hire just anyone, they want to hire experts. And if you’re not considered “The Expert”, you’re just a commodity – and you’ll always be treated as such in terms of price and opportunity.

Don’t just be a “delivery alternative” in your industry or profession. Be The Expert – which means you’ll need to create new and unique ideas, products and services that separate you from the rest.

Tip: Once you determine your area of expertise, you can then determine how to deliver it, but don’t mix in methodology in your Positioning Statement.

For example, don’t say: “Through coaching and consulting I create change that impacts strategic objectives.”

That kind of statement isn’t unique or compelling, and it doesn’t answer the most important question: “After I walk away from you, how will I be better off because I met you?”

Effective Position Statements: Examples

“I help small business owners accelerate their business and lead a fabulous life.”

“I help you to reduce stress so you can make rational and powerful decisions about your life.”

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Always opinionated and full of great one-liners, Mr. Weiss (@BentleyGTCSpeed on Twitter) also reeled off some great quotes during his presentation – and all of which just happened to be less than 140 characters. (Check them out below, and if you like one or more, just click the link to tweet it out!)

“Wealth isn’t money. Wealth is discretionary time. You can always make another dollar, but you cannot make another minute.” @BentleyGTCSpeed

“The greatest damage to excellence is from the pursuit of perfection.” @BentleyGTCSpeed

“Self-esteem is an action that creates self-confidence. You have to work on it everyday. Tell yourself what you do well.” @BentleyGTCSpeed

“Confidence is the belief you can help other people. Arrogance is the belief that you have nothing to learn yourself.” @BentleyGTCSpeed

I really enjoyed the session and took plenty of notes to take action and implement in my own expertise branding journey. And I appreciate the National Speakers Association for making this session available. I’d love to attend the event in-person next year!

Question: What’s your Value Statement? Share it with me in the Comments section. I’d love to learn from you and help others find your expertise!

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The HOW and WHY of LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook For Business [Webinar Series]

I get to do many cool things in my job at Unbridled Talent, but one of the best things about my job is the opportunity to travel around and meet professionals who are interested in learning more about how to grow their professional careers or how to implement best practices to improve their company’s performance.

In addition to working with business leaders to define and implement people strategies required to achieve business objectives, I’ve had the opportunity to speak at over 150 conference events, corporate workshops, association meetings and webinars – often about how to utilize social media for career development, why social media matters for business and how to utilize social media tools and resources in Human Resources and Recruiting.

LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

I love my job.

But even though LinkedIn recently reached it’s 10th anniversary, Facebook has turned 9 and Twitter has crossed the 7 year mark, many people are still confused about or unaware of how to best utilize social media tools as business and professional resources. It’s not uncommon for me to talk with someone after an event where the person relates something similar to, “I was skeptical that using social media was something that I (or my organization) needed to do and I didn’t understand it, but now, I believe that it is – and I can!” Best. Feedback. Ever.

And it’s ok.

That’s one of the reasons why Laurie Ruettimann* and I are teaming up to offer a series of upcoming webinars to help business professionals, human resources pros and talent acquisition geeks understand the HOW and WHY of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook – and we’d love for you to join us!

We realize that many of you may not be inclined to attend a conference to learn more about how to use LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook and you also may not have the time or budget resources to do so. So we’re coming to you – in your offices, your cubicles or out on your back deck – via a series of 90 minute webinars to share what we’ve learned about using social media to cultivate awareness, develop your brand/your employer brand and effective ways to nurture both consumer and employment leads in the marketplace.

So here’s the scoop (click on the links for full session descriptions and for registration):

After doing webinars for other companies for years, many of whom charged quite a bit of money, we’d like to offer these webinars at an affordable price ($37 each or $99 for all three) and we’ll also provide everyone who registers with a free toolkit after each webinar that includes a copy of the slide deck, a recording of the webinar and a resource sheet with links to learn more from leading social media resources.

Not available during the specific dates or times? No worries. The webinars will be recorded for access at any time and you’ll still receive the toolkit!

Why are we doing this now? Because we want to help you and we want to share what we’ve learned from years of working as entrepreneurs, recruiters and human resources professionals along with our experience working in a variety of industries – both within corporate America and as external consultants working with some of the best leaders and companies in the world.

Have a question about the webinars or what’s in it for you? Let me know in the comments or you can find both Laurie and I on the interwebs via

LinkedIn – Laurie Ruettimann / LinkedIn – Jennifer McClure

Twitter – Laurie Ruettimann / Twitter – Jennifer McClure

Facebook – Laurie Ruettimann / Facebook – Jennifer McClure

Or just go old school and send me an email!

If you know someone who could benefit from one, two or all three of these webinars, please share this information with your colleagues or clients!

*True story. Laurie is my favorite Cynical Girl, Pixie of the Apocalypse, cat lover and thinker/agitator in the world of work. We “met online” years ago when I found her Punk Rock HR blog, so when we actually met for the first time in person at the 2009 SHRM Annual Conference, we were already BFF’s. Ultimately, Laurie has been one of the most helpful people to me in developing my business and my speaking career and is firmly ensconced in the Unbridled Talent President’s Club. See? Using social media to build real relationships and to grow your business can definitely work!

