Fit as a Fiddle Friday - A Social Network Christmas - 17.5

Sally,

Week 17, post 5 of your college career and this will be the last post until after the holiday break. I look forward to some one-on-one time for coffee and chats about personal branding, and I will pick that topic back up when you return to UGA.

For today's Fit as a Fiddle message, I think you will enjoy this short video clip (less than 4 minutes) titled: A Social Network Christmas. Stay fit (mentally, socially, physically, and spiritually) and . . .

Merry Christmas,

Dad

Colloquial Thursday - Tap into the power of words - 17.4

How long a time lies in one little word! - William Shakespeare (Richard II (I, 3)

Sally,

Nice and apropos to start this topic on Colloquial Thursday. The chapter is titled, Harness the Power of Names, Signature Words, and Phrases to Lock in Your Message. I have always liked your name, Sally Singletary - it has a nice ring to it. I like my name as well - G. Page Singletary. Some of my buddies call me "G. Page" or sometimes just 'G' for short. I use the G. Page professionally and it seems to work.

Reminds me also of a story mom told me recently about a little boy in one of her classrooms who got in trouble for using a negative word. His teacher called the word a 'vinegar' word. He had to sit in timeout.

Words are so powerful that what we create in the mind through words and messages often comes true. This is why it is so important to write down your goals, in your own handwriting. It is also a reason why I think it so important to make writing and literature a part of your college studies.

Looking forward to that cup of coffee soon.

Dad

Women Power Wednesday - Sally Singletary - 17.3

Celebrating you (Sally Singletary) today on Women Power Wednesday, because you are coming home! Please travel safe and look for some self-branding examples when amongst the great masses of humanity in the airports. I will continue my study of Kaputa's book for a few more posts and then shut the nuggets down for the holidays.

So far, this is what we have reviewed from the book's list of 'Top 10 Self-Branding Actions':

1. Celebrate yourself and your uniqueness: Do a self-brand audit.
2. Keep tabs on the big picture: Do a SWOT analysis.
3. Don't avoid the competition: Go to school on your competition.
4. Find the sweet spot: Focus on the right strategy for achieving your goals. 
5. Harness the power of self-presentation: Learn the principles of visual identity.

The next self-branding action, number 6, is called: Tap into the power of words: Learn the principles of verbal identity. More on this tomorrow.

Women power,

Dad

Stay Whole Tuesday - Building your visual identity - 17.2

I think you will like this next self-branding action. It is all about visual identity. Brand managers are masters of visual identity. The way something looks is often the point of first (and lasting) impact for a brand. Here are ten guidelines Kaputa says to keep in mind, as you develop your visual identity:

1. Think of clothes as packaging: Use clothes to enhance, not undercut, your brand message.
2. Have a signature item: Think of a trademark that people associate with you.
3. Look different: You don't want to look like everyone else. You want your own vibe.
4. Look the part: Fulfill expectations of your role and the style of the institution or target market to which you are appealing.
5. Use hair as a branding device: Think of Dolly Parton, Anna Wintour, and Donald Trump. Each has an unmistakable branded hairstyle.
6. Make your look consistent: Don't send mixed messages. Everything should tie together for a consistent visual identity at business, casual, and formal events.
7. Have a signature color or palette: Build your wardrobe and brand marketing around a related palette of colors for maximum effect.
8. Have a strong presence: How you stand and carry yourself gives you presence and helps make you memorable.
9. Leverage your height, shape, or profile: Build your visual identity off who you are.
10. Stay relevant and fresh: Let your brand evolve and stay up-to-date.

I can't wait to discuss this topic with you when you get home, especially number 5!


Stay whole,


Dad


1. Celebrate yourself and your uniqueness: Do a self-brand audit.
2. Keep tabs on the big picture: Do a SWOT analysis.
3. Don't avoid the competition: Go to school on your competition.
4. Find the sweet spot: Focus on the right strategy for achieving your goals. 
5. Harness the power of self-presentation: Learn the principles of visual identity.

Make it a great Monday - Finding the Sweet Spot - 17.1

Sally,

Kaputa says, "In self-branding, you are looking for the sweet spot: the intersection of a good idea and a market need that you can satisfy." She stresses the importance of trusting your instincts, as much as analyzing the facts in the marketplace. She wants you to tap into your intuition and move towards those things that most excite you. Find those things you love to do, and let others know that you are good at those things.

