The CIO Coach

All The World's A Stage, But...

"All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players."

William Shakespeare could not have foreseen how much this would describe life in the 21st century. With our world of 24x7 personal broadcasting, everyone who desires to can literally and figuratively play on the world stage in moments via the various platforms available to us today.

And with this new global stage is the ability to attract an audience that can, in turn, attract amazing opportunities for our lives, careers, and businesses. This is why personal branding is so important. A powerful executive brand can open doors around the world, and at lightening speed, if well-crafted and well-marketed.

However - and here's the cruncher - since you are constantly in the limelight on this world stage (your profiles are viewed more than you may realize), this transparency can showcase the best in you, the worst, and everything in between. It can be a boost or a bust to your career and job search. It can open doors, or close them just as quickly, depending on how you play your part.

With that in mind, let me make a few observations (with all respect to Shakespeare):

All the world's a stage, but...

    You don't need the ego of a Hollywood actor.  

Like others, I fear we are teetering on the cliff of narcissism in social media. Some humility, and even a certain amount of vunerability, is a good thing. A large number of fans may be exciting, but don't let it go to your head. A solid personal brand and being known as an expert in your niche is excellent and to be applauded, but be careful not to allow pride to inflate your ego - it will show. Rather than  thinking about how you can play to your audience so that you look good, instead be thankful for them and spend time cultivating how you might serve them better. This mindset will serve you better (excuse the pun) and your audience will be appreciative. In addition, your network will do more for you if you exercise more thought for others, and less of yourself.

       All the world's a stage, but...      

            Don't fake your brand. 

Authenticity is essential for a brand to be enduring, and fake brands are easy to spot.

Adopting a brand from a magazine, from a competitor, or simply from the latest trends and buzzwords, doth not (as Shakespeare might have said it) make for thee an authentic brand. Uncover what makes YOU unique and valuable to the marketplace. Don't hide behind a mask, be real.

This doesn't mean that you should ignore good marketing or not bother to create a brand worthy of your audience, with their needs in mind, but be sure to craft your brand from a place of authenticity.

     

          All the world's a stage, but...

            You don't have to spend your life trying to remember your lines.

Once you have that "aha" moment, when you know what your brand is and how it should look, and once it is articulated and initially rehearsed, thereafter it should flow naturally and freely (you could say it in your sleep). The mark of a good personal brand is that it is infused with passion and if you really are passionate about your brand, that will be projected to your audience. People respect passion and conviction - surveys have shown us that passion can make the difference between securing a new opportunity or not. If you have to look at a piece of paper before sharing your brand statement, it probably hasn't come from the heart.  

    All the world's a stage, but...

        You don't have to spend your every hour playing to an audience.

There is more to life than playing to a virtual audience. Live your brand and exude it in a non-virtual environment, naturally. Your brand will be strengthened with live interaction and weakened if only virtual. You have to have something more than an online persona or it will show in your brand value.

In summary, yes, all the world's a stage, but don't let it go to your head. You may get a kick out of the limelight, but be much more than an actor, but real, be substantive, be truly focused on bringing value to your target audience, your organization, your peers, your customers and all other stakeholders. You will be much more in demand, as a result.

Now, go wow the world with your authentic brand and bring them value they can appreciate. Let that in turn, bring you the opportunities you desire to see in your life.  "Lights, camera, action!"

And if you're a Senior Technology Executive, and you'd like help uncovering, crafting and exuding an effective personal brand, feel free to contact me at http://cio-coach.com

It would be my pleasure to help.

Kim Batson

The CIO Coach

The Proof Is In The Job Offer Pudding

Wow..what a terrific week! FOUR of my clients contacted me with great news: all of them received at least two exciting executive job offers each in the space of a few days! I'd say this is excellent news, especially in a time of recession. I couldn't wait to congratulate them.

This underscores something very important also. The process of the right preparation works. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Doing the right things will produce the right results - and quickly! Skimping, cutting corners to try to save time and money, can lead to months of wasted time thrashing around in a frustrating job search.

I've lost count of the number of times a panicked executive has contacted me, wanting an overnight resume "just to get it out there" to recruiters and job postings. After I've listened to their frustrations that their job searches were going nowhere, and we've discussed why this strategy doesn't work, they usually (though not always) see the light. It's not the quick and dirty resume creation and job search that produces a quick and clean result. That, in fact, only produces frustration and a long and arduous job search.

It is the right preparation (albeit as quickly as possible) up front, that allows the executive job seeker to score the best results on the back end: i.e. quickly gain the job offer they want!

My company statistics strongly bear this out. Over the 12+ years that I've been helping executives get new jobs, those motivated clients that partner with me to powerfully and rightfully prepare, quickly secure the job offers they really want: on average 300% faster than the national averages.

So what kind of preparation am I referring to? Preparing a powerful executive resume and biography that highlights the value you bring to an organization, creating a personal brand that attracts the attention of your target audience (i.e. being crystal clear with your value proposition), and becoming aware of (and putting into action) the right job search strategies needed to be effective in today's job search marketplace.

So which camp are you in? The "let me throw it out there quick" or "let me prepare properly" camp?

The results you are having may be the proof as to which track you've decided to take, or shall we say which pudding you've opted for...

Food for thought, wouldn't you say?!

Here's to your success!

Kim Batson, The CIO Coach