It is 2009 and the Internet is buzzing with experts providing their predictions and trends for the year.  I wanted to provide my thoughts on personal branding to help set the tone for an exciting year.

Predictions/Trendspotting

1. Creative Economy:  Creativity will be to the information age what manufacturing was to the industrial age.  Individuals dependence on being a company man working 30-years at one company or until death do you part will cease to exist.  The integration of creativity into business ideas and career will become a necessity and not an option.  As a personal brand you will need to think creatively in developing strategic partnerships and ways to stand out.  After everybody has updated their Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter pages, established a blog, added followers, and followed all the same tips what is next?  Creativity.
2. Purpose/Mission:  People will start to seek opportunities or careers that give them greater satisfaction that they have a true passion for.  This is primarily due to the instability in the economy and the reduction of jobs that were more lucrative in good economic times.  High paying low education jobs are a thing of the past.  People will now look at opportunities that align with how they are wired and what they were designed to do.
3. ‘Personal Branding’ Term Commoditized:  The term ‘Personal Branding’ will become more commoditized and genericized.  The term has significance and value when implemented, but I believe the term itself will be overused and misused.
4. Traditional Journalist Become Commodities:  The voice and influence of bloggers and social media experts increase.  Newspapers are losing money with traditional newspaper printing and are looking for ways to compete with the new media.  Traditional journalist will have to integrate social media and effectively establish their personal brand.
5. Personal Branding Experts Commodization:  With the increase of social media gurus the line between personal branding experts and social media experts is blurring.  The personal branding industry will become oversaturated and the cream will rise to the top.  Those of us in the personal branding industry will have to work harder to cut through the noise.
6. Establish ‘Blue Movement’:  The need to develop the ‘Blue Movement is critical.   ‘American Made’ needs to be established as the new luxury product. The ‘Green Movement’ has been very successful because big business have bought into it can the same be done with the ‘Blue Movement’?
7. Twitter Relevance Increases:  Twitter will gain relevance as a search and primary news source. Business opportunities with strategist business models and usages will continue to be developed.
8. Personal Brands being Healthy:  Being healthy is just as importance as your ranking in Google.  You can have all the money and influence in the world but without good health you have nothing.  Being fit spiritually, mentally, and physically is critical. Learn to have balance and think holistically because you are the sum total of all your parts.
9. Passion Becomes King:  People doing what they love.  Passion is the fuel that drives you to do what others are not willing to do.  We all have the same 24-hours but passionate people find out how to get more out of their time and produce higher quality results.

I want to challenge and inspire you to shine in 2009.  Have an awesome year and share your predictions for 2009 in the comments section of this blog post.

Virtual Mentors, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

How many people do you currently mentor? Is that number 1, 2 or 10? Whatever number you identify you have underestimated the impact of your mentorship program. As a personal brand you are a virtual mentor for many whether you realize it or not. You are inspiring, challenging, and helping those less experienced than you to develop by indirectly speaking into their life.

Wikipedia defines Mentorship as a developmental relationship in which a more experienced person helps a less experienced person, referred to as a protégé, apprentice, mentee, or (person) being mentored, develop in a specified capacity.

When was the last time you read a blog post or followed someone on Twitter and the light went on for you? When was the last time you saw a video that someone loaded into YouTube, or read a book and the light went on for you? When was the last time you received a DM from someone, or read a link that someone posted on Twitter and the light went on for you? These brief points of interaction can be as impactful as spending 3 or 4 hours with a person in a face-to-face mentoring session.

My Virtual Mentors

With the expansion of social networks, blogs, podcasting, teleseminars it is possible to mentor virtually millions without having a personal relationship with each mentee. As a personal brand strategist I am a virtual mentor with the goal of impacting the lives of 1 million people. So I thought it would be interesting to share with you some of my personal virtual mentors. Most of whom I have never met face-to-face, don’t have an in-depth business relationship with, or DM them 10-times a day, but have been impacted tremendously by their work.

o Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki): Author of Reality Check (and eight other books)/Founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures and Co-Founder of Alltop.com
o Seth Godin: Marketing Guru/Author of Tribes (and eleven other books)
o Hill Harper (@HillHarper): Actor on CSI/Author of Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest your Destiny
o Chris Brogan (@ChrisBrogan): Social Media Guru/President of New Marketing Labs/Author of ‘Trust Agents’ (Due in Fall 2009)
o Rohit Bhargava (@RohitBhargava): Author of Personality Not Included
o Kevin Carroll: Author of Rules of the Red Rubber Ball & The Red Rubber Ball at Work.
o Malcolm Gladwell: Author of Blink/Tipping Point & Outliners
o Vincent Hunt (@Vincent Hunt): Creative Guru
o Nancy Duarte (@Nancy Duarte): Author of Slideology
o Wayne Sutton (@Wayne Sutton): Social Media Strategist

Basic Elements of a Virtual Mentor

o Have a product/service within their Niche: A book, audio content, workshops, or seminars that centers around your specific message.
o Blog/Social Network Presence: It allows people the opportunity to connect with you, get to know you, and humanizes your brand.
o Be Authentic: Be who you are. Be authentic. People follow interesting people.
o Have the right Associations: Following or friending the right people can create mutually benefital business relationships. Leaders attract leaders.

