Giving your CEO’s personality a brand-new look takes a lot of time and effort. The concept of personal brand has deservedly become a permanent fixture in business circles thanks to PR professionals who have envisioned the brand’s reputation through the CEO’s vibrant personality.
Does a top leader of a top-tier company really require impression management? Is it worth it to have your social media accounts monitored? There is no unanimous answer, but a robust image certainly plays first fiddle. In trading, for example, meta trade 5 translates market data into decisions, just as a personal brand reflects a company’s values.
Getting Back to Basics
Let’s approach personal brand as a consciously constructed, holistic, and positive image of a person in customers’ minds. That is about the perception of their traits, values, knowledge, and experience in the eyes of all interested parties (stakeholders).
Broadly speaking, a properly formed professional brand brings various advantages to the table: trust in the personality and the company; better, more effective communication with key audiences and the ability to create the necessary resonance in conflict situations; ultimately, establishing partnerships and attracting new clients.
Point #1: What You Have to Tell As A CEO
People trust people, so every organization requires a visible public speaker. Not all structures can afford a press secretary, so, as a rule, the face of the company (owner or CEO) acts as a frontman, representing the organization at the highest possible level.
Product launch, a successful partnership, or a deal – all this news should be first submitted by the head of the company. This will definitely add recognition and brand loyalty.
However, a personal brand is also a proactive public promise. “Brands communicate the quality inherent in a product or service and reassure customers that they made the right choice,” Alina Wheeler, an American designer and brand guru, argued in her book “Brand Identity.”
A personal brand should sound like a narrative about entrepreneurial success, an unconventional life path, and the ability to convey valuable lessons learned about physical, emotional, and moral integrity, and, ultimately, leadership skills and extraordinary business experience.
Point #2: Leading from Wholeness
A businessman who builds his personal brand is always a role model from a client’s point of view. A CEO is an example and constantly teaches something, conveys something. However, the situation when such an entrepreneur is far from integrity happens more often than we care to admit.
A bright example is the speech of Gerald Ratner, owner of the Ratner jewelry store chain. In 1991, at the annual meeting of the Institute of Directors, he claimed: “We make crystal sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver trolley … and all for £4.95”.
People act surprised: “How can you sell this at such a low price?” And he answered: “Because it’s all total crap”. The company subsequently lost £500 million, and in November 1992 Ratner was forced to resign.
Another integrity feature of a brand holder is the ability to control themselves and withstand the blow in crises affecting their business or personal life. When the pressure of a change increases rapidly, the leader will have to find the strength to respond quickly – that is, to gather all available skills and abilities.
Point #3: Are You Ready to Sacrifice?
Business publications begin to take an interest in an entrepreneur when he has demonstrated at least minimal success. So there are three widely used channels/tools: books, authors’ columns, and social networks.
- Books: Not everyone can write a business publication at the level of the highest-rated business owner. A book is a kind of reputational crown, and it is not worth starting to build your own brand with it.
- Columns: PR specialists will tell you first – the demand for CEOs’ publications is immense, so each material is carefully selected by media editorial offices from the standpoint of expediency and compliance with the interests of the target audience.
- Social media. Indeed, the emergence of social networks has marked the development of the Internet. As a result, even if a business leader has something to say to people around them, it can be difficult to break through the curtain of information noise without proper advertising.
No pain no gain
The 16th US President, Abraham Lincoln, is credited with the maxim: “Character is like a tree, and reputation is like its shadow. We are worried about the shadow, when in reality we should be thinking about the tree.”
Having gone through all three points, an entrepreneur can determine whether he wants to build a personal brand of a responsible businessman, while being virtuous and original. In some cases, they will even realize that it is time to shape the agenda of the business community and influence millions with their thinking as a prominent CEO and company leader.
