Fill in the Blank Branding

Earlier today I published an article in Personal Branding Magazine about that cadre of millions of Americans born between 1980 and 1993, known as the Millennial Generation. These more than 80 million citizens have been derided by many as coddled from birth, impatient for excitement, arrogant with confidence and full of a sense of entitlement. As usual, generalizations have led to a lack of understanding of the nuances of a diverse group. But even if we were to make broad statements about these 15 – 28 year olds (which I will do here), acknowledging the fallacy of over generalizing, these pervasive critiques seem to be a little off the mark.

There is no doubt the Millennials were beneficiaries of relatively strong economic times during there childhoods and parents took extra care to shield their kids from hardship. But lets not forget this generation has seen some of the most visible examples of terror and human unity during the 21st century. As impressionable children and teenagers they saw on the television the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building in 1993, genocide in Kosovo and Africa and of course the events of 9/11. They also were shaped by the hope and optimism that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War represented.

Together, these events have left Millennials as driven to ensure atrocity does not happen at the individual or community wide level. They are also idealistic and

In the end, Millennials want to build and tell a unique narrative story that shows how they are changing the world for the better.

In my article, “Story Time for the Millennials,” I compare this generation with others by saying

The Greatest Generation sat down near the radio to hear fireside chat stories from FDR. The Baby Boomers heard their collective angst played back to them by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Doors and the like. This generation, the Millennials, do not want to hear a story told to them; they want to tell their own story – each and every one of them.

To read the entire article please go to the following link, download the issue and turn to page 19.

http://personalbrandingsample.com/

And please be kind to Millennials, they don’t mean any harm, they just want to be heard.

It is no surprise to me that a break out musical hit this year is called “Apologizes.” OneRepublic made the subject of this power ballad a verb that most Americans do not fully understand. And yet I suspect most of us want to hear more apologies. Unfortunately, due to deep seeded psychological behavior like confirmation bias, the trend to search for evidence that validates a preconceived belief or opinion and to look over evidence that contradicts that belief or opinion, we often choose stubborn retrenchment over a simple and mutually beneficial apology.

Let me pose some hypothetical situations to help us test whether an apology is generally a sign of weakness or a responsible reaction to new facts or conclusions.

• What if Bill Clinton just apologized to the American people for having an extramarital affair instead of starting a semantic debate about the definition of “is”? I believe Slick Willy would have saved a lot of flack from late night comedians if he had just owned up to his mistakes and declared he would devote the rest of his presidency to helping Americans deal with addictions of all sorts - drugs, alcohol, sex, fatty foods, shopping, oil, etc.
• What if Roger Clemens just apologized for using steroids? (I recognize he has not been prosecuted yet for steroids, but take this leap of faith with me). He could have become part of a new movement to clean up sports. Instead we are bogging ourselves down in scandal after scandal - including his wife admitting to taking steroids for a Sports Illustrated shoot.
• What if I apologized to my sister when I was 10 and rolled out a rubber ball in her running path, causing her to need stitches, instead of vigorously blaming her for running in the house? Well, sis, I am sorry. And you have always been smarter than me (despite my five years on you), so maybe this accident gave you accelerated brain activity.

Most of us believe we need to be right, otherwise we are dumb and gullible. I wholeheartedly disagree. A sincere apology can go a long way in showing others our capacity to swallow our pride and do what is right.

The classic tale of romance, Love Story, tells us that love is never having to say you are sorry. Oh contrare, love is having the courage to admit mistakes and say you are sorry.

I won’t apologize for this point of view that recognizes our fallibility and emphasizes the power of forgiveness. But if you prove me wrong, I will apologize.

If you haven’t heard the praise heaped on Pixar’s new animated film, Wall-E, by professional critics you have been stuck in outer space for the last few weeks. This movie took in $65 million in its first weekend, coming in at number one at the box office. However, the moolah is nothing compared to the love being shown for the little robot that could. Wall-E went into the stratosphere on Rotten Tomatoes, garnering a 97% positive rating. Here is a smattering of some of the reviews of this cartoon space odyssey.

