Friday, June 1, 2012

Your Brand and Your Board!

When you think about Nike what do you envision?  Michael Jordan soaring through the air?  the swoosh?  When you think about Ikea what  do you envision?  European styling? Frugality?  When you think about ___________________ (insert your name ) what do you envision?  What do others see?

Well, every successful business and person works dilligently to secure their brand.  We must think of our name in  the same way.  Our name is our brand recognized by reputation, and built on deeds, successes, failures and especially our character.

Each successful company not only has a CEO but also has a very important Board of Directors. 
The Board of Directors assists the CEO in manifesting his/her company's vision.

If we consider ourselves  the CEO of our unique brand we must also create a  Personal Board of Directors that serves us in the same way of a board in the corporate or non-profit world.

On a corporate board we seek expertise for  areas such as  development, marketing, finance.  On our Personal Board we should seek  folks who we can seek both accountability and expertise from in the same way. 
Maria Shriver writes in  Ten Things, I Wish I'd Known Before I went Out into the Real World. 
"I believe all of us rise when we work with principles we believe in consistently-and when we work with people who believe the same way."  We can not always control the ethics of a co-worker but we can control the ethical standards of the people that we place on our Personal Board of Directors. 

Your Personal Board of Directors should consist of:

1.  A past colleague
2.  A spiritual leader
 3. A family member
4.  A former professor/coach
5.  A former boss/mentor currently in your field
6.  A like- minded friend.

 These people should have diverse opinions and experiences that will help you see your decisions from different perspectives.

Select Carefully and Beware!
Be certain to vet your Personal Board of Directors for folks who are not genuine and do not have your best interest.  Oftentimes, saboteurs find their way close to you. Watch out for the Judas  that may be lurking on your Board. Select carefully, stay in contact consistently and feel free to remove  board members as your goals change.


KEEP STRIVING!!!!!

To read more about Personal Board of Directors  click on this link to a CBS News Blog
http://m.cbsnews.com/fullstory.rbml?&catid=44342062&feed_id=76&videofeed=43

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