Time to promote brand YOU

I read this article when I was at the airport a few minutes before I boarded the flight. During the flight, I wondered if this was true.

Then, I analysed the behaviour of a few of our senior consultants in the office and concluded that the statements mentioned are quite right. I remember a friend once mentioning to me that in a day your boss would think about you only once..and make sure that the thought is that "You are a smart guy".




Good article by Mint on promoting the brand you. If you are a powerful brand, and also work for a big brand firm, it helps a lot.

The highlights of that article are provided below and the entire article is here:

It’s time to promote brand you
There is no substitute for hard work. Still, you need to walk the walk and talk the talk to get noticed. Here’s how


Objective

To establish a Brand You that is a natural fit for where you want to be: partner in two years, CEO, country head, branch manager, ace money manager or whatever else it is you want to be. It could even be to gain recognition for technical expertise, recognition for leadership, success, fame, money, power.

Target audience

Identify your target audience carefully—ideally your boss, HR managers and associates.


Use the following forums to promote yourself:
So use the following forums:

At work: Through one-on-one meetings. Ask for extra review meetings with the boss, the office manager, the HR head, says Ashwani Singla, CEO, Genesis, a PR firm. With the boss you should discuss not only feedback on your performance and areas to be beefed up, but also make informed suggestions about the larger business. Again, with the office or branch head, besides seeking feedback, you should volunteer for larger projects or even a move out (thereby demonstrating flexibility and a willingness to learn)

At larger meetings: Design your contribution to be pithy and to the point. Prepare extensively on the agenda so as to be able to add meaningfully to the discussion. Be open to taking up stuff, such as writing the minutes, that no one else may volunteer for. If you are okay with taking up additional responsibilities, it’s good if others in the organization can see that too.

Informal forums: Use dead time—such as travel to offsites, the coffee before a client meeting—to exchange ideas and project your thoughts with your boss. Passing on expertise and relevant information always helps. Stray remarks at the water cooler, perhaps on competitor intelligence or other market data, can sometimes achieve more in creating an impression of you as a person who works hard and knows the market, than writing out a six-page competitor analysis. Interestingly enough, information exchanges at informal forums can be hugely powerful. Says Sareen: “One is likely to get a better sense of team morale and real issues over, say, an informal breakfast with new joinees or an impromptu session of chai-samosas late in the day at the operations shop-floor, rather than through any sort of formal

Email: Use email effectively for instant, non-intrusive communication. Short and snappy mails can be used to highlight information/communication relevant for the individual/organization. Links to articles on industry intelligence, news related to major customers are useful. They also clearly show you are an informed person, aware of larger trends and nuances.

Company publications such as newsletters, websites, blogs, etc: If you are a better writer than a speaker, use the written word to add value to the organization. Work on informative opinion pieces, original thesis and analysis. You could write a column in a local paper, blog or contribute to the company newsletter, says Mala Sinha, faculty member at Delhi University’s Faculty of Management Studies. “If there is no newsletter, use the company intranet or LAN.” The idea is to create a space for yourself in your organization where you are seen as an individual who engages with socially relevant concerns.

When you write, try and do so on stuff that has a synergy with the organization in some way. If, for instance, you are working in the software industry, you could dig up an interesting anecdote about the difference certain software made in a specific time and place.

Pick a cause: It could be a charity your organization funds. Or it could be something as simple as saving paper in small ways. Sinha suggests small measures, such as a campaign to photocopy on both sides of paper, could be valid in their own way.

Go beyond work: Discuss interests beyond work as well. Initiative and organizational talents at, say, setting up a soccer evening or an office picnic also make their own statements about your levels of enthusiasm and commitment to the workplace.

Use public forums: Make presentations in industry workshops. Besides creating visibility, this will ensure goodwill for your company. You will also slowly be recognized as an expert in your field not only by individuals in your company but by a larger section of the marketplace, including potential hires among students, trade organizations, and competitors.

Be there: Being there always works. “Attend every CEO wedding anniversary party, every kid’s party. Be visible,” says Beri.

And do what it takes: You need, as Peters sums it up, to communicate that you are the following: “First, you’ve got to be a great teammate and a supportive colleague. Second, you’ve got to be an exceptional expert at something that has real value. Third, you’ve got to be a broad-gauged visionary—a leader, a teacher, a far-sighted ‘imagineer’. Fourth, you’ve got to be a businessperson—you’ve got to be obsessed with pragmatic outcomes.”