• Los Angeles Times - “Daring and traditional, groundbreaking and familiar, apocalyptic and sentimental, Wall-E gains strength from embracing contradictions that would destroy other films.”
• New York Post - “Some day, there will be college courses devoted to this movie.”
• 4.5/5
• Wall Street Journal - “I must drop my inhibitions about dropping the M word — especially since I’ve already used magnificent — and call WALL-E the masterpiece that it is.”

So does this film even come near the hype being built for it? Not only does Wall-E meet the hype, this movie surpasses it. There are so few words spoken in the film itself and there are also few words to describe the cinematic beauty, story depth and humanism of this cartoon about two robots. Wall-E better receive the Oscar for best film of the year - at the very least. I suspect this film will go down as a classic and as a new archetype for future films.

The movie reminded me of what is really important and how much time I waste on other activities. For example, I have not posted for a while because I am having technical problems and can not post images or video. After a lot of time spent scowering Wordpress help forums, and still with no luck - I realize my words are enough. No technical issues are going to stop me from declaring this one of my favorite movies of all time.

I’m back. It has been a month since I last posted. And I am sure you all missed me While I know the number one rule of blogging is to write on a regular basis, I needed the break to be a better contributor to the field of storytelling and honestly - a better person. I was in a fairly introspective mood for the last month and thought a lot about my personal and professional goals.

I have a better appreciation now for self-reflection; especially, in this world of non-stop communications through email, texting, IMing and of course carrier pigeon.

Why do we need to set aside time for focused self-reflection?

I think mythology guru Joseph Campbell explained it best when he suggested everyone needs a place where you forget the news of the day, the drama with friends and what you owe others. He said “this is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation.”

Campbell actually goes onto suggest many stories of the Bible are meant to teach us about looking inward. Somewhat controversially, he points out that Jesus could not have literally ascended to heaven. “But if you read ‘Jesus ascended to heaven” in terms of its metaphoric connotation, you see that he has gone inward - not into outer space but into inward space, to the place from which all being comes, into the consciousness that is the source of all things, the kingdom of heaven within. The images are outward, but their reflection is inward.”

I will refrain from opining myself on this matter of whether the BIble should be taken literally or as a collection of lessons told through stories. However, I will go as far as to say focused introspection is quite a spiritual event.

As you can tell, my time in creative incubation has led me to some deep thoughts. I will try to balance my profundity with wit, charm, verve and some dick and fart jokes. So stay tuned.

I have tried my best to refrain from starting a discussion here on the Democratic primary since my views are not fair and balanced. For upfront and full disclosure I campaigned for Barack Obama in New Hampshire and am still trying to get my hands on an Obamaca for temple. However, recent events have illuminated a pertinent consideration for our personal brands. What role does politics play in the shaping of our identity? Put aside voting patterns for a second and think about whether demographics have a strong influence on our behavior.

Based on the social networking and technology trends of the last decade I do not believe we can any longer effectively measure behavior by slicing and dicing groups into red states and blue states, into white, black, Latino, and Asian, and into rural and urban. The one exception that has slipped through to the “era of the individual” is age. A recent New York Times article, ” “, suggested the only reliable voting blocs in this election have been age groups. All other groups including class, race, sex and region have defied significant patterns. I will take this as a “I told you so moment.” My post last week on the Age of Age explained how age is the most significant signal of behavior and values.

Remember two years ago when Time Magazine named “You” as the Person of the Year. This was the beginning of a wide recognition that Generation Y and the Millenials want to be viewed as individuals and not put into categories of people. While we want to be part of communities, we don’t want to be defined by them. So keep up the good work adding pictures to Facebook, letting us know where you are on Twitter, and developing your thoughts on Wordpress or Blogspot. And continue buying clothes that are fashionable in your world, listening to music that says something about you, and of course trying to change to the world in a way only you can.

Politics is recognition of an ideology, not an identity.

As a reminder it is Mother’s Day on Sunday. So order your flowers and purchase your Hallmark cards now.  If one person remembers to call their mother because of this post, I will be happy. This is also a good time to reflect on how others perceive us. Would dear old mother be proud of the reputation we have created and perpetuated?

