Who likes you this much?

I like ol' Skeet Reese. I like to watch him fish, and I really like his truck! He is one of the top Bass anglers in the world today. I like to hear him teach about fishing techniques and I love his passion for what he does.

Others must like him as well.

He's very popular in the Bass Masters tour and has a social media site that has a lot of connected fans. But, more importantly for Skeet, he has a lot of companies that like him too. So much so that they sponsor him in his endeavors (i.e., PAY HIM!).

So on the last show I was watching with Skeet, I noticed his shirt (see photo above) and this made me think about drag racing and the cool shirts they wear there too. This thought lead me to think about my favorite competition shooter, Todd Jarrett, and his shirt + sponsors.

I'm looking at all the names on all these shirts of my favorite athletes and pondered how cool it would be if we could do this in our "business world"!

But this leads to my question: If you were to wear one of these shirts, who would be sponsoring you? How many sponsors would you have? What and how have you created your "personal brand" that would cause people/business to want to be part of what you're about?

I'd like to hear your thoughts about creating your personal and/or business brand. Please leave them in the comments section (below). THANKS!


[Note: photo from http://www.geminisportmarketing.com/]

“Your Success Is My Business.”™

Remembering Walter Cronkite

Last night I found a two-hour TV special on the life of Walter Cronkite. Frankly, had he not recently passed away, I probably would have keep surfing. But with his passing, I wanted to watch this special.

[Note: This may not be as sentimental of a journey for those of you born after 1970.]

As someone who grew up watching him every night on TV (my dad watched him religiously if he was home from work in time), he was a mainstay in our family, just as he was for many hundred of thousands of other American families during the 60's and 70's. During the show, I recalled all the historical events that happened during his time as anchorman for the CBS evening news (I posted the above photo of him because this is exactly how I first remember him on our small black & white TV set with rabbit ears and the traditional tin-foil wrapped ends to help reception of the three channels we could receive). I recalled watching the first man-on-the-moon (40th anniversary this past Monday), the Watergate investigations, the Vietnam war and so much more that I learned through watching Walter Cronkite each night. As kids, we would imitate his "...and that's the way it is..." I never was big on Sesame Street or the like, but I don't recall hardly ever missing the evening news.

As a WWII historian, another thing that really stands out for me was his reporting of the war. In later life he did a WWII documentary that I also enjoy. He was right there in the fight during the war years and his reports were top notch.

Something closer to home for me now was his reputation as being known as the "most trusted man in America". Now that's what I call "personal branding"!! I believe he gained that title because of the incredible customer experience that he provided. He held his profession up to the highest standards and demanded that out of not only his team mates, but from his colleagues in the profession as well. You could truly consider him a SME and guru of what he did, because it was truly a passion of his. And he delivered that passion, that professionalism, that since of responsibility of what he was providing to his customers - the American public - who "bought" his product every night for two+ decades.

What a legacy of excellence he leaves us an example of, that we have the opportunity to mimic in our careers regardless of industry.

I'd love for you to share you story of what you remember about Walter Cronkite and how he influenced your life. Please post in the comments section below.

Thanks for allowing me a little walk down memory lane.

Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business.” ™

[Note: photo from http://sirenschronicles.com/]

From Your Customer’s Perspective…

How do your customer’s see you? Are you a “Tigger” or an “Eeyore”? Are you positive, motivated, even with a sense of having fun in everything you do? Or are you the bearer of bad news, have a solemn or down attitude and rarely smile with a complete lack of enthusiasm in what you do?

It’s obvious who you customers would rather do business with, but are you conscience of this while you’re with them?

As Art Williams would often state, ‘People don’t want to do business with a negative, dull, disillusioned, frustrated cry-baby.’

So, while you’re out in the field, think about being a Tigger and people will notice. Always be focused on your personal “brand”.

“Enthusiasm is a vital element toward the individual success of every man or woman."
~Conrad Hilton, hotelier and philanthropist

...See this video...

Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business."™

http://joeypeacock.com/