The four questions the firm asks its clients for clarity before the work begins, starting with why. Lesson 7 of Personal Branding 101: An Unrivaled Series, from subchapter 1.7 of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, narrated by Isaac Mashman. Free, with no sign-up.
The four questions the firm asks its clients for clarity before the work begins, starting with why.
Before I give any client a strategy, I ask them four questions. Most people can't answer the first one. Welcome to Personal Branding 101. I'm Isaac Mashman, founder of Mashman Consulting Group and author of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence.
This is lesson 7, The 4 Pillar Questions. Question 1: why do you want to build your personal brand? There must be intention behind it. No one does anything without a reason. From my examination, there are three overarching motivations.
Vanity, think about buildings named after notable figures, from Carnegie Hall to Rockefeller Center. What is the point of having these monuments in your honor, especially after death, if not for vanity? Proving others wrong while proving yourself right is one of the most primal feelings.
It is when vanity becomes the only driving force that you start to appear egotistical and as someone who lacks purpose. A widely known personal brand gives you the overhead to talk about the things you care about, spread awareness, and champion movements. Think of Bill Gates and his dedication to eradicating disease.
Finally, we have money. Obscurity is the enemy of success. The larger your personal brand becomes, the lower the objection rate falls. It is not necessary to be famous to generate revenue by way of your personal brand.
You may be driven by one, a combination, or all three, and your reasons may change over time. Question 2: what do you want to be known for? Imagine yourself a few decades from now. What is the foremost thing others know you for?
Then question 2.1: what don't you want to be known for? Consider the opposite to know what to avoid. Question 3: who are you? Every part of you is a component of your personal brand. The way you look, your handshake, your interests, your smile, your personality, and so on.
No consultant or therapist will ever know you as well as you know yourself. Put your entire being onto paper, both the good and the bad. Question 4: how do you get to where you want to be? If you want to become a renowned public speaker, crafting a media kit and speaking at your local Chamber of Commerce is a start.
If you want to become an author, writing the first sentence is all it takes to set the groundwork. That is what started my entire writing journey. Define who you want to be, understand your desired outcomes, and reverse engineer the steps to get there.
So put it to work and here are your questions. Why are you building this? What do you want to be known for? Who are you? And finally, how will you get there?
Answer all four on one page and revisit that page every quarter. Every lesson in this series comes from my book, Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence. Next is lesson 8, The Hierarchy of Personal Branding. I'll see you there.
Each lesson takes one subchapter of Education, the Manifesto’s opening chapter, and animates it in a few minutes: the foundation the rest of the book, and the firm’s work, is built on.
In one word: you. What a personal brand is, how it differs from a company brand, where the term came from, and why it already exists before anyone sets out to build it.
Watch Lesson 1, 3:50Pharaohs, kings, and conquerors: people have carried personal brands for as long as there has been history, and the names that lasted are still studied today.
Watch Lesson 2, 2:59Why personal branding is the world's oldest form of branding, long before any company had a logo.
Watch Lesson 3, 3:08Leaders of the last 150 years, why personality can outweigh promises, a tattoo artist who put her village on the map, and a personal brand started on one phone.
Watch Lesson 4, 3:06Fame is the result of accumulated attention: what it is, how relative it is, and why on its own it is useless.
Watch Lesson 5, 3:06Influence is trust, and the ability to get someone to act or change the way they think: the heat in the fire that is a personal brand.
Watch Lesson 6, 3:13The four questions the firm asks its clients for clarity before the work begins, starting with why.
Watch Lesson 7, 3:33A six-level pyramid for the reach a personal brand can aspire to, and how to see where yours stands.
Watch Lesson 8, 5:13Before I give any client a strategy, I ask them four questions. Most people can't answer the first one. Welcome to Personal Branding 101. I'm Isaac Mashman, founder of Mashman Consulting Group and author of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence.
This is lesson 7, The 4 Pillar Questions. Question 1: why do you want to build your personal brand? There must be intention behind it. No one does anything without a reason. From my examination, there are three overarching motivations.
Vanity, think about buildings named after notable figures, from Carnegie Hall to Rockefeller Center. What is the point of having these monuments in your honor, especially after death, if not for vanity? Proving others wrong while proving yourself right is one of the most primal feelings.
It is when vanity becomes the only driving force that you start to appear egotistical and as someone who lacks purpose. A widely known personal brand gives you the overhead to talk about the things you care about, spread awareness, and champion movements. Think of Bill Gates and his dedication to eradicating disease.
Finally, we have money. Obscurity is the enemy of success. The larger your personal brand becomes, the lower the objection rate falls. It is not necessary to be famous to generate revenue by way of your personal brand.
You may be driven by one, a combination, or all three, and your reasons may change over time. Question 2: what do you want to be known for? Imagine yourself a few decades from now. What is the foremost thing others know you for?
Then question 2.1: what don't you want to be known for? Consider the opposite to know what to avoid. Question 3: who are you? Every part of you is a component of your personal brand. The way you look, your handshake, your interests, your smile, your personality, and so on.
No consultant or therapist will ever know you as well as you know yourself. Put your entire being onto paper, both the good and the bad. Question 4: how do you get to where you want to be? If you want to become a renowned public speaker, crafting a media kit and speaking at your local Chamber of Commerce is a start.
If you want to become an author, writing the first sentence is all it takes to set the groundwork. That is what started my entire writing journey. Define who you want to be, understand your desired outcomes, and reverse engineer the steps to get there.
So put it to work and here are your questions. Why are you building this? What do you want to be known for? Who are you? And finally, how will you get there?
Answer all four on one page and revisit that page every quarter. Every lesson in this series comes from my book, Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence. Next is lesson 8, The Hierarchy of Personal Branding. I'll see you there.
Read further: The 4 Pillar Questions, and Chapter 1 of the Manifesto (opens in a new tab).
The chapter the series is drawn from, word for word from the Second Edition.
Read Chapter 1 (opens in a new tab)The firm’s full answer, with the laws, the pillars, and the Hierarchy in one place.
Read the GuideSee where your own personal brand stands across the five pillars of Identity Positioning™.
Take the Brand AuditEngagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.
Consultations are virtual or in person. See what each includes, and what is asked of you: Virtual or In Person.
