Jane Anderson shows people how to get ahead by creating and marketing their own personal brand, and shows businesses how they can get ahead by encouraging their people to do that. She has, quite literally, written the book on the subject. It's called Impact: How to Build your Personal Brand in the Connection Economy. Here's a taste of what she intends to share as keynote speaker at the National Technical Forums. PKN asks her a few pertinent questions:
What is the crux of what you do?
“Essentially, I'm a people marketer,” Anderson says.
“When I'm working with an individual, whether it's in a career aspect or a business, the more we can market that individual and the tools, tasks and network he or she brings to the role, the stronger their results. People connect with people so much faster than with a business or a product.”
Why is it important, for both individuals and businesses to market people?
“The last few years have highlighted a number of growing issues...
- “There are shorter tenure periods in jobs. People tend to stay in one job for about two years, rather than fifteen to twenty as they used to. Individuals and teams have to make their marks in business more effectively, more quickly.”
- “Job losses are increasing, so both job seekers and solo-preneurs need to make an impact.
- "Information about people is widely accessible, so employers are able to source and poach talent based on people's online presence – and talented people have to know how to create that presence.”
- “There is an influx of younger leaders, so people have to be able to demonstrate leadership capabilities much earlier, without having the podium of experience to stand on.”
- “Many businesses are more compliance based now. That tends to make everything vanilla. Businesses have to know how to make themselves stand out, and that depends greatly on the impact made by their people.”
- “The job market is global and local staff have to compete with far cheaper remote workers in countries like the Philippines and India. People have to know how to make the impact they are having on their business recognised.
"It's no secret that business is moving very fast and there's a lot of noise in the world. We all have to cut through that to achieve our goals – whether we're a business, a team or an indiviudal.”
Who benefits most from personal branding?
“The packaging industry is increasingly global. Access to global opportunities is increasingly made by team members – a lot of word of mouth, a lot of networking - that is, by people with strong personal brands making an impact on other people. Within teams, people need to act fast. That means that people have to understand how to use their impact to make things happen in meetings, get real decisions acted on and not lose time on things that don't matter.”
How will having a personal brand help women in packaging?
“Women tend to focus on working toward the success of others. The problem is that when you put others first - even in things that don't matter – your own impact remains in the shadows.
“Women, in particular, need to understand how to take control of time (make an impact now), what they want to be remembered for (make the right kind of impact) and how they want to be positioned (be seen as a viable candidate for promotion), so that when discussions about moving people up occur, they are in the right place to be considered.
“It's about branding yourself for the future – being the job you want to be, not the job you have.”
Stick you neck out, be garotted?
“People think personal branding is about saying, 'Look at me, Gosh I'm fabulous.' It's not. It's about identifying the characteristics in you that are good and useful, and weaving them into how you function in business. It's about giving yourself permission to be the best you can be.
“It's also about understanding that you have an impact on an organisation and have more control than you think you do about what you achieve. Many people feel as though they are like balls in a pinball machine being pinged around by circumstances and opportunities that come along. That is not so. You already have a brand. If you don't know what it is, you need to. A brand is a promise or expectation of what it would be like for people to connect with you. Success in business is all about connecting with people.”
To hear more on the topic, you can register to attend the keynote session here.
