Personal Branding for managers and executives? An interview to William Arruda

Personal Branding ·

My 2015 started with a new book curation: the italian edition of the book “Ditch! Dare! Do!”, by William Arruda and Deb Dib, in collaboration with my publisher Hoepli!

Personal Branding per i manager di William Arruda e Deb Dib a cura di Luigi Centenaro edito da HoepliThe Italian title sounds like “Personal Branding for the Manager”, because the focus of the book is on how a Personal Branding strategy can help executives to achieve success for themselves and their company, but of course its content is really useful for anybody: I loved the book! In fact it is a practical instruction handbook, designed specifically to achieve maximum results with little time available.

I couldn’t be more happy since the book preface is by Enrico Pedretti, marketing manager of ManagerItalia (the Italian Association for Executives), honouring us with some good coverage on their media assets!

In occasion of the book release in fact, ManagerItalia interviewed William to get some other sparks on Personal Branding. Here below the original short interview in English:

William Arruda - Personal Branding StrategistWhat’s Personal Branding for you in 3 words?

Being your best self (OK that’s four words!)
How many managers are really developing a Personal Brand strategy in the USA?
Most Fortune 100 companies and many smaller companies have Personal Branding programs installed as part of their leadership development. When I started in the world of Personal Branding, few managers knew about it. Today most career minded leaders know what Personal Branding is and understand its importance to success.
Why should a manager do Personal Branding?
Because to make things happen, they need to influence a lot of people. Personal Branding helps you stand out from others and get people to want to work with you and to support you. People work with people they know, like and trust. Personal Branding helps managers lead authentically and builds strong bonds with all stakeholders.
Is Personal Branding useful for professionals too?
The line between the personal and professional is fading. The most successful people live authentically in work and personal situations. They days of having a persona for work and conforming are long gone. Business is a human endeavor and it requires that you be yourself – your best self – always.
Could you list 3 must do for a good Personal Branding strategy?
First: Understand your brand. What is authentic to you, differentiating from your peers and relevant and compelling to the people who are making decisions about you.
Second: Build a communication plan. That means writing a compelling bio and identifying the tools you will use to reach your target audience (Blogs, video, articles, public speaking, networking, etc.)
Third: Integrate your brand into everything you do. Put your mark on meetings. Make sure people know your contributions and the value associated with them. Rethink how you lead meetings, participate on conference calls, etc.
How could we evaluate our Personal Brand?
Measure it against your goals. Are you achieving your goals? Do more of the right people know you? Are opportunities coming to you without you having to pursue them? Are you happier at work?

Luigi Centenaro

Docente presso SDA Bocconi, MIP, WHU Dusseldorf, ESSEC Parigi, Bath SoM e St. Gallen, fondatore di BigName, gli specialisti dell’innovazione professionale in azienda. Primo Personal Branding Strategist italiano, orgoglioso autore e curatore per Hoepli e fondatore di PersonalBranding.it (2008)

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