A punch in the face.
“Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the face.” Mike Tyson However, if you have an approach… You can receive a quite decent amount of punches and still get ahead. You prep to get more punches, learn how to dodge some, how to receive others, how to see them coming (so that you adapt). That’s an approach. On the other hand, a plan is static. If something changes, it’s now a different plan. An approach lets *you* change and tune in your plans (or dismiss them). An approach is…
How to see different
Ads are pretty much the same —most of the times, at most of the places. Be it Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, US, Germany, Netherlands, India or Sri Lanka. Different brands, different markets and ads look the same. They share the same perspective, the same sales pitch, quite similar concepts, same stories… heck, even same colors. How can they stand out if it all looks and feels the same? How can YOU stand out in a world of sameness? Being a vortex.
How many people…
If you’re running a customer satisfaction or customer service-driven business, how many people with a background in hospitality have you had involved in it? Or how many of your people (or yourself if you run a solo biz) have been involved with hospitality? Here’s the thing. Seeing things through a hospitality lens shifts the way you think and act towards your customers. It goes Beyond customers, guests. What’s the minimum, going the extra mile. Thinking ahead of them, not to what they need,…
Let’s not screw up
In the avoidance of mistakes, where everyone fears screwing things up, there’s always the outlier who stands out. Rory Sutherland in his conversation with Blair Enns and Leah Power has this insight: “The more things you test, the more you discover.” Kinda obvious, but unseen. Most people choose to play safe. To fit in, to blend in. However… To stand out, you need to be bold. That outlier. The choice, is yours to make: To see everything as a threat and look for perfection. Or ship, in order…
Sprinkling personality in
“Along the way, sprinkle in personality so people see the person behind the personal brand.” Doesn’t this feel like there are 2 different things here? You And your “personal brand”. Which will mean that your personal brand is something artificial. That’s why it needs a “sprinkle in personality”. If you need to sprinkle personality to it, it is something flat, shallow, interchangeable. Unnoticeable. Ignorable. And shallow can’t be authentic. Which means you cannot be a brand. Because you’re…
A thing
As humans, we want things to look human to us, so that they become familiar. Hence, the use of language, mascots, adding personality traits to businesses/brands, cartoons, etc. It makes them non-threatening. However, it doesn’t go the other way around: making people things. Well, unless you’re a psycho or run an exploitative way of “biz”. That’s why also, the whole HR thinking and leadership has been shifting from Resources and Capital into Talent and Development. Because a thing, becomes a…
You won’t be the best in the world
Well, not for everyone. You can be your best version of yourself —and do the best you can, while trying to be better than the day before. Being the best is something subjective and arbitrary, when applied to life or business, as they’re infinite games and have no set up rules. Who’s to define who the best is? Here’s the thing “Great work” is not what makes the difference. Your clients can’t really tell what’s great work and really good work. They don’t know the nuances. They’re not trained to…
Personal branding 101
There’s no such thing as personal brand. Brands are artificial. Artificial can’t be authentic. The choice is yours.
Personal rebranding
A personal brand means you are a brand. If you’re a brand, then you can rebrand. You can change your visuals. Your stories. Your narratives. Your beliefs. Your values. To fit into whatever you think the market will agree. And if you fit in, how can you stand out?
Leveraging effort
“People buy/do things because they aspire to become something else.” Most marketing (and advertising) bros Well, that’s not necessarily true. A (desire to) change is a representation of who you are. Inspired by something: low effort, high impact. Aspiring to something: high effort, unclear impact. Which one would you take?