In my new post at The Student Branding Blog, I talk about how I am trying out a new software platform called Flavors.me. This is a simple application that lets anyone list at a single site their multiple social media activities. It is customizable, and some folks have created some very impressive pages, but mine is simple simply because I am not very creative! I have given mine a custom URL, and I list on this site my LinkedIn, this blog, my personal blog, Twitter, Youtube, and Vimeo.

I like it so far. It’s a good way to bring your brand together on a single site. If you do check it out, let me know what you think.

Last Friday I did a phone interview with Kade Dworkin, and Kade has posted the interview as a podcast at his website Meet My Followers.  You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.  I am very honored to be among the first 13 people interviewed by Kade.

Kade and I met through The Student Branding Blog where I was doing blog posts and Kade was doing Student Branding TV. I wrote a blog post that Kade disagreed with and he sent me a LONG e-mail explaining his position. What really impressed me was how professionally Kade handled his disagreement. He did not disparage me either online or in his e-mail, but he made a passionate and well articulated argument for his points. That’s professionalism at its best.

Since that exchange Kade has spoken via Skype to two of my personal branding classes here at UNR. He is a big hit every time with both me and my students because not only is he a good speaker, but his message is right on. Kade “gets it” and I really appreciate that.

So please check out Kade Dworkin’s site or follow him on Twitter.

My post this week at the Student Branding Blog is an invitation for you to share your personal branding success story.  Tell me how your activity on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or your blog has helped you accomplish a goal in your career. I am particularly interested in stories where you have gotten work, a job, or an internship via your personal branding efforts.

If you have a success story or know someone that does, let me hear from you! I want to share you story of success with other readers of the Student Branding Blog.

My new post at The Student Branding Blog is entitled “The Impact of a Linkedin Comment on Tom H.C. Anderson’s Brand.” I learned about the issue from one of my former students, Sharon Markovsky.

Tom got into a heated discussion on a Linkedin group, one that he also moderates, with other members of his profession. It turned out to be a controversial discussion because it has cost Tom a speaking gig and an elected position in a professional organization – so far. Tom is dealing with it in a very open and transparent manner by blogging about it on his site.

It will be interesting to see how this issue evolves over time and the full impact it has on Tom’s personal brand and business.

Bruce Lynn first commented on one of my blog posts back in November 2009. Bruce has been generous enough with his time and thoughts to comment on several of my posts. The most “spirited” discussion we ever had was over a blog post I didn’t even write entitled How To Blow Up Your Employee Evaluation Process.  I often refer to the exchange I had with Bruce and others over that post when I speak about blogging and personal branding. When I talk about this exchange in the future, it will be very cool to add what happened today.

Bruce actually lives and works in the UK, and today, he spoke to the International Organizational Behavior class I am teaching this summer in London for a small group our UNR College of Business students. Bruce gave an excellent presentation on living and working abroad, something he has extensive experience with.  He was a big hit with my students, and I too really appreciated his insight and speaking style.

Bruce closed by reminding us that “the ultimate respect for diversity is respecting how people think.” I concur 100%, and it certainly represents the relationship Bruce and I have had online. We have not always agreed on some issues, but we’ve always been respectful to each other in our differences.  Today he did me a great service by speaking to my class in London, and by doing so earned my greatest respect and gratitude.

It’s a small and very connected world out there. You just never know how things are going to turn out.  As Joe Gerstandt likes to say “Be good to each other.”

My two most recent posts at The Student Branding Blog are entitled Buy Your Name – Today! and Three Tips For Beginner Blogger. Each included a video, and one of the videos was recorded in Bilbao, Spain and the other recorded in London, England. I’ve been teaching abroad for the last 4 weeks and still have 3 more to go. I’m not getting much work done but I’m having a great time and unwinding from a very busy past year. My posts for this blog are recorded a week in advance and appear every Monday. The post that will appear on Monday, July 5 was recorded on the Millennium Bridge in London with St. Paul’s Cathedral in the background.

Hope you will take the time to check these out!

My most recent post at The Student Branding Blog is entitled Blogging? Be Encouraged.  You might have noticed that I have hit a “drought” in my blogging here. There was a period of time when I blogged very regularly – a few months I blogged daily. I had the time, the motivation, and the material so it was not as much effort as it might have appeared to be. For the last two months I have been lacking one or all of those things and my productivity has dropped off substantially.