I want to thank my virtual mentors for the REALITY CHECK, that assisted be in developing my TRIBE, to MANifest my DESTINY, while being a TRUST AGENT, with my PERSONALITY INCLUDED, while playing with my RED RUBBER BALL @ WORK, presenting my brand with SLIDE:OLOGY, while BLINKing, in 140 or Less, and being SOCIAL like WAYNE.

Who do you mentor? And what do your mentee say about you?

Christmas Card- Fresh Start in 2009, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

Detroit Tweet UP AnnArbor 122108, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

Detroit Tweet-Up in Ann Arbor, MI on 12/21/08 was a smashing success. The attendees are listed below. Thanks to @CatchUpLady, Detroit shocked the world with the introduction of Tweeter Cakes. Recipe is non-disclosed, but we are willing to negotiate for the right price. LOL!

Tweeter Cakes:

Attendees:
@CathchUpLady
@penguin
@shannonpaul
@naim
@samuofm
@petethomas
@shawnsmith
@HajjFlemings
@nikkicino
@davemurr
@keunlee
@admore
@jminni
@paulrpotts
@drintelmann
@adrianpittman
@betsyweber
@mehraban

LeBron + Nike, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

With Plaxico Burress, Sean Avery, and Michael Vick’s recent incidents the value of personal branding has become a hot topic. Character, corporate brand image (leagues), and poor judgment are becoming PR nightmares for the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and NCAA.

Professional athletes are no different than the average person who suddenly comes into a lot of money and fame, which are magnets to things, people, and substances that can kill dreams. The idea for this blog post was birthed from a recent training session with the Detroit Lions lead by Char Goodsby and myself (and recorded by ESPN) called, Lions rookies go to charm school.

The Making of the Brand: The Professional Athlete
(Listed below are some random thoughts that are central to the making of the brand.)

o Passion: It is an athletes passion, drive, and competitive edge that’s draws us to them.
o Visual Identity: An athletes number on their uniform (Identity), being physically fit, and their athletic prowess.
o Going PRO: Doing what they were born /created to do and making a living at it.
o Field/Arena: The place where athletes hone their skills, where they perform, and display their greatness.
o Performance: The countless hours of development when no one is watching to perform under pressure, making big plays, and winning championships.
o Marketing: Endorsement deals (i.e. LeBron with Nike), Jersey sales, etc.
o Style/Swagger: It is how they wear their uniform, their confidence, personality, and how they carry themselves. It is the way they do what they do.

Reasons Athletes Need Personal Branding

o Targeted: Athletes change tax brackets seemingly overnight and walk around with bull eyes on their chest without a solid grasp of personal branding to help them navigate the treacherous waters.
o On Camera 24/7: Athletes have to monitor every move that they make and every word that they say. They are one soundbite or decision away from destroying their professional athletic careers.
o Risk: The risk of not optimizing their earning potential is too great to not handle professionally.
o To Shift their Paradigm: They have to view themselves as a player professional with a highly developed brand.

Think of the extreme scrutiny athletes have to endure. Imagine if you had to manage every aspect of your personal brand in a public forum, but in the web 2.0 world you and I will have to deal with the same issues. Interesting!!!

At the end of the day athletes are human beings like anybody else and they need development. Their performance on the field is typically not the issue it is the development of things that are non-related to their vocation that impacts them the most. I believe that athletes are the perfect metaphor for personal branding because every aspect of their life is amplified and lived in a public domain 24-hours per day.

For every athlete that doesn’t get it there is a LeBron, Tiger, or David Beckham that does.  I truly believe that if a person views themselves through the eyes of an athlete they would think and act differently. Athletes are the ultimate personal brand and I want to leave you with this thought, think of your self as a corporate athlete (the ultimate personal brand). It is time for you to perform in your field! As a corporate athlete it is time to be elite!

Hajj E. Flemings on ESPN, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

With the recent incidents with Plaxico Burress, Michael Vick, and Pacman Jones the NFL has become increasing aware of the need to teach their players about personal branding. ESPN recently recorded a session that included the Academy of Protocol & Intelligence and myself (Hajj E. Flemings- Author of ‘The Brand YU Life’) working with the Detroit Lions rookies on Etiquette/Personal Branding.

We spent 5-hours with the team after practice providing information to help them manage their personal brand.  Most of us realize that it is the small things in life that impact the big.  Also had the opportunity to meet Jemele Hill an ESPN columnist that  I follow which was great.  To see the video footage clip or read the article written by Jemele Hill  Lions rookies go to charm school.

