Michael Jackson, originally uploaded by houlouis.

The King of Pop. Thriller. The White glove. The Leather jacket. The moonwalk. Michael Jackson was one of the greatest entertainers and most influential artist to ever live. As I learned of his DEATH I began to think about the imprint that his LIFE made on so many people.

As a personal brand strategist I think in terms of legacy and human currency versus just dollars. There was a point in time where I thought it was more important to sell a million books then it hit me that it was more important to change a million lives, thus my mission changed to, ‘To inspire a million people to live a life of significance.

Let Michael Jackson life as an entertainer challenge you to think about the imprint that your life will leave. My question to you is what is your legacy? Your answer will be determined by what history says about the quality of life you lived.

Remember your life will be defined by the Dash ( -).

After the Long Day, originally uploaded by fotoshootme.

It is clear that the world is changing before our eyes and it is not asking our permission. There is a cultural shift taking place in the workforce and the way we work. As a personal brand strategist I see a lot of focus on career, job search, and developing an online personal brand. Developing a presence in Facebook, Linked, and Twitter are good but alone it is not the answer. The main issue is getting people into what they love (purpose).

The State of the Economy

o Almost 6M jobs have been lost since the recession (which I opted out of) began in late 2007.
o Blue Collar American jobs account for approximately 70% of the losses.
o Baby Boomers are not retiring because they can’t afford to.
o Outsourcing jobs overseas.
o Industrial Revolution/Factory Model is dead.
o Unemployment (Nationwide) – 8.9%
o Job Lose (April 2009): 539K

What were Taught
o To go to college to get a job.
o To work that job until death do you part.
o To go into high paying fields.
o To get a good factory job.

The Problem
o Displaced Workers – People working in the wrong field or not operating in their purpose/passion.
o Reduced Productivity – Quality of work is reduced, making companies less profitable.

Grustle Glossary

GRUSTLE is the combination of a daily Grind (job) and a Hustle (your passion). Most people are caught between the two and are looking for a way out, but there is only a way IN: put IN work and INvest in your dreams. In my book ‘The Brand YU Life’ the first degree (or principle) is ‘Identify Your Passion’ which is the cornerstone of Grustlin’. Grustle is a personal branding strategy to get you in your purpose.

Definitions

Grind: A grind is a job; employment; typically your primary source of income.

Hustle: A hustle is your passion, what you would love to do full-time and what gives you the most satisfaction. It is what you typically do after you work your daily grind.

The Purpose of Grustle: It is a Strategy
o Identify your passion – Through your job you validate your purpose.
o Re-Grind - Identify the correct field you should be in or job.
o Platform - Use your current job as a platform to transition.
o Build your network
o Paid Internship – Use your grind as a paid internship to produce high quality work for your current employer as you develop your personal brand.
o Multiple streams of income – Produced through your hustle.
o Exit Strategy (Grind) - Identify if you are displaced on your current job.
o Business Model - Develop/Identify business model for Hustle.
o Minimize risk – Transition to a new grind or hustle.

The responsibility and well being of your career and livelihood is not the responsibility of President Barack Obama or your employer. There is no stimulus package great enough to propel you into economic success more than being in your purpose. It is up to you! In the new economy the future of work is GRUSTLE.

Passport, originally uploaded by gravitywave.

Personal branding has become increasingly popular for professionals in today’s job market. Job seekers have especially found personal branding to be an effective strategy in their pursuit of job opportunities. However, in the last few months, several job seekers and professionals have said to me: “I understand why personal branding is important in my career search, but what is the value of personal branding once I get a job?”

I definitely see where they’re coming from. Here’s a great way to look at it.

Personal branding is the process of:
o Identifying the unique and differentiating value that you can bring to an organization, team and/or project

o Communicating it in a professionally memorable and consistent manner in all of your actions and outputs, both online and offline, to all current and prospective stakeholders in your career.

Everyone has a unique personal brand (a.k.a. the unique and differentiating value), and you communicate your own whether you know it or not in everything you do, both when you are looking for a job and when you have one. Personal branding is so much more than what you put on your social networks or what you write on your blog. It’s who you are inside and out, online and offline. Your personal brand is essentially your overall lifestyle.

Obviously, when you have a job, you won’t have to talk about your personal brand like you would when “selling” yourself in an interview or at a career fair or event; however, you are still communicating your unique and differentiating value to those with whom you interact each and every day.

I would compare your personal brand to your passport for four reasons:

1. Identity: Passports certify your identity, telling others who you are, where you’re from and where you’ve been when you are traveling. Throughout your career, your personal brand captures the essence of your identity, reinforcing to others who you are, the experiences you’ve had and the value you bring to the table.

2. Access: Your passport is the premier, internationally-accepted travel document. You don’t have to have a passport, but you will be limited as to where you can go without it. This is the same for your personal brand. You are not required to develop your personal brand; however, you will be limited as to where you can go in your career without it.