I, for one, am taking some time to think about how my reputation matches up with the values and beliefs my parents instilled in me. Some of those values and beliefs I have strongly followed and embedded into my everyday behavior. Some of my personal values are modified versions of the ones my parents taught me. While the apple usually does not fall far from the tree, the apple generally does not fall directly on the root either - if you get my drift. I definitely drifted a little bit (both from the tree and in this rant). And finally there are some values I try to stand by, but don’t articulate very well to others.

If you would like to get a better sense of your “current personal brand” I have a couple of suggestions:

• Myers-Briggs Personality Test - There are a number of websites that allow you to take versions of this breakthrough personality assessment. I highly suggest using a 15 minute smoke break at work to run through the questions at Human Metrics. From this test you should glean some insights into personality traits you were not aware you had.
• Find the Themes In Your Successes and Failures - Make a list of all the major achievements in your life and the goals you have yet to reach. Each to next item try to concisely pinpoint what was critical to your success or what were the main hurdles to success.
• Ask Others - Why is it such a taboo to ask your friends, family and confidants what comes to mind when they think of you? The process by which we discern our current personal brand is a lot like a Rorschach test. Flash your name in front of others and the first associations make up your personal brand. All the time I ask people, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear my name?

I know my mother needs a new crock pot, but I think a better gift involves me telling her how glad I am that she instilled me with such a strong value system. At least my personal brand is no longer synonymous with Fruit of the Loom; my mom no longer writes my name on my underwear.

In a highly acclaimed song from the movie True Crime, artist Diana Krall poses the question “why should I care?” I reference this song partly because I want to answer the question “why should we care about storytelling and personal branding” and partly because True Crime is a highly underrated movie that proves Clint Eastwood is as good a director as he is an actor.

The concept of personal branding has been around since 1997 when management guru Tom Peters penned an article in Fast Company Magazine, The Brand Called You, arguing we have entered an era where we are all CEO’s of Me Inc. Essentially, globalization and technological innovation put the nail in the coffin of the social compact between employees and employers. Now we are all free agents as companies routinely “re-organize” and employees switch careers. Career counselors estimate those in generation “y” and beyond will change jobs, on average, nine times. This trend makes it virtually impossible to accurately answer the cocktail party question, what do you do? You do lots of things and will do lots more over your career.

Professionally, the return on investment (ROI) for taking the time to decipher your own story and understand the concepts of personal branding is the ability to show how your disparate skills, passions and personality traits make you a free agent worth bidding for.

While many have written about the professional advantages of personal branding, few have delved into the personal advantages of personal branding (given that personal is in the name of the concept, this is a shame). Did you know studies have shown that the average 26 year old woman has been hit on 5,000 times? It is no wonder it is so difficult to meet someone given the competition for companionship. If we take the time to understand what emotional needs we can fulfill for someone else, we will have a much easier time in finding someone we can build chemistry with.

Personally, the ROI of developing and telling your story is the ability to show, in a couple of minutes, how you have a combination of traits, passions and skills to help another person be happy.

I believe it would be a true crime for you to miss out on this opportunity to develop a compelling and interesting personal story. Come on I know you are as good a director as Clint Eastwood.

Do you believe the hype? I am always up for a good debate. Let me know honestly what you think.

I celebrated a good friend’s birthday yesterday and on my subway ride home I started thinking about how age affects our behavior and consequently our personal story. Most people say age brings more experience and wisdom. However, I believe age affects us in a more complex and subtle way.

Today’s society tends to value what Zen Buddhists call the “beginner’s mind.” It implies fresh insight unfettered by experience. With this in mind, I contend age means less now than a couple of decades ago. In today’s world most people are drawn to innovation, creativity and passion. None of these characteristics inherently grow with age.

In a seminal book on age and leadership, Geeks and Geezers, author Warren Bennis suggests age does strongly influence our values; more so than any other attribute including birthplace, race, ethnicity or religion. After interviewing 43 leaders of varying ages, Bennis concludes our deepest and most strongly held beliefs tend to correlate with what generation we come from. He defines anyone under 35 as a geek and anyone over 70 as a geezer.

Bennis suggests “geeks have bigger and more ambitious goals than geezers did at the same age; they aspire to ‘change the world’ and ‘make history’, whereas geezers were concerned with ‘making a living.’”

