A brand is not a bunch of made up stuff designed to make you look or feel good. You have enough good points already to leverage. If the people don’t love it, “they ain’t your people [Period].
Quick story.
I went to Guitar Center with a friend who was looking for a microphone for his podcast show he is starting. There were 3 choices he was looking at and they could be classified as Good, Better, Best.
As he was talking to the sales person he let them know that I have the “Good” mic and he was asking him why he should buy the best. After a little bit of technical jargon he said, “We have a saying where I come from, ‘Go hard or go home.”
My immediate response, “Where are you from?” New York he said, Brooklyn. Oh, what part of Brooklyn. East New York he said. That’s cool, I’m from Flatbush.
There was this feeling of, “I’m from Brooklyn, we go hard out there,” from the salesperson that I’ve seen before as I’ve traveled around.
Fast forward, my buddy decides to get the “Better” microphone and at the end of the purchase the following conversation took place.
Me: So what brought you from E. New York to Central Massachusetts
Salesperson: My parents divorced.
My friend: How long you been out here?
Salesperson: Well I was born in Queens, spent a little bit of time in Brooklyn and been here pretty much my whole life.
My friend: Where in Brooklyn again?
Salesperson: You take the Jackie Robinson Parkway to the end and right there. Brownsville I think.
Me in my heart (Man you’re not from Brooklyn. I’m from Brooklyn and you sir are no Brooklynite).
The moral of the story
Just be who you are and be proud of your path. No need to embellish as you work on building your personal brand at work. This is about aligning who you are, with the work you do. That’s it. The story I shared is exactly what branding is not.
Remember you don’t have to leave your job to leave a mark, but you have to leave the lies behind. This is Mike Ambassador Bruny for Brand Inside a Brand signing out.
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