I’m a big believer in the power of telling good stories to ourselves about where we are headed in life. Good stories can change who we are.
Sometimes great business advice can also be good story advice and good life advice.
That’s the case with Dorie Clark’s How to Reinvent Your Personal Brand. It is a short 2010 article from the Harvard Business Review. The piece is a beautifully concise method intended for developing a self-story for the marketplace.
It’s not only good advice for the market place. It is a powerful way to re-envision oneself and emerge new and improved at the end of the process.
Her plan has five stages. I go, quickly, through them all but give my own, non-business commentary. My apologies to Clark if I have drifted too far from her original.
Are you ready to make changes and reinvent yourself? Follow Clark’s five steps and you will be well on your way.
Sometimes great business advice can also be good story advice and good life advice.
That’s the case with Dorie Clark’s How to Reinvent Your Personal Brand. It is a short 2010 article from the Harvard Business Review. The piece is a beautifully concise method intended for developing a self-story for the marketplace.
It’s not only good advice for the market place. It is a powerful way to re-envision oneself and emerge new and improved at the end of the process.
Her plan has five stages. I go, quickly, through them all but give my own, non-business commentary. My apologies to Clark if I have drifted too far from her original.
- What’s your destination? Know where you want to go, what you want to do and be able to communicate that to others.
- Leverage your points of difference. Clark talks about how to be different and stand out in the business environment. For improving health and wellness, I recommend leveraging the ways you intend be different from the you today in a way that will attract the support you need on your journey. In this step you figure out those points of difference. In short, how will you show up differently in the world?
- Develop a narrative. This is where your story comes in. What is the story of where you are going, the points of difference and why you and everyone should believe in and support your quest.
- Reintroduce yourself. Clark says, and I love this, “The vast majority of people, regrettably, aren’t paying much attention to you. That means their perceptions are probably a few years out of date-and it’s not heir fault.” She advocates that we, “strategically re-educate our friends and acquaintances.” Based on your new narrative you are ready to re-educate the people who you would like to support your journey. If somebody comes to me and says, “I have decided that I want to improve my life and get to point X because Y and in order to do make this happen I plan to be different in ways 1,2,3. Are you up for helping me out? ” I am going to be a super fan and eager member of the support team. It’s easy to rally support behind a good narrative.
- Prove Your Worth. This is where you do what you say you will do, every day, over and over until the new story is the only story that feels right. When it is all said and done you will have reinvented your health, self, career or whatever it is you set out to do.
Are you ready to make changes and reinvent yourself? Follow Clark’s five steps and you will be well on your way.
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