I believe that creativity is one of most important elements of building a strong sustainable personal brand and that it is not talked about enough.  I found this video clip on the TED website and though you would enjoy it.  At the 2008 Serious Play conference, Tim Brown the CEO of the “innovation and design” firm IDEO talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play.

Hajj E. Flemings- Branded Gifts, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

It is that time of year again the Holiday season has rolled around and the Brand Man is here to share his selections of hot branded gifts.

o iPhone 3G by Apple.
o Seth Godin- Tribes: Seth’s latest book that argues that leadership is the best marketing tool to an organization.
o BrandCardz- Brand 2.0 Cardz that integrate the digital + human assets of your personal brand.
o Good Magazine- An entertaining magazine about things that matter.
o ISO50 - ‘1976′ Thermal Long Sleeve- Designed by Scott Hansen, Artist / Musician (Tycho)
o Nooka Watch-  (BKC ZUB ZENV 38)- Timepieces with cool digital displays.
o Puma Black Label Shoes (SpeedCat Re-Luxe)- Cool shoes that are apart of Puma luxury line.

Comment and let me know what you think or list out selections of things you find neat and interesting.

Passion, originally uploaded by Hajj Flemings.

How do you help people become something that you can’t teach? My personal opinion is that passion cannot be taught, but I believe that every personal is passionate about something so it becomes very important to identify your purpose to live your passion.

Today’s post is on Passion one of the guiding principles of my book ‘The Brand YU Life’.  The Brand YU Life is divided into seven section defined as degrees. I chose degrees instead of rules or principles because of the significance of a degree. A degree is a small unit or interval of change. Small adjustments in your thinking can produce dramatic results in your life, it is typically the small that creates the big.

Your future, your greatness, and your personal satisfaction is tied to your personal passion. It is hard-wired into your DNA and is coded on the inside of you. It is the fire that burns deep within. Most of us ignore the drive and focus instead on what other people have told us we ought to be, or on what we see others do. Living a life of significance is fueled by passion, which is the reason passionless people exist and passionate people create the future. However, it is difficult to be great at something that you were never created to do.

“ Life’s too short to hate what you do all day.
Life’s way to short to make mediocre stuff.”
- Seth Godin, Tribes

Quite being average and be you. Now I leave you with this question, Who are you becoming?

Speaks volumes about you, originally uploaded by chilcott.

We live in a digital world where we text, IM, DM, blog, and email, but at some point you will have to come from behind the laptop, cell phone, or monitor and face the real world. Technology is nothing more than a tool it doesn’t solve problems by itself it takes the human interaction of your personal brand to communicate and connect real people and great ideas.

As wonderful as you are you are you are not the first person to think about the idea you have. Trust me. Branding is about packaging an idea in a way that is digestible and engaging. Everyone wants their audience to consume their thoughts and ideas and leave them clamoring for more while passionately spreading them to others.

At the end of the day you have the responsibility of bringing your idea to light and communicating it in the real world. Becoming comfortable speaking in front of people is something that I recommend all personal brands, but he only way to get better is practice, sorry you can’t outsource this function.

Growing up I stuttered. I could hardly talk, but one day I made a decision that I wanted to be a better speaker so I took every opportunity to get in front of people speaking for free to improve my speaking ability. At first I had to type out 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper and memorize every word, then I converted to note cards, and now key ideas on a screen. It has been a long journey but has paid great benefits. Simply put you will have to turn up the volume of your brand and speak there is a world waiting to hear you.

“All brands speak it is not an option but a responsibility.”
Hajj E. Flemings

Keys to Presenting your Personal Brand

o Be Creative. Add visuals, stories, case studies, and interesting points.
o Study other great speakers or presenters.
o Be a Story Teller. People are more engaged when you are telling a story versus reading bullet points. (Hint: Most people can read the worlds on the screen.)
o Be You. Your personality is crucial in bringing your idea to life.
o Be Visual. Whenever it is appropriate or feasible work to incorporate and communicate your thoughts visually.
o Think like a Tweeter. Less is more, keep it simple.
o Be interesting. There are too many copies, please be an original.
o Be Accurate. Your credibility is at state.

Thoughts from the Experts:
o Nancy Duarte (@nancyduarte): “Creating great ideas is what we were born to do: getting people to feel like they have a stake in what we believe is the hard part.”
o Chip & Dan Heath: Six Principles of SUCCESs: Simple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional Stories. (The SUCCESs checklist, is a tool for dealing with communication problems.)
o Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki): 10/20/30 Rule (10- Slides/20- Minutes/30- Point Font)
Tips for Creativity:

o Istock Photo
o Flickr
o Slideshare.net: Great resource for ideas

Resources
o Great Speakers:

•TED (Technology Entertainment Design) www.TED.com
•Kevin Carroll
•Mitch Joel
•Seth Godin

Brand Gap

My Favorite Tools

• Keynotes Software
• Apple Laptop
• Kensington Wireless Presenter

Must Reads

Slideology: Nancy Durate has created a masterpiece on slide presentation.
Reality Check: Guy Kawasaki has some great incite on presenting.