When I talk about creating Brand “You”, I’m not talking about creating a fictional super hero or heroine who is larger and more perfect than life and can achieve any task. I’m talking about digging down deep to unearth the real you; to focus on what is unique about you, your personal style  and your unique talents and achievements. Use those achievements to buttress your case. Then broadcast it to the world.

How do you do that?

Remember, everything about you becomes part of your personal brand.  How you walk and talk. How you dress. How you interact with others.  All of these hundreds of different pieces out there become transformed into “Brand You”.

Let’s start with the pieces.

Develop your own style. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlitt Packard and one of the most visible women in business, knew style was critical.  When asked by a young girl how to dress, she declared, “expensive and decisively.” Fiorina dressed, looked, talked, and acted like a leader. She developed reputational power by tackling critical issues and getting results, moving boldly and quickly.

Edit what you write  to achieve a lean, powerful, professional “Brand You”.  Yes, it’s great if you’re a good mother, father, aunt, windsurfer, rock hound, won your high school debating contest, have a white picket fence, two dogs and a cat, but it’s not relevant to your professional brand.  Leave it out. Trim it down.  Put in only your marketable attributes, then condense for impact.

Posting To Social Networks. Take a deep breath and consider what your  boss might think before hitting the submit button.

Don’t you think talented, incoming Obama administration director of speechwriting, Jon Favreau, would like to take back that one split second when he or a friend hit the submit button and sent to Facebook those photos of himself  at  a party where, evidently, the booze flowed freely? One was a photo of Favreau dancing with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of secretary of state-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Another where he’s placed his hand on the cardboard former first lady’s chest ( groping her) while a friend (appears to be nibbling on her cardboard ear and ) is offering her lips a beer?  Oops!

That’s the kind of mistake that can kill your career quicker than you can say “John Edwards”.  Even though many women are howling for his scalp, Favreau is young enough that he may get a pass on this one. (Although Obama surely can’t be too pleased. Did we mention the word “distraction” while he’s trying to put together an administration?)  But you don’t need to make this kind of mistake. Aside from the other obvious implications, it makes you look stupid.   I mean what could the response be? “Gee I thought you never went on the Internet.”  “I thought only my friends would see it.” “I wasn’t thinking”.  No kidding.  Just don’t put up anything you wouldn’t want your boss or anyone else on the  planet to see and you won’t have to worry about it.

Visibility And Alliances

Polishing your story, condensing it and getting it out there in both the real and the virtual world are the beginning.  Networking to form alliances will help you take it to the next level.  But at it’s core, what sums you up for the world, is the professional brand you’ve created and conveyed.

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