Forget The Sizzle, Sell The Steak

I made an interesting acquaintance today, a co-author on Careerhub. He called after reading my recent diatribe on personal branding.

Mark Hovind is author of JobBait.com, and he's a seasoned veteran at helping senior executives manage their careers and job hunts. And as I learned today, he's gotten pretty disgusted at the hype surrounding "personal branding."

Readers of my blog know that I'm actually a fan of the principles of personal branding — snaps to Wendy Terwelp, my favorite expert in the field. But I agree with Mark that some people have over-hyped personal branding. To quote Mark, "Branding is dripping with 'get rich quick' hype." Reminding us that brand is a noun and not a verb, Fast Company Magazine said, "In a brilliant twist, the experts have bottled an end and sold it as a means."

At the pinnacle of personal branding, IMHO, is Brandego.com. Depending on where you stand on the "personal branding: hype or powerful juju?" spectrum, Brandego is either the ultimate tool or absolut overkill. (Absolut ... haha ... get it?) To be sure, Brandego can pimp you like nobody else ... but is that really a good thing?

Don't get me wrong, I firmly agree with all the principles of personal branding, and so does Mark. But the hype has exceeded the substance. I like Mark's take on things — back to basics, back to value — and I look forward to hearing more from him.

Comments

[Kirsten Dixson]

Hi George, I'm not sure whether to thank you for your comments on Brandego or not. ;-) You used some pretty powerful words. I have a real beef with your post title (pun intended) as it relates to our clients. We certainly aren't making stuff up about them just for sizzle, but rather showcasing their authentic, substantive personal brands in a cohesive and professional way that will resonate with their target audience. They have also reported great feedback and results, and that's what really matters. I originated the idea of Brandego because there weren't any decent online identity options for my own career coaching clients. What bothered me the most were the "portfolio" sites that didn't have one iota of proof of performance (isn't that what a portfolio is all about?). Brandego projects are the result of a very labor intensive process that is grounded in our solid career-management expertise, personal branding training from Reach (the global leader - same as Wendy Terwelp), and quality design and programming talent. We spend the vast majority of each project on the branding and content, and then the design and programming are relatively easy. Design is an important part of what we offer, however, since it provides an opportunity to communicate something about a client's brand on a deeper, visual level. And, clearly the designs get us and our clients noticed!

Quite often we collaborate with clients who want to build their own websites or blogs but want help with defining their personal brands. With the ease of blogs and other DIY options, we must continue to be more about the message than the medium.

Kirsten Dixson
Founding Partner
Brandego
Web Portfolios & Blogs for Career and Personal Brand Management