Scoring
Count the total number of times you answered “Yes” to the questions and use the table below to see the current status of your brand.
| “Yes” Responses You are a: | |
| 0–3 | Potential Brand—Your brand has potential, but you’re not reaching it. (But you bought this book, so we know you understand the importance of personal branding.) Read Ditch. Dare. Do! for a powerful jump-start! |
| 4–6 | Rising Brand—You understand the importance of your personal brand and how it can help you expand your success, but you still have a way to go to achieve Mega Brand status. A strong brand will enable you to greatly expand your success, Ditch. Dare. Do! will help you keep the momentum growing! |
| 7–9 | Super Brand—Your brand is in great shape. You understand the concepts of branding and the importance of having a personal brand. You recognize that professional success requires that you stand out from your peers and be visible to those people who will help you expand your success. Now, it’s time to take your Super Brand and turn it into a Mega Brand! Ditch. Dare. Do! action steps will propel you! |
| 10 | Mega Brand—Bravo! You’re in great company. Take a moment to bask in your glory—then continue branding. Branding is not a one-time event—it requires continuous, deliberate effort. Keep reading Ditch. Dare. Do! for strategies that will keep your brand at the top! |
GLOSSARY
To make Ditch. Dare. Do! relevant for you, today’s learner, we redefined some common words to develop a new set of terms for the personal branding process. These terms act like a “cheat sheet,” making it easy to remember the critical elements you need to build your brand and career.
Dare
(n) A challenge to take, a risk to up your game
(v) To boldly embrace a challenge
Ditch
(n) A habit or mindset that is no longer working or relevant
(v) To eradicate an archaic habit or mindset
Do
(n) An action you need to take to build your brand and advance your career
(v) To deliberately perform a brand-building activity
Go
(v) To act; the Ditch. Dare. Do! call to action
Go-time Grid
(n) A brand-focused do-list that houses your brand-building activities, priorities, and due dates
Grow
(v) To take action to expand your brand, your network, and your success
Know
(v) To uncover who you are, what makes you exceptional, and what makes you relevant and compelling to the people who are making decisions about you
Show
(v) To let the world see who you are—to be the authentic YOU
Snap
(n) A brief, action-compelling vignette
Spark
(n) A trigger that reminds you of brand-building actions you will take
KNOW
What Makes You, YOU?
Know Your Brand:
What Makes You, YOU?
The most successful executives invest time in introspection—they are both self-assured and self-aware. Yet most of us don’t spend much time being introspective. We focus on answering our emails, responding to voicemails, and participating in a seemingly endless number of meetings and conference calls.
You can’t use who you are to get what you want if you don’t know who you are or what’s important to you. What are your top five values? What’s your vision? What’s your purpose?
In our work with executive clients, we find that most are not truly self-aware—even those who are wildly successful. They haven’t had time for introspection; it’s not a priority for them. They often come to us for coaching on creating or improving their brand communications, increasing their visibility, and enhancing their executive presence, and are surprised to find the internally reflective part of the personal branding process to be the most valuable. It forces them to take a step back and really get to know themselves, often for the first time. They’ve come for the “punch line” but find they love the “setup.”
Be introspective. Understand what truly motivates you. Take time to understand who you are, what drives you, and what ROI value you create when you do what you do. Doing so is an essential step in the executive branding process.
Are YOU self-aware? Use the 24 snaps in Part One, KNOW, to discover and know the brand called YOU.
QUICK QUIZ
Before you jump into KNOW, rate how well you know yourself.
Total: _______
Now, add up your score. Did you score a 35? Even if you did, we promise you, reading and taking action on the concepts in this section—KNOW—will help you get clarity about the brand called YOU. But if, as most executives do,