While I agree with Bennis that our core values are highly dependent on the generation we grew up in, I do not believe age is a significant indicator of compatibility between two people, success of an individual or even a signal of experience and wisdom.

The age of age as a standard for experience and wisdom is over. The most widely lauded and valued characteristics in society today - including innovation, creativity and passion - are age indiscriminate.

So happy birthday dear friend. I am sure you are glad to hear I believe getting older brings you nothing. Except sometimes you get a free drink at a bar.

Blankster is back. I chose today, April 23, to relaunch my blog on personal branding and storytelling. The last few weeks have been spent on website technical development. But now it is time to get back to the task at hand: helping all of us find our unique and compelling story.

You may be asking, why am I spending time and money on this activity? Simply because I get the sense that in this world where home is Facebook, Blackberries are more pervasive than books, IM is preferred over phone calls, we change jobs on average nine times in a career, and online dating is more popular than face to face introductions - we have lost a sense of the power of stories. How can we tell a powerful provocative story in a one line text? How can we feel a sense of purpose when we jump from organization to organization every couple of years?

It is time to cut through the clutter and develop lasting, meaningful relationships based on the connections we make through our most authentic and interesting stories.

There is a classic novel that illustrates the virtues of telling authentic and interesting stories. Anyone remember Heart of Darkness from AP English? Author Joseph Conrad, who learned English as a fifth language, tells a story about a protagonist named Marlow who is sent to investigate the atrocities of another named Kurtz, who apparently has been murdering hundreds or thousands in Africa shortly after 1900. It turns out Kurtz wrote a manifesto decrying the African people and outlining his views on society. Marlow becomes intrigued by Kurtz, a man who has perpetrated genocide. Marlow rationalizes he sees Kurtz as a remarkable man because “he had something to say. He said it.” This is not to say that racism and appaling violence should be respected. It is an acknowledgement that it is quite remarkable in this world to find someone with a story and purpose.

As Marlow watches Kurtz die, he explains

“He was a remarkable man. After all, this was the expression of some sort of belief, it had candour, it had conviction, it had a vibrating note of revolt in its whisper, it had the appaling face of a glimpsed truth - the strange commingling of truth and hate.”

Conrad’s illustrative prose suggests it is a great virtue to have conviction, passion and the courage to tell your story.

Who is willing to follow me into the Heart of Darkness, a place where we find our trueselves, for better or for worse, and dare to be true in our expression to others?

Does anyone not know the story of Alice in Wonderland? This story includes a white rabbit, a mad hatter, a cheshire cat, a Queen of Hearts and many other characters that have become sources for contstant literary reference. Written by Lewis Carroll in 1865, Alice in Wonderland is considered a classic example of the genre and of English literature in general. For those that have been living in a hole (get the pun?) their entire life, the novel tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit-hole into a fantastic realm populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures.

The narrative structure of Alice in Wonderland has influenced countless other novels and movies and is respected as one of the best structures for a story. I use Carroll’s work to explain to others how to tell a story in an interesting way. You may not realize it, but the story of Alice in Wonderland has been told over and over again since 1865. If you think the Wizard of Oz was completely original, you need to wake up from your dream. And for all the special effects and great Keanu Reeves acting, the Matrix Trilogy was really Alice in Wonderland repackaged for the 21st Century.

What is it about Alice in Wonderland that made it such an archetype for the telling of a fantastical story? While we all remember the crazy adventures of Alice and the mystical creatures she encounters, we all forget the beginning. How did Alice get into this mess in the first place? Alice and her sister are sitting next to a tree in a calm field when Alice becomes tired. At this moment she suddenly sees a white rabbit with a watch and follows it down a rabbit-hole. This story makes such an impact on our psyches because it juxtaposes a relevant and grounded situation with adventures that stretch our imagination. Without the normal everyday setting of a lazy afternoon in a field, Alice in Wonderland would be considered a story for drug induced junkies.

Lesson: Start your stories from a grounded place. Show your audience how exciting and fun your stories are, given the circumstances. Audiences want to relate, no matter how crazy your story turns out.