Stage 4 Tips
Analyze Brand "You"
  • How do you perceive yourself?
  • How are you perceived by others?
  • What are you doing to help improve the situation?
Here are ways to check how strong your brand currently is.

1. What are you known for?
Make a list of the three or four things that you currently think you're known for in the workplace. Be honest with yourself. For example, you might be the top salesperson, or you might be known for being friendly and helpful. Get it?

Okay. Now make a separate list of two or three things that, in one year, you can add to the first list.

2. What challenges you?
Identify three or four ways that your current work or project is provocative and challenging.

For me, the fact that each of my clients is unique is both challenging and provocative. If you're up to your elbows in corporate America, you may find that being handcuffed by the bureaucracy is your biggest challenge.

Understand that some people are motivated by negative challenges, others by positive challenges. Your job is to figure out which kind works for you and then follow that path going forward.

3. What are you learning?
List at least three new things you've learned in connection with work (in the last three or four months) that will help advance your career.

4. What will make you more visible?
What are the two or three things (a more prestigious title? performance awards? a column in the company newspaper?) that would give you more of a marketing presence (regional or national) than those you're using on your present job?

For example, I was with Entex in 1995 when we won an $80 million contract that got a lot of national exposure. That's certainly a marketing presence.

5. Who have you contacted?
List names of five important contacts that you've added to your contact list (whether it's electronic or hard copy) in the last 90 days.

6. Who are you cultivating?
List two important relationships that you've worked on improving in the last 90 days.

7. What will improve your resume?
What's the one thing you think you need to work on in the next 90 days to make your resume look better?

So there you have it: seven easy steps to do a self-analysis of the current brand You.

Got a question for Gordon? Ask it here.
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