But I am not discouraged. Blogging is a process, and in my experience, all processes exhibit variation and cycles. I was not sure when this drought would hit, but I was pretty sure it was just a matter of time. I’m also very sure that it’s only a matter of time before I return to a more productive cycle.

Much to my surprise, blogging has been one of the best things I’ve done for both my professional and personal life in the last decade. I firmly believe that everyone can benefit by blogging. Once you start blogging, you too will experience cycles in your productivity, but the only way to lose is to quit.

I for one have no intention of quitting. So if you are a blogger – be encouraged! If you are not yet a blogger, what are you waiting for?

My new post at The Student Branding Blog explains my approach to keeping various blogging activities somewhat separate.  Soon after I started blogging, I realized that I wanted to keep my personal blogging separate from my professional blogging, so I started a separate site for my personal thoughts and other activities. Now that I am back in Spain and London for the next 7 weeks, I will update my personal blog more frequently.

But my professional blogging has expanded from what I do here to blogs on personal branding and social media, and I try to keep all those separate. Now, the only thing I do here on personal branding is the weekly updates of what I have written over at The Student Branding Blog. Some folks mix all there activities on one site, but my approach has been to keep them separate. Find what works for you and your readers by listening to and responding to them.

In my post on Open Followership at The Student Branding Blog, I once again recommend Charlene Li’s new book Open Leadership and suggest that learning to become an open leader starts with learning how to be an open follower. Check it out!

On another note, I’ve really slacked on my blogging frequency lately. It’s final exam time here, and in addition to that frenzy I’m squeezing in some outside training as well. It’s also been really windy here in Reno the last few weeks, and that makes recording video outside impossible. Ok, so those are my weak excuses. The break has been welcome as well as necessary, but I plan to get back to regular posting soon. Just FYI.

When I found that Charlene Li of The Altimeter Group had written a new book about leadership and social technology, I contacted her and asked for an early review copy. She responded personally and promptly and I’m glad to say that after reading “Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform The Way You Lead,” I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Charlene defines open leadership as “having the confidence and humility to give up the need to be in control while inspiring commitment from people to accomplish goals” (p. 14).  Leaders accomplish this by having an open mind-set – the ability to let go of control “at the right time, in the right place, and in the right amount.” (p. 8). And she does not pull her punches, which I love:

The first step is recognizing that you are not in control – your customers, employees, and partners are. If you are among the many executives who long for the “good ol’ days” when rules and roles were clear, indulge yourself in that kind of thinking for just a few more minutes – then it’s time to get to work. This is a fad that will not fade, but will only grow stronger, with or without you. (p.8)

Open leadership is about new relationships, and new relationships need new guidelines. Charlene suggests the following:

1. Respect that your customers and employees have power.

2. Share constantly to build trust.

3. Nurture curiosity and humility.

4. Hold openness accountable.

5. Forgive failure.

You can see that this is contemporary leadership philosophy, and Charlene readily admits that and acknowledges the sources of her principles. What is new here is how Charlene shows how to accomplish open leadership with the use of new and evolving social technologies like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter.

I wish I had written this book. I believe strongly that leaders and companies that make social media only about marketing are missing a HUGE opportunity to to radically transform their entire value chain. But I am glad that Charlene wrote it, because through her diagnostic exercises, checklists, rich examples, and systematic approach to open leadership, any leader with an open mindset can follow her advice and get results.

There is nothing new under the sun about how to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. You have to be able to learn faster than your competitors and embed this knowledge in new products, services, and operational processes that create something remarkable about what you do and how you do it. What is new are the powerful social technologies available today for leaders to listen, respond, and learn faster and more effectively than any time in our lives.

I firmly believe that if you ignore open leadership, the best you will ever be able to achieve is competitive parity. The land of excellence and growth belongs to companies that leverage these new social technologies to build thriving, enduring community with their employees, customers, and suppliers.

Charlene’s book will be available on May 24, 2010. I would encourage you to get a copy, read it, and begin applying her advice in your business ASAP.

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