Category Archives: Purpose

Resurrection

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Lillies

Sometimes, death surrounds us. Like the slow, innevitable death of a dream. Maybe it’s the painful death of a relationship with someone you cared for deeply. It could simply be the death of passion for anything in your life… including your career.

This weekend carries with it a beautiful story of redemption and renewing. The story of the Resurrection isn’t just powerful because it happened then. It is also powerful because it happens today.

Maybe there’s a “rebirth” that can happen in your life. Rebirth brings us back to the beginning. So, think back to the start. The start of your dream. The beginning of your job. The initial moments of that relationship. What was there? Can you get that back?

Can that stone be rolled away, and the tomb be opened?

I think you know who to ask.

The Old Old is the New New

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I’ve grown quite fond of my old-style hats. I have a fedora and a willis hat. When I wear theses hats I get comments from people (and sometimes stares). Yet, these were the hats everyone used to wear. Now, it seems like a very new thing to do.

Of course trends come and go and come back again. That’s nothing new. But it has made me think about how some of the recent trends in marketing are not new, but old. When business became modern, the old way became passé. In our postmodern world, old has become new:

Old Old is the New new

*see Brand Autopsy’s High-Tech vs. High-Touch post

**see Seth Godin

Making Your Own Measuring Stick

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Earlier this week I mentioned this was possibly Seth’s most important post.

Why do I say that?  Because as a society, we allow others to define success.  So we end up striving hard and sacrificing much in order to acheive someone else’s definition of success.  Living for too little a goal.

My take on life is we each have our own measuring stick. This is true of businesses as well.  If you’re adopting your definition of success from another person or adopting your company’s from the competition… you’ll probably fail even if you “succeed.”

This week, I heard the story of a man in our church.  I’ve known him for a while.  I have always been amazed by his involvement in leading others in the church and being involved in their lives.  He seems very successful in many ways, including busienss.  What I discovered this week was he capped his lifestyle early.  He owns his own business and now only works 20 hours a week.  The rest of his time is spent on his family and in ministry.

He has a different definition of success than many businessmen.

What’s the measuring stick you back your heels up to?  Tiptoeing and stretching in order to feel tall?  Have you ever wondered if being tall equals success?

For Those of You Wondering…

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Why is this a blog called Casual Fridays and its URL is thepeoplebrand.com?

Why Casual Fridays?

I chose this blog name mostly because I knew I would struggle to post to the blog every day. I figured I could post something each week (though I struggle with that sometimes as well), but I was afraid people would get frustrated six days of the week coming here and not seeing anything new. So I decided I would post on the same day each week.

I noticed there wasn’t much blog activity on Fridays, so I thought I would fill the gap a little. Since I knew I would be addressing business issues, the phrase “casual Fridays” made sense to set the theme and mood of my blog.

Why The People Brand?

The People Brand was the name under which I worked. It was my dba (doing business as). After accepting a position at Hahn Promotions recently, I no longer do business as The People Brand.

I chose TPB as my business name because I felt as though many businesses had lost what they’re all about: people. Your brand isn’t a feature or a positioning statement. It is people. Your management, your employees, your customers and non-customers alike.

Branding is about people. Business is about people. Its about how we treat one another. Its about how we show appreciation. Its about how we make them feel, how we feel, and how we communicate that… to PEOPLE.

Why am I saying this now?

I feel like I’ve strayed away. I’ve been in a rut. From the way I write to the way I read.

THAT’S GOING TO CHANGE.

I’m going to experiment a little… maybe a lot. But I’m hoping the one thing that continually comes across is the message: Business is about people.

I know it sounds cliche… “We’re in the people business.”

Everyone says that.

I want to say it differently. What that looks like??? Well, we’re gonna find out.
Hope you enjoy the ride.

Redeem or Replace?

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Invinsible

We love stories of redemption. I think it is something wired within us. It is something we all inherently yearn for.

We love the idea of something new. I think it is something we’ve been trained to desire.

New is sexy and mysterious.

New is full of potential.

New has no scorecard of history to hold it back.

Once the familiar has let us down, we start looking at the new. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…

In life, none of us want to play the role of the fool. So, we sacrifice to the idol of the ideal.

Yet, I believe we have to risk being viewed as a fool in order to play a part in a story of redemption.

Would it be foolish to sign an unemployed substitute teacher to an NFL team? Would you do it? I doubt I would. Yet, Invincible was last weekend’s top movie. We love the story of someone rising from the ashes.

This isn’t just all warm fuzzies though. I think there is true innovation found through redemption.

Like redeeming someone’s immune system to fight cancer. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. The opportunities are all around us, if we’re willing to risk being foolish.

What You’re Supposed to Do

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Moses supposes his toeses are roses,
But Moses supposes erroneously,
For Moses should knowses his toeses ain’t roses,
As Moses supposes his toeses to be.

Think about your day. About your roles in business and life in general.

When you think of being a father, mother, employee, director, boss, teacher, trainer, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Atheist, Republican, Democrat, Independent, patriot, countryman, performer, spectator, author, reader, customer, friend, or enemy… what are you supposed to do?

What are you supposed to do today? What are you supposed to do in your roles?

Let me give you a definition (and some bonus antonyms):

Suppose
Presumed to be true or real without conclusive evidence.

Antonyms: calculate, know, measure

Do you supposes your toeses are roses? 

U R a Brand… R U Authentic?

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On Wednesday, Tom Peters’ website featured a reference to Catherine Kaputa, a branding specialist and author of U R a Brand. The title and concept seem to fall in line with Tom Peters’ “Brand You” philosophy. Thanks to some comments on TP’s website, I did a double-take at the underpinnings of U R a Brand… and I agree with the detractors. One commenter found this statement disturbing:

“…As in product branding, the most important thing is not what you say about yourself, but what others say about you. You need to think not in terms of what you want to say, but what the market wants. Not what you want to do, but the reaction you want to get from customers “…
-From Catherine Kaputa’s website, referenced by onehandclapping on tompeters.com blog

Another commentor defended Kaputa’s declaration:

“Communicating not only what you are, but also, what do you aspire to be/ want to be!”
-Shaw, comment on tompeters.com blog

I think we’re treading on dangerous waters here. While Catherine’s book/website/services may contain helpful information and good tips, this statement by Shah encapsulates where I believe Catherine errs.

I could be wrong. It may just be a case of unfortunate wording, but it seems to permeate much of what I’ve read on her website. Reference Onehand’s pull quote. That’s the type of thinking that leads people to attempt being something other than themselves.

This is why I reference Now Discover Your Strengths, YourOneDegree, and The Gift of Being Yourself when I present on personal brands (as I do in my presentation of The Secret, the Shell, and the Flash in a Pan).

To be fair, I have not read Catherine’s book. The book may recommending individuals to communicate an authentic brand in a way that is relevant to what others talk about and what markets want. Still, I believe this is an important point to make: Your personal brand should not conflict with the brand of person you truly are.