Ditch. Dare. Do!. William Arruda

his outstanding communication skills to secure two terms in office, despite scandal. Richard Branson applied his intrepid style to building a multibillion-dollar global conglomerate.

      You probably know a few people you work with whom you would describe with one or two words that speak to their greatest and most visible strength.

      In our work within an array of companies and firms, we have encountered:

      • The Fixer—He’s the go-to guru who can make anything better.

      • The Simplifier—She’s the “bottom-line-it for me” champ.

      • The Innovator—She’s the “big audacious ideas” generator.

      • The Whiz Kid—He’s the talented Gen Y hire on rocket fuel.

      • The Rock—He’s the “we’ll get it done” calm port in the storm.

      • The Organizer—She’s the project manager extraordinaire.

      • The Mediator—He’s the “no one walks away angry” team player.

      • The Negotiator—She’s the tough-as-nails, win-win producer.

      • The Connector—He’s the networker who always knows someone you should know.

      • The Sales Star—He’s the guy who never met a sales challenge he didn’t love.

      • The Guru—She’s the oracle who’s happy to share her knowledge.

      • The Juggler—She’s the one who keeps all the balls in the air and doesn’t drop one—ever!

      How many people do you encounter who can be defined by a word or two? We meet them all the time as we coach executives through identifying and building strong personal brands. Deb worked with a client who was known as “Mr. One-Pager.” He was adept at simplifying advanced concepts and would condense his annual plan from a slide deck into a single slide. That one clear slide became his team’s road map. The road map’s simplicity fostered innovation by allowing the team to detour, get creative, and test things out, yet remain focused on the goal because it was so easy to get back on course.

      What’s your word or phrase? Think about which of your greatest strengths can propel you to the top of your profession. Make a plan to integrate that single strength into everything you do, every day. You’ll become known for it.

       What do you want to be known for?

      DO

      Identify THE strength you want to be known for. Then look at everything you do each week and refine how you do it to maximize your strength. You’ll be in a class by yourself. You’ll be memorable.

       Snap 3

      Branding Is about Emotion:

      Be Loved

       Emotion is not touchy-feely. It’s good branding and good business!

      “The best CEOs are truly ‘Chief Emotions Officers,’ since great companies have great cultures, and at the heart of a great culture are healthy emotions. You may not think of yourself as a leader, but you are already leading yourself—and maybe others—on a daily basis.” So says CEO Chip Conley in his book Emotional Equations.

      Emotion is all around you. Conley knows it, we know it, and so do you. You know people in your company who just exude attractive qualities that get people using the “L” word when they describe them.

       We love Ellen; she is so full of energy and optimism.