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Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of recruiting & human resources strategy, employment branding and leadership/career development. We offer keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.

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Why Personal Branding Is Important for Career Development in HR – #NextChat

Personal Branding. The phrase that doesn’t want to die.

Personal Branding and Human Resources. Not like peanut butter and chocolate. Or is it?.

We can blame Tom Peters for starting the whole personal branding thing way back in 1997 with his article – “The Brand Called You” in Fast Company Magazine – , but the phrase really came into its own in the latter part of the last decade as technology and social media provided everyone from underdogs to big dogs the opportunity to better manage their careers, get noticed and reach a global audience if desired.

One of the first talks that I gave as a “professional” Speaker way back in 2007 was at a women’s professional networking group on the topic of “Personal Branding For Career Success” – and I’ll be delivering a 1/2 day workshop on the same topic this weekend for MBA students at Xavier University. The concept of defining and developing your Personal Brand remains an important topic for career management. And if you’re working in Human Resources, that goes for you and your professional counterparts too! Even if you don’t want to think so.

To understand more about how the concepts of Personal Branding can help you as an HR Pro, I’d like to invite you to join me and the good folks from SHRM | We Know Next today, September 12th, at 3pm ET for a “Twitter chat” about Personal Branding and why it’s important for HR pros. You can participate in, or follow the “chat” on Twitter  via the hashtag – #Nextchat. (New to Twitter chats? Learn more here – How to Participate in a Twitter Chat.)

Have questions? We’ll attempt to answer them. Have input or expertise? I’d love to hear from you. Think this Personal Branding thing is the greatest thing since sliced bread – or a bunch of hooey? I definitely want you to share your thoughts!

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For more details on tomorrow’s #Nextchat, check out the SHRM – We Know Next blog – Nextchat: “Why Personal Branding Is Important for Career Development in HR” – September 12, 2012 @ 3pm ET

If someone were to ask you to write down what you believe your “personal brand” is today, what would you write?  Are you excited about it?  Does it really describe your character, personality and passions?

In today’s competitive labor market, building a personal brand with a strong online presence is critical to your career, so it’s important to prioritize and identify ways to get noticed inside and outside of the office. There is tremendous value in personal branding and in the concepts of understanding who you are and being able to communicate your value, as well as to articulate what differentiates you from others in your field.

Whether you know it or not, people have a perception of you — and you need to take control of that.

Join us at 3 p.m on 9/12 for #Nextchat with Jennifer McClure of Unbridled Talent.  We’ll discuss the ways a busy HR pro can accomplish building their Personal Brand.

Q1. Why is personal branding so important for career development in HR?

Q2. How can HR pros use social media to help create and promote their personal brand?

Q3. Is face to face networking still important to creating a personal brand? Why?/why not?

Q4. What are the best ways that busy HR pros can develop a personal brand with limited time and on a limited budget?

Q5. How can developing a personal brand aid your career as an HR pro?

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Personal Branding For Career Growth & Success [Presentation]

Last week, I once again had the privilege of speaking to a group of over 50 women who have been selected for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s WE Lead Program. This was the 3rd year in a row that I’ve had the opportunity to share with the participants in this 10 month leadership development program about the importance of Personal Branding in today’s competitive employment environment.

It’s always a pleasure to spend time with highly talented women with such high potential and I really enjoy the conversation and feedback that happens as a result!

In my “Personal Branding for Career Success” session, the participants are initially asked to write a few words or statements describing what they believe their Personal Brand is today, as well as what they’d like for it to be (assuming that is different). Then, we work as a group to get that message into a a succinct Personal Brand Statement for each individual that they can utilize as a base for building a strong online presence, focusing their career activities and even prioritizing and identifying ways to get noticed within and outside of work.

I’ve included the presentation deck from last week’s presentation below.

Personal Branding for Career Growth – Feb 2012
Personally, I’m a bit over the term “personal branding”, but I do still see tremendous value in the concepts of understanding who you are and being able to communicate your value, as well as to articulate what differentiates you from others in your field. Clearly, many of the participants did as well, as evidenced by some of their comments:
“This was a fascinating topic. Hadn’t thought a lot about doing personal branding, but see how it fits with career and work. She was very organized with presentation, handouts, small group activity and content was great.”
“Excellent, but I left feeling somewhat inadequate. Time to get to work!”
“Helped to spend some time reworking my personal brand statement. She knows her stuff.”
“So helpful! Lots of steps to take to claim my brand.”
“People do have a perception of me. I need to take control of that.”
“Branding session impressed on me the importance of keeping social media tools updated.”
“Thanks so much for sharing your expertise with our WE Lead class yesterday! Your presentation is always one of the best-received of the entire program and that was true again this year. Clearly the information you share resonates with the group and it motivates them to take action. Please know how much we appreciate your contribution to WE Lead and hope you take pride in the lasting impact you are making for these women. – Diana Long, Program Manager Women Excel
What’s your take on the topic of Personal Branding? Love it? Hate it? Think it’s more important than ever to have one?

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