Why SWOT Your Personal Brand?
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You are the CEO of a brand called YOU. Imagine calling a board meeting to discuss how best to enhance and communicate your brand. Think of you as a brand, just like Nike, Rolex, Gillette, Google or Guinness. What does your brand represent? What makes you different?
For your personal brand to shine, you have to SWOT it good. Getting attention is increasingly difficult. You need a powerful brand that lends itself to communication with others. That is the only way to get attention in a busy world. Just like big companies do when faced with competition, you need to do a SWOT analysis of your brand.
- Strengths: helpful attributes that can help you achieve your objectives.
- Weaknesses: harmful attributes that can prevent achievements.
- Opportunities: external conditions that support achieving your objectives.
- Threats: external conditions that could do damage to your personal brand.
Know Your Strengths
Take time to reflect on your personal brand. What is your strong side? What do you do that gets others to complement you? Take a blank writing pad and get to work. Write each of your strengths down. Write each of your talent, skill, personality attributes etc. Create a brand statement based on your areas of strength. Use your core strengths to enhance your brand image.
Use the power of baby steps (Kaizen) to enhance your strengths. For example, if you are good in writing, start off by sending letters to the editor for your local papers. If you are good at organizational skills, start by organizing a retreat for your friends, or start a group with set objective. Do not start climbing Mount Everest from the top. Find a few of your strengths and grow them.
For effective brand building, look at your strengths with a long term view. Develop your assets and link them to your long term branding efforts. Communicate your strengths with others through application of your strengths. Manage your brand assets well. Your brand assets include your talents, friends, knowledge and motivation.
Know Your Weaknesses
We all have weaknesses. Be aware of your own weaknesses before others become aware of them. Take a hard look at your past experiences, be really honest with yourself and identify your weaknesses.
Look for weaknesses in various areas of life. Do you have a weakness in your thought patterns? Do you have self limiting beliefs? Is your self confidence high or low? How well do you manage your emotional state? Do you get angry, jealous, afraid, anxious etc.
Conduct a thorough skills assessment on yourself. How do you rate your people skills? How do you rate your technical skills? Are you proficient in skills that set you apart from your competition?
Use the power of Kaizen to improve your weak areas. Do not overly focus on your weaknesses. Identify your weaknesses and develop a plan of improvement.
Know Your Opportunities
What stage are you at in life? Are you about to finish your studies? Are you on the verge of starting a business? Are you in a new relationship? Have you made new friends lately? Has something changed in your life that may impact your personal brand?
The changes in your environment and people around you may present opportunities. What connections have you made? Be on the look out for new opportunities. Do not chase after each and every opportunity, but do not let valid opportunities for enhancing your brand pass you by.
Know Your Threats
What external barriers are threats to your brand image? Do you face stiff competition? Is the state of the economy affecting you? Do you have internal barriers such as self sabotage?
Many people have a problem with balancing work and life issues when pursuing success. Protect your brand by creating balance in your life. Pursue your career but do not neglect your health, friends and family.
Think of all the external hurdles that you may have to jump before you can propel your brand to success.
Summary
You can improve your personal brand by conducting a SWOT analysis of your personal brand just like big companies do. Assess your current brand image; look for your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Use the Kaizen Principle to improve your brand image, step by step.
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