Personal Branding 1 – The Origin

When we coaches speak to our coachees that they should think about their ‘personal brand’ we often get a blank stare. ‘What has personal branding got to do with me? I am an engineer with 25 years of experience managing a P&L of a thousand crores…. Isn’t that good enough?’ are the kind of thoughts that are probably going through their mind. Also they sometimes ask ‘Isn’t this personal branding a new new thing? Why should I be bothered by this new thing that seems to have grown after the advent of social media?’

Is the term personal branding just a shiny new toy in the hands of coaches and mentors? Or is it something that has been there for a long time?

The first article on the topic of personal branding was written by Tom Peters. It was a cover story or a cover feature in the Fast Company magazine. The year: 1997. For those who may not be aware, Tom Peters is a former McKinsey consultant who, with his colleague Robert Waterman,  wrote the global best seller ‘In Search of Excellence’. So when Tom Peter writes, the world takes notice.

In the article titled ‘A Brand Called You’ Tom Peters explained that ‘like a brand you are making a promise to your stakeholders… you are selling’. Tom Peters explained that you will benefit tremendously if you know what you stand for, in the eyes of those who interact with you. By understanding the current perceptions, you can take control and ensure that you are perceived the way you want to be perceived. Just as a brand has a play book to ensure that it is perceived in the right light, you too should be conscious of this.

To come back to our early doubts, the concept of personal branding was first espoused as far back as in 1997, almost three decades ago. Personal branding was first written about the same year that also saw the release of the movie Titanic and the first of the Harry Potter books. If you are under the impression that it is something new that has grown on the back of social media posts, you are mistaken.

It is however true that social media has enabled every one of us to amplify our personal brand presence. But if you equated personal branding to social media posts, you are sadly mistaken.

For the last three decades numerous articles and books have been published on the topic of personal branding. Harvard Business Review had a cover feature on personal branding in its May-June 2023 issue.

Now that it is clear that personal branding is not a new fad, how does an executive understand and build his or her personal brand?

In this series specially being written for Coaching Foundation of India, I will be exploring the many myths that surround personal branding and present some simple steps to build your personal brand.

Ambi Parameswaran is a CFI Certified CEO Coach and a best selling author of 12 books. His latest book ‘All the World’s a Stage’ is a personal branding story.

– Ambi Parameswaran