Shaking hands: your non-verbal calling card

Shaking hands as a form of greeting is a custom that predates Roman times. Having a “good” handshake is important because it creates a first impression.  In business, it is your non-verbal calling card.  
My observations of shaking many hands over the years…
Young men and women who haven’t given the handshake much thought need to. Your handshake should not be weak, not overly aggressive.  Hand-to-hand contact is [...]

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Personal branding: lovers, friends and acquaintances

What’s the number one asset of your personal brand? Your skills? your education? your work experience? None of the above. It is your relational capital, your network of relationships. People with strong personal brands build connections with a wide range of constituents.  They are comfortable with a portfolio of work relationships; they know who needs to be treated like trusted [...]

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You’re fired! Your personal brand gets ambushed

You should expect to be fired at least once or twice during your lifetime. It may be labeled downsizing or outsourcing but, bottom-line, you’re fired. It’s the new, gig economy we’re evolving into. It feels bad no matter what it’s labeled or what the root cause is.
Getting fired is a significant emotional event that triggers [...]

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Bragging Rights, Women and Personal Branding

Last year after a pitch I made to a group of venture capitalists in New York City, I got some well-deserved feedback: don’t be self-deprecating.  I unthinkingly opened my pitch with a stupid “Sorry about …” statement.  Now, a VC pitch can be brutal.  You have less than 5 minutes to convince people to invest [...]

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When technology goes wild

What happens when technology conversions or implementations go wild? You get social patterns in your company that look like cross-talk, territorial disputes, fear of technology, open and subtle resistance, running faster and harder (but going nowhere), wasted energy and resources. 
Over the years I’ve observed executives and senior leaders be so excited about adopting a new application like [...]

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