3. Investment: Passports are not free, for they do cost you time, patience and money to acquire. Personal brands are not “free” in that same right, for you must be patient and commit your time (and sometimes a little money) to effectively establish your personal brand consistently online and offline.

4. Renewal: Passports are periodically upgraded with new identification technologies; however, regardless, you have to renew your passport every few years or you cannot continue to venture abroad. Similarly, every so often in your career, you must review and “upgrade” or “renew” your personal brand using any new more effective technologies and media available so you will be able and ready to take advantage of new opportunities (i.e. new projects, promotions, jobs) knocking on your door.

So, no matter where you are in your career travels, don’t forget your personal brand! It’s your passport to career success!

Chris Perry (@CareerRocketeer) is a Gen Y Brand and Marketing Generator, a Career Search and Personal Branding Expert and the Founder of Career Rocketeer, the Career Search and Personal Branding Blog.

I’m pleased to bring you the second video from the 2008 Brand Camp University Personal Branding 2.0 Conference, with Scott Monty Director of Social Media at Ford talking about Social Media & You: Tips for Success in your Career. His presentation includes his now famous quote “What happens in Vegas - Stays in Google.” He has some excellent information to share. Sit back and enjoy.

Thanks to Portage Media Solutions for producing the video.

Brand 2.0 Business Card, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

We live in a 2.0 world. Resumes have transformed from 1.0 to 2.0 people are developing online profiles on Linkedin. Web presence have transformed from 1.0 to 2.0, social networks are being used to hire and promote jobs. Business cards are typically the first printed marketing material for a personal brand, which most people still default to the 1.0 version. My question to you is why? Why in the world would you create marketing materials that are 1.0 when you operate within a 2.0 space?

What Brand 2.0 Cards Should Do
o Promote your personal brand.
o Spark or continue the conversation about you when you are not in the room or after the event.
o Create brand evangelist for your personal brand.
o Drive online traffic and create digital relationships with you?

Brand 2.0 Card Elements
o Avatar (Global ID): Should be consistent with your social networks.

I greatly respect the Marketing Genius of Seth Godin, but I disagree with a statement from his blog post, Business Card Mistakes about not using your photos on business cards. Are there exceptions to this rule, of course there are? You could work in an industry where this is an issue.

o List your top social networks: List the top 2 or 3 that you spent the most time in.
o Personal Brand Name: Should be consistent with your social networks (i.e. www.twitter.com/HajjFlemings)
o Personal Brand Cloud: Should identify who you are, a single title doesn’t always communicate that.
o Blog URL: Promote your blog the place where you communicate your ideas and establish your authority.
o Twitter Address: Not required but strongly recommended. It should be a part of your business strategy and be included.
o Brand Colors: Should be consistent with your blog and other printed materials.
o Logo: Include a clear image of your logo, please make sure there are no white boxes.

For the marketing geniuses who will look at my Brand 2.0 card and say he forgot his fax number I did it on purpose. The frequency of use didn’t justify the usage of space. If it is critical to your business by all means add it.

Additional Thoughts
o Be Creative: If you need a creative idea use ‘Brand Camp U. Business Card Lab’
o Be Relevant: Your business card should be relevant to your industry. I am a personal brand strategist so my card creatively speaks to who I am.
o Be Remarkable: Do something that makes you stand out in a positive way.
o Quality: Paper stock is important, please do not print your cards from your ink jet print.

Your Brand DNA should be communicated
o Personality- Your personality should be tied into the card (i.e. Branded Since 1971.)
o If you are environmentally conscience- Your cards should be consistent with your core values (i.e. use w/soy inks or recyclable paper for example).

Notes to all Students
o I strongly recommend that you create a Brand 2.0 Card (business card) for job fairs you attend or internships you apply for. You will standout in the mind of your recruiters.

Creative Resource for Brand 2.0: Brand Camp U. Creative Business Card Lab

I realize most people need a catalyst when it comes to inspiration or creativity. You might be a one-person operation with no marketing budget. I have created the ‘Brand Camp U. Business Card Lab’ it is a Flickr group where anyone can upload their business cards for others to get creative ideas. Use it as your online design resource and share with others.

I have embedded my presentation from 2008 Brand Camp University: Personal Branding 2.0 Conference at Lawrence Tech University on Personal Branding.

I was on my laptop at Caribou Coffee in Royal Oak and I saw a friend
Eddie Lee (Detroit Young Professionals) and we talked for a minute and he mentioned the phase, ‘Thought Leader’ and this blog post was born. Thanks Eddie!

Are you a thought leader? We all have the potential to be one.

Thought leader is defined in Wikipedia as a buzzword or article of jargon used to describe a futurist or person who is recognized among their peers and mentors for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights (thinklets).

The term was first coined in 1994, by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the magazine, Strategy & Business.

