Personal Branding Archive
April 30, 2013 | 4 Comments
Today was a big day for the Netherlands. Back in January, the Dutch Queen Beatrix decided to abdicate her throne to pave the way for the next generation of loyalty to take over. Today was her final day as queen, as her son Willem-Alexander became the new King and youngest monarch in Europe. As it turns out, Dutch royalty have a long tradition of abdication and handing over the loyal reins to their next generations. In most cases, the rulers are beloved when they do finally step down.
This is the future of royalty.
Unfortunately, that future hasn’t yet become a reality. Abdication is extremely rare among nations that still have monarchs. It has long been rumoured that Queen Elizabeth II will either remain Queen of England long enough to outlive her son Prince Charles (or perhaps live forever … whichever comes first). Sweden, Spain and Belgium are amongst the European nations with longstanding monarchs who are now well into their later years – yet most show no signs of giving up their roles.
We generally treat giving up as a bad thing. No one respects a quitter, right? Except there are very real moments in life and business where the exact act that might command the most respect is being able to step aside and invite a successor to take over. Legacy may seem like a word better used to define the life’s work of a monarch – but it applies to all of us.
What legacy will you leave?
It is easy to cling to the same role you have always had and actively reject any attempts for others to move forward or innovate. Letting the world around you move forward by removing yourself as a barrier takes strength. Giving up takes courage. And that type of selfless act defines careers, companies and countries. No doubt today is a big day for celebration with excited crowds in orange wigs across Amsterdam … but the lesson is one that we all should celebrate and remember.
Sometimes there is no better way to earn respect than by knowing when to exit with grace.
April 4, 2013 | 7 Comments
Aziz Ansari wasn’t planning to stick around after his show for photos. Most of the people in the packed theater in Washington DC where I saw him perform his Buried Alive Comedy Tour last week probably weren’t expecting that anyway. Despite social media breaking down virtual barriers to conversations with unreachable people (and Aziz has plenty of them with more…Read More >>
April 2, 2013 | 4 Comments
There are two kinds of coaches in sports. There are coaches who create a playbook before a game and follow it – and there are coaches who make their playbook for a game based on watching the game and making adjustments based on what is happening. Guess which kind of coach usually leads more successful teams? Being flexible is never…Read More >>
March 8, 2013 | 4 Comments
About four years ago I started getting a lot of unsolicited emails from women. My first book, Personality Not Included, had just come out and readers were emailing me with their own stories of how having a personality had made a difference in their own careers. While school often teaches us that we must remove our personality from “professional” communication…Read More >>
February 25, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Daniel Radcliffe never auditioned to become Harry Potter. At least, not at first. Instead, it was a fateful moment during intermission at a theater show in London where Producer David Heyman spotted Radcliffe sitting in the audience and asked his father about letting Radcliffe join auditions. Of course, he did – and was eventually chosen. Isn’t that how we like…Read More >>
February 18, 2013 | 8 Comments
Summary: The story of why I decided to start the world’s first true “Concierge Marketing” service for large and mid-size brands. It all started because I knew the one thing I didn’t want to do. About three months ago I left my role at one of the biggest marketing agencies in the world and the only thing I knew for…Read More >>
February 4, 2013 | 6 Comments
Every year there seems to be another Admeter/Adbowl/Adrank type of contest that lets anyone register and vote for their favourite ads. Sure it’s nice when everyone has an opinion, but as any designer will tell you – opinions are like butts … everyone has one, but usually they stink. If you’re reading this, though, you probably care more about marketing…Read More >>
January 31, 2013 | 2 Comments
Marian Gold probably never met David Hasselhoff. Back in the 1980s, Gold was the lead singer for a band called Alphaville that produced one of the best known songs of the era. The single “Big in Japan” was a chart topping hit, and has been featured in many films and compiliation CDs since it’s first release in 1984. Hasselhoff, on…Read More >>
December 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment
What’s the Trend? Crowdfunding evolves beyond films or budding entrepreneurs to give anyone the opportunity to seek “me-funding” to do anything from taking a life changing trip to funding a college education. One of the biggest growth areas online last year was crowdfunding – and many “projects” involved helping people to start businesses, or create art projects. In the coming…Read More >>
November 28, 2012 | 10 Comments
There has been a single pink folder on my desk since January 15th of this year. That day matters to me for two reasons – first because its my birthday, and second because it’s the day when I start an empty folder with the intention of collecting ideas for my year end trend report. Then throughout the year, I steadily…Read More >>
4 Comments