I wish I’d written that but Liz Ryan, Career Commentator (Huffington Post) beat me to it. In an economy where so many are looking for new positions or reinventing themselves, it’s always a good time to really think about how you want to present yourself in the new economy. When you sell a product the goal is differentiation. When you sell your personal brand the objective is the same. As Liz points out, using lame, beat business jargon is not the way to go. There are far too many people out there who are saying the same thing.
A friend who is in the “Mulligan” season of her life has been looking for a way to present who she is and what she wants to do for the remainder of her career. She and I have done more than few start-ups and together have been “fire-women” trying to salvage businesses that were on the verge of self-implosion. She brought up the term “Smoking Hole”, what we would say to describe those “verge of failure” investments. So, “Smoking Hole Prevention Services” started as a joke and has morphed into a story…
When I created my brand and built the web site, it was all about my story–not my credentials or business skills. I know I’m quirky but no one ever forgets the name Punching Nun Group. I don’t want to hide that under a bunch of BS that doesn’t have meaning to me or the power of differentiation. I’m not an intellectual. I’m a fireman (ok fire-women) with a sense of humor–no apologies.
Be you, be kind, be interesting and have fun. Life is far too short…