But now I ask you a question, what things matter to you? Does anybody care about your thoughts? What is important in your life? What are your interest and what do you truly care about? It is time to wrap your thoughts around something that matters and leverage the power of the new media, blogging, social networks, and microblogging- twitter to name a few. The voice of user-generated content is increasing and becoming more relevant. For me it is simple, my thoughts are wrapped around branding. Branding is an inexhaustible subject so there is never a shortage of content or things to talk about.

I believe a lot people focus on things they think other people want to hear versus creating relevant content that matters. Being a thought leader is not a title that you can anoint yourself with, so please don’t try.

What I believe thought leaders have!
o Vision. They see what others don’t see (and before others see it.)
o Innovate. They think outside the box.
o Focus. The concentrate on something that matters.
o Make the complex simple. Anybody can add steps to a process, can you remove steps and make the process better.
o Swagger. They have that something that draws you to them and makes you want to consume their thoughts and their content.

Thought leaders communicate passion when sharing their ideas. As a personal brand strategist I fight the ills of the branding world and unoriginally with my Apple laptop (I would say pen, but that is so 20th century) my blog, and my book. I am the world’s next superhero, just call me ‘Brand Man’. LOL

Are you a thought leader? Let me know your thoughts.

Two of the though leaders (social media/marketing) I follow in twitter:

@chrisbrogan
@SethGodin

Two of my personal favorites:
Kevin Carroll- www.kevincarrollkatalyst.com

TED(Technology, Entertainment, Design)- www.TED.com (Inspired talks by the worlds greatest thinkers and doers)

thoughtleader_tagcloud, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

Some of the top young professionals in the region put their imprint on the 2008 Mackinac Policy Conference (MPC). The state of Michigan has declared that one of its top priorities is to attract and retain young professionals. By deciding to make this demographic apart of the most powerful conference in the state, a major step was taken. Detroit Fusion, a diverse group of young thinkers and leaders comprised of the Gen ‘X’ and Millennial generations, was not only present, but on the agenda and welcomed by everyone.

If the state of Michigan is committed to changing the dead manufacturing model that built the middle class, a transition to a knowledge-based economy is required. The economic obstacles that we face provide a great platform to redefine the new economy. The same way Ford, GM, and Chrysler built the middle class and the economy of our region with manufacturing, new industries and infused thinking will build the new economy in Michigan.

Michigan’s top-leaders realize the talent they are attempting to attract and retain has to be part of the conversation. The seat of innovation has always come from the entrepreneurial mindset of great thinkers that were not weighed down with the weights of tradition but challenged and uplifted with the idea that human capital is the currency that drives any economy.

The inaugural class of young professionals from Detroit Fusion realized that the conference was only the beginning. I believe that every person has to take ownership to be change agents and brand evangelists of ‘The New Michigan’. Young professionals must be fully engaged in the process with input and resources to help infuse life into a stronger Michigan. The 2008 Mackinac Policy Conference and Detroit Fusion, through the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, was the first step in that process.

Mackinac Policy Conference + Detroit Fusion, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

Did ‘The Brand YU Life’ book cover inspire the new NBA commercial (‘There Can Only Be One’) or the new Time magazine cover design with Hillary and Barack. Who knows? Nevertheless, all three are great designs.

After researching the design direction of the commercial I found the following statement from the NBA:
“There Can Only Be One” is designed to bring to life the dedication, desire, and sacrifice that create the intense emotions and drama of one of sport’s premier postseason events: the NBA Playoffs & The Finals.

When I saw the ads the first thing I thought about was the dedication, desire, and sacrifice required to operate in your purpose as a personal brand. The split faces represented to me the split personalities that most people have: one of a person trying to get a particular job and not being fulfilled and the other operating in their purpose and loving what they do.

My reason for being a personal brand strategist is that I was tired of just working a job and wanted to live my passion and operate in my purpose. Operating in your purpose is the highest calling of personal branding opposed to just getting a job. Positions can be filled, people can be replaced, but ‘There is only one’ who can fill your purpose.

There Can Only Be One, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

I recently watched a commercial entitled ‘When You Let Everyone Play…Nobody Wins’ by ‘The Ladders’ which is an online job search provider for $100K+ jobs. The commercial embodied a topic that I planned to write on for a while that I term, ‘Maximum Capacity’. The video is a scene of a tennis match that is soon flooded with amateurs/people so that no one stands out. Have you ever felt in life and at work that it is impossible to stand out it the crowd? This video is funny but it is very real and very true. With the changing job market, downsizing, and outsourcing we all at times feel like we are stuck. There are more than 6.5 billion people on the planet and you are a mouse click away from your farthest competitor, so how do you stand out?

Personal branding is the new human capital, I will be developing a series of blog post on this topic covering the following content:

o Human Connections (Relationships)
o What’s my Human Capital?
o Your brand story

I will talk about how to develop your personal brand to increase your new human capital.
Are you ready to stand out?