OK, I finally got there. After almost 10 years of using NLP both professionally and personally I have been certified by the Tad James Company as a Trainer of NLP, so watch out here on the blog and on my website for announcements of upcoming training courses (or read the main post for a sneak preview of what's coming up).
Some time ago, I saw a question on LinkedIn about how the behaviour of executives is changing. The questioner (Bradley Foster) asked:
"Are today's executives more like the free agents we associate with sports teams than the 'company man' of days (and years) gone by?
A lot of the executives I coach are more like lone wolves than what we have come to think of executives as team players who are loyal to the company they serve. Are executives more like the free agents we associate with sports teams than the 'company man' of days (and years) gone by? "
There's a principle in pricing a product or service that if you're not turning off a third of your prospects by charging more than they want to pay, you're not charging enough. I happen to believe that the same principle applies right across the spectrum.
Continue reading "You don't have to please all of the people all of the time..." »
... if you only had 6 months left in your job? That is the question facing one of my clients right now. But as I was working with him the other day it struck me that it is something that everyone should be asking themselves, even if they've only just started a new job or business.
Are you considering a job move? Negotiating a pay raise? Looking at a career change? Just plain curious how your pay compares to your peers? It can be difficult to get comparatives, particularly if you are moving between regions.
We all make mistakes. On one occasion early in my online career I became an accidental spammer when someone offered me a marketing list of 10,000 names in a specific industry. In my enthusiasm at receiving such a windfall, and with a high profile joint venture to promote, I emailed all 10,000 contacts directly (horror of horrors), promoted my upcoming big-name teleclass (even though they had never heard of me), and invited them to unsubscribe from my list (which they had never signed up to) if they didn't want any more contact from me (which they hadn't wanted in the first place).
An uncomfortable 24 hours followed, as email after email of some of the nastiest, most vitriolic personal attacks I've ever seen poured into my inbox. However, as soon as I realised my mistake I put into action a recovery plan which earned me a lot more emails of thanks and understanding.
Continue reading "10 things you should do if you make a big mistake" »
While I was preparing for my recent trip to Toronto I completely missed the fact that the second edition of the new Personal Branding Magazine has gone live over at personalbrandingmag.com.
When I was young, there was a series on British television called ‘Danger UXB’. Week by week it followed an army bomb disposal squad as they rushed from one assignment to the next, averting disaster and saving the day. It had danger, suspense, strong characters, tight deadlines – all the elements of good TV.
In the work environment, however, these same characteristics are somewhat less desirable. How often do we find ourselves going from one close call to the next, defusing time bombs and booby traps left for us by others – or worse still ourselves?
As readers of my blog know, I'm a big fan of networking sites like LinkedIn and Ecademy. However, with the growing buzz about Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites, and their increasing take-up by 30-something professionals, I also get asked whether these sites should be part of your personal brand efforts.
Personally, I’m not sure how useful a site like Facebook is for brand building. On the face of it, it seems a good idea: constant contact, regular updates from your colleagues and clients, an easy mechanism for getting news to people, etc. In practice things aren’t quite so clear cut, and I’m yet to be convinced. However, if you do want to use it for professional networking here are six tips for keeping a ‘clean’ profile:
Continue reading "Can I use Facebook in building a personal brand?" »
Over at Fast Company, Wendy Marx has posted a great article that reminded me of two key things in Personal Branding.
Continue reading "Putting the "personal" in your personal brand" »
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