Adam Grant is a spectacularly successful man who escaped the boundaries of traditional academic life to become a global celebrity. An author. A highly-paid speaker. A sought-after podcast guest and mainstream media superstar.
As he enjoys the success fueled by his own personal brand, he continues to lambast the idea of a personal brand. In his latest podcast episode, “The case against personal branding,” he concludes that a personal brand is a “performance” that is inauthentic and unsustainable. It is by definition separate from a person’s values and talents. It is based on “self-promotion and pervasive boasting.”
He uses cherry-picked anecdotes and refers to silly online influencers to support the idea that working on a personal brand is self-absorbed and destined to fail.
But as I slogged through this podcast (which featured 10 commercials in 25 minutes), he ironically SUPPORTS the notion of a personal brand, at least the way I have taught it for more than 10 years.
Powerful personal brands
This is what I teach: A personal brand is not about you. It is about uniquely serving others. It means having the reputation, authority, and presence to get your job done. It is fueled by consistent, helpful, generous content and original ideas. It requires patience, generosity, and humility.
Here is the truth, folks:. Being “known” in this world is the only countermeasure you have against AI bots targeting your skill set, and possibly your career. If you are known in your industry — which is different than being famous — more doors will open, more funds will flow, more calls will be returned. Working on your personal brand is like investing in an insurance policy for your career.
If you want to sell a book, be invited to give a speech, or have a successful online course, you must be KNOWN. Period.
I could line up a hundred people who will testify that going through my personal branding class changed their life, launched their business, and propelled their careers. This is the most rewarding work I have ever done.
This is not the first time Adam Grant went off on personal brands and I have written about this before (my Adam Grant Rant). Likewise, Sheryl Sandberg has decried any effort to build your brand and yet, there is no person with a more curated online presence.
Ask yourself … could Adam Grant be sponsored by TED, have 10 advertisers for his podcast, and command top dollar as a speaker if he didn’t have a team of people promoting him on social media? Hypocrisy.
You can have a personal brand and still be kind, values-driven, and generous. In fact, that is the strategy. Don’t fall for link-bait headlines about the death of personal brands. The alternative to being known is being ignored.
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