Think about this line from William Shakespeare's King Henry V (II, 4):

Self-love my liege is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting.

And remember, if you take a course that you don't enjoy, then you are one step closer to finding those things that you do enjoy.

Make it a great Monday,

Dad

1. Celebrate yourself and your uniqueness: Do a self-brand audit.
2. Keep tabs on the big picture: Do a SWOT analysis.
3. Don't avoid the competition: Go to school on your competition.
4. Find the sweet spot: Focus on the right strategy for achieving your goals.

Fit as a Fiddle Friday - To thine ownself be true - 16.5

Sally,

Kaputa says, "that many people short change themselves when it comes to targeting their own different ideas and the benefits to their target markets. They are too busy working hard, but that is not the same as working smart." When you don't differentiate yourself, people will not have a reason to choose you. I am repeating myself from a previous post, but I like using you as a sounding board.

My differential is that I am a salesman who leads and inspires others to reach their goals. I have a passion for the education market, both K-12 and post-secondary education, where I have successfully launched three unique businesses. I have also learned that part of what sets me apart as a businessman is that I am a rare combination of my two grandfathers. Let me explain. I call my grandfathers the peddler and the preacher.

And my story goes on from there . . . Can't wait to see what your story becomes!

Stay fit,

Dad

Colloquial Thursday - Be different - 16.4

Sally,

I know you are studying hard and that the exam season can be a little overwhelming. I hope you are taking time to workout, to eat healthy, and as best you can, get some sleep! The first of the 10 self-branding actions in You are a Brand! is basically to "be different." Kaputa says:

"You should build your professional identity around your authenticity: who you are and what you can be, not who you want to be like or who others want you to be. You need to find what is different about you and your abilities. And capitalize on it."

She goes on to point out that when you build off of your strengths and desires, you will be enthusiastic. You will indulge your passions and you will find that when you accept who you are, others will too.

When mom told me about your Art History exam, I was reminded of how Steve Jobs once took a course on calligraphy, and how that interest in calligraphy became the impetus for the first Apple Computer. Art History may or may not be your thing, but by taking the course you have broadened your knowledge and moved one step closer to finding out what does float your boat.

Coincidently, Kaputa started her impressive career as an Asian Art Historian. She got a masters degree and was working on a Ph.D. at Harvard when she realized that was really not who she wanted to be. But her passion for Asian Art helped her launch her career in advertising.

Dad

Women Power Wednesday - Catherine Kaputa - 16.3

Sally,

Continuing with Catherine Kaputa on Women Power Wednesday, once you decide to take charge of your self-brand in an active manner, and you fully embrace the self-brand mind-set, the book takes you through 10 self branding actions. They are as follows:

1. Celebrate yourself and your uniqueness: Do a self brand audit.
2. Keep tabs on the big picture: Do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis.
3. Don't avoid the competition: Go to school on your competition.
4. Find the sweet spot: Focus on the right strategy for achieving your goals.
5. Harness the power of self-presentation: Learn the principles of visual identity.
6. Tap into the power of words: Learn the principles of verbal identity.
7. Think in terms of markets: Engage in and respond to the market.
8. Expand your network and your visibility: Become known for something by somebody somewhere.
9. Execute a self-brand action plan: Develop specific tactics and implement each as scheduled.
10. Stay relevant: Measure how you are doing

In closing Chapter One, Kaputa provides these words: "The first secret of self-brands: That person in the mirror is the only person you can rely on. But that's not sad. It's powerful."

Women power,

Dad

Stay Whole Tuesday - Commit - 16.2

Continuing with Chapter One of You Are a Brand!, one of the key messages is that we must 'commit'! You must take an active role, not a passive role, in defining who you are and your future. This requires some work. It also requires both sides of the brain. The left-brain is more analytical and fact-based, as well as planning. What are the facts? What skills do I have? What experience do I have? How can I get more experience in areas that I enjoy? The right-brain is more intuitive and creative. The right-brain is where you develop your visual identity (your packaging) and your verbal identity (your self-brand messages).

Stay whole,

Dad

Make it a great Monday - Self Branding (continued) - 16.1

Sally,

Proud of you for studying so hard and doing so well in your classes! I will pick up my dialog on the subject of self branding tomorrow.

Remember: "Why, then the world's mine oyster!"

