Branding December 2010 Be a Super Brand Why Personal Branding? Your Brand and You Brand Builder™ Inventory What Do Carrots Have to Do with It?

December 2010 High Potential, Inc. / OI Partner Newsletter This month's newsletter topic, "Branding" and Building Your Personal Brand, is something we help every client understand and coach our clients with each consulting engagement, whether it is Career Transition or Executive Coaching. In today's electronically driven world of social networking, you only have seconds to get someone's attention and the competition is fiercer than ever before. Here are five short articles about why building your brand is important and what to consider as you think about your own professional identity. As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions, concerns or to learn more about HPi / OI Partners.  We would love to hear from you, or visit our website www.oi partners.com. All of us at HPi/OI Partners in Chicago wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season! Bob Wilson 33 West Monroe Street Suite 2110 Chicago, IL 60603-5414 Robert Wilson President bob@hpi-inc.com Michael Farrell Vice President Client Services mfarrell@hpi-inc.com Christian Barden Director of Operations christian@hpi-inc.com

Is Personal Branding the hot career topic for the year? Is it a concept that interests people for awhile yet may fade into obscurity next year? We definitely don't think so. The "branding" label may change, it may morph over time into some other words used to hype up the self marketing concept, but the concept beneath the label is sound.  More than ever in today's current job market and emphasis on social media, the need to position and market oneself in this global marketplace is becoming stronger, not weaker.  Personal branding, self marketing, personal promotion, call it what you will, but it is here to stay. In this issue, our OI Partner colleagues present a five-stage developmental model of Personal Branding - if you will, an inventory of tools every competent brand builder needs, a working definition of Personal Brand and five reasons for taking this whole topic seriously.  Building your personal value proposition, "branding" and effectively using it through networking and social media sites will have you stand out amongst your competition. Let me know what you think.  You can find us at phil@hpi-inc.com ; by telephone at (312) 252-8200, or through our OI Partners website, at OIPartners.net. Best wishes, Phil Staffa - VP Professional Services OI Partners - High Potential, Inc. (Chicago) Be a Super Brand We aren't all destined to be super brands, but we all can manage our personal brands to maximum benefit.  Understanding the hierarchy of this five-stage model is a first step to your own successful branding efforts. Why Personal Branding? "Why do I have to have a brand?" To not have one is to be invisible at work - not talked about, not considered. To have the right personal brand can help your career positioning and opportunities.  Here are five big reasons that it's time to focus on your own personal brand. Your Brand and You A personal brand is a complex thing. It is not a title, it is not a logo or design concept or a gimmicky phrase; it's much more than that. It's your promise to be exactly who you say you are.  Here are some insights into the core of a personal brand. Brand Builder™ Inventory All personal brand builders use the same tools, so whether you aim to be a billion dollar brand or not, here's the inventory list of tools you must have in your kit. What Do Carrots Have to Do with It? When building your own personal brand statement it's enticing to use a flashy phrase. Don't do it. The most important part of a great personal brand is that it must be true. Consider these three questions when creating your branding statement.