Make it a great Monday,

Dad

Fit as a Fiddle Friday - Find Your 'Big Idea' - 15.5

Continuing with our study of Chapter One - Take Charge of Your Self-Brand, Kaputa introduces that we all need to find our "Big Idea". If you come to the conclusion that you are your most important asset (in a sense, you are your only asset) then your ability to maximize the asset that is you is the single most important ingredient in your success. She calls this "Big Idea", your USP - Unique Selling Proposition.

"A person represents a skill set. A self-brand represents a Big Idea, a belief system, that other people find special and relevant."

An analogy would be a tennis shoe without any markings on the side. It is just a shoe. It might be a fine, high performing shoe, but it is just a shoe. Add a simple 'swoosh' on the side of the shoe, and now it is a 'Nike' shoe. (Read about the creation of the swoosh and how the graphic designer charged the company $35 for her work.)

So I've been giving this USP concept some thought. I know I am a talented sales person and a leader of people. But there are lots of talented sales professionals and managers in the world today. What sets me a part?

My name is G. Page Singletary and I am a salesman, who leads and inspires those around me to reach their dreams. I have a passion for education and a deep understanding of the marketplace, where I have spent the lions share of my career, having successfully launched three education-based businesses. I am a unique combination of my two grandfathers - the entrepreneur and the preacher. 

My grandfather, Poppy, was a great businessman and a pure salesman. He often referred to himself as a peddler. I spent a lot of time with Poppy when I was a child, riding in his car, talking on his rotary-dial 'car phone', learning the fundamentals. A good salesman always has a pen . . . listen more than you talk . . . and remember this poem: "What's behind the door, I am not sure, but this I know and know it well, the more I open the more I sell."

My father's dad was a Baptist minister, who passed away two years before I was born. I have come to realize that I also have a lot of my Granddaddy Singletary in me. People feel good around me, people come to me for council, people trust me . . . all qualities of an outstanding minister.

If the need is for sales leadership in the education space, I am your man - G. Page Singletary.

 Stay fit,

Dad

Colloquial Thursday - Take charge of Your Self-Brand - 15.4

My executive summary of Chapter One - Take Charge of Your Self-Brand, from the book You are a Brand! starts as follows. First the author points out that brands are about 'soft' things. For companies today, it is not about the hard things like bricks, mortar, equipment and inventories; it's the soft things, . . . "the brands and company reputation, the ideas and intellectual capital, the consumer relationships and business alliances - that have the most value." Think about companies like Facebook, Google, Microsoft or even companies that sell hard products, like Coca Cola, Nike, Patagonia, etc.

"The same is true for people. It isn't the hard, quantifiable things, like educational credentials, experience, and job titles, that contribute the most to success. The real power lies in harnessing soft power - strategy and tactics, image and visual identity, words and verbal identity, visibility and reputation, and other branding ideas - all things that help attract people to you."

This book is about helping you develop an effective self-branding strategy that works in achieving professional and life goals but also is true to you - that brings more of you into the equation. Have you ever met someone and just asked them, "So what are YOU all about?" "What makes you, you?" "What makes you tick?" "Come on, give me something unique?" These are important questions.

Kaputa says, "This could be made up of your point of view, your style, even your mystique - the X Factor that makes you special and relevant." I hope you are thinking about these things as you walk around campus and meet people; and as you consider your field / fields of study. If you can start to develop the 'Sally' brand at your age, the world will open up in ways that you can not imagine! Or, to use a line from Shakespeare, "The world's mine oyster."

Women Power Wednesday - Catherine Kaputa - 15.3

Hey Sally,

So how did Catherine Kaputa become a subject matter expert on branding for success? She is an interesting woman, who also wrote a book called The Female Brand. The Female Brand is a how-to and how-to-think book for women who want to maximize their potential (and for the men who work with them, love them and want to understand them.) Her background is interesting.

When she was your age, she was a journalism and advertising major at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She switched her major to fine arts her senior year, in order to pursue an interest in Japanese Art History! She later earned an M.A. from the University of Washington, and was a Ph.D. Candidate at Harvard University. She won a two year scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education to study at Tokyo University, and was a Smithsonian summer fellow in Washington, D.C. She wrote two books on the subject of Asian Art.

It makes me think of you and your strong writing skills, as well as your interest in design. I think it is important that you continue to develop both of those passions. Tomorrow I will reflect on Chapter 1 of You are a Brand!, which is titled, Take Charge of Your Self-Brand.

Women power,

Dad