Discover Your CEO Brand: Secrets to Embracing and Maximizing Your Unique Value as a Leader

Book description

Ride your personal brand to the highest level in your field!

”A combination of inspiration and utility. . . . A must-read for leaders, entrepreneurs, or anyone who wants to harness the power of their own personal brand.”
—DONNY DEUTSCH, television host and Chairman, Deutsch Inc.

Discover Your CEO Brand is an exploration into the art and science, heart and soul, and woof and warp of leadership. The examples are compelling, the reasoning impeccable, and the motivation irresistible.”
—ALAN WEISS, Ph.D., author of Million Dollar Consulting and The Consulting Bible

“I believe strongly that you cannot become a leader in an organization that operates in contrast to your personal values. With the advice provided in Suzanne’s book, I am confident readers will find the match that works best for them.”
—JONATHAN RECKFORD, CEO, Habitat for Humanity International

“Whether you are already a famous CEO with a well-established brand or just starting to craft that brand and its impact, this book is an excellent resource and guide. Suzanne Bates motivates all CEOs to develop their personal brand and clearly shows how to do it.”
—MARSHA FIRESTONE, Ph.D., founder and President, Women Presidents’ Organization

Discover Your CEO Brand is a terrific read that sets out a powerful and compelling roadmap for becoming an effective leader. Filled with engaging examples, it is the quintessential guide to building your personal brand.”
—ANDREW SOBEL, author of All for One and Clients for Life

About the Book

Steve Jobs did it at Apple. Indra Nooyi did it at Pepsi. Alan Mulally did it at Ford Motor Company.

What did these business leaders do exactly? They brought very real, positive change to their organizations by using their unique CEO brand. Now, executive coach Suzanne Bates explains how you can exert the same kind of influence at your company.

Discover Your CEO Brand provides the insight, knowledge, and tools you need to discover your own personal CEO style and then develop it into a powerful presence that extends beyond your typical spheres of influence. Bates walks you through the process step by step, teaching you ways to increase your visibility and influence by combining traditional self-branding vehicles like PR and face-to-face networking with new social-media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.

No two sets of values, principles, vision, and skills—the foundation of every successful CEO brand—are alike. Whether you’re a CEO, team leader, or entrepreneur, you need to discover who you are as a leader, what you believe, and how that defines you. It’s not as apparent as you may think. Applying her years of expertise, Bates takes you deep below the surface to find the powerful leadership brand inside you, so you can:

  • Connect with key audiences
  • Elevate your leader profile
  • Attract and retain the best talent
  • Create business opportunities
  • Shape a high-performance culture
  • Drive long-term value within your company

It’s not about crafting a leadership style out of thin air in order to influence people and “get ahead.” It’s about discovering your own personal leadership style. It’s about connecting with others authentically. It’s about instituting change that benefits the company and the people in it.

You’re about to head down a road to dramatically improving your organization, your career, and your life. Take your first steps with Suzanne Bates and the proven methods she outlines in Discover Your CEO Brand.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
  7. CHAPTER 1. Why You Need a Brand—and Why Your Brand Matters
    1. JACK WELCH, GENERAL ELECTRIC
    2. MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK
    3. SO WHAT DO THESE TWO BRANDS HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR BRAND?
    4. BRAND ALIGNMENT
    5. BRAND IMAGE
    6. WHAT MAKES YOUR BRAND VALUABLE?
    7. WHAT’S THE CURRENT AND FUTURE VALUE OF YOUR BRAND?
    8. LEVERAGING THE FUTURE VALUE OF YOUR BRAND
    9. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  8. CHAPTER 2. How Exceptional Leader Brands Are Built
    1. RICHARD BRANSON, VIRGIN GROUP
    2. SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, NBA STAR
    3. WARREN BUFFETT, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY
    4. BILL GATES, THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
    5. DIANE VON FURSTENBERG, FASHION DESIGNER
    6. CONDOLEEZZA RICE, DIPLOMAT, ACADEMIC, MUSICIAN
    7. ANNE MULCAHY, FORMER CEO, XEROX CORPORATION
    8. BONO, ROCK STAR AND PHILANTHROPIST
    9. FRED SMITH, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT, CEO, FEDEX
    10. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  9. CHAPTER 3. Your CEO Brand—The Story of You
    1. WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND BRAND?
    2. WHO ARE YOU?
    3. DAVID PISOR, ELYSIAN HOTELS
    4. STEP 1: FINDING YOUR STORIES
    5. PERSONAL STORY QUESTIONS
    6. STEP 2: TELL THE STORY
    7. STEP 3: ANALYZE THE STORY
    8. WHY A LESSON AND AN AUDIENCE THEME?
    9. NOW, TRY IT
    10. A SIGNATURE STORY ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
    11. CONNECTING THE STORY OF YOU TO THE STORY OF YOUR COMPANY
    12. HOW TO SHARE “BRAND” STORIES
    13. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  10. CHAPTER 4. Brand Recognition—What Do People Say about You?
    1. JOE GUSTAFSON, CEO, BRAINSHARK
    2. ASSESSING BRAND VELOCITY
    3. WHAT IF YOU DON’T SEE IT?
    4. MAKING IT HAPPEN
    5. THE ROAD DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND—BARBARA LYNCH
    6. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF—TORY BURCH
    7. WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
    8. THINKING ABOUT YOUR CORE BRAND—KATHERIN NUKK-FREEMAN
    9. CREATING BUZZ BY LIVING THE VALUES—LISA MATTHEWS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR, WINSLOW, EVANS & CROCKER
    10. FINAL THOUGHTS ON WHAT PEOPLE SAY
    11. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  11. CHAPTER 5. Leveraging Your Brand to Drive Spectacular Results
    1. WHY LEADERS ARE CHOSEN
    2. ELLEN ZANE, TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER
    3. GAIL GOODMAN, CEO, CONSTANT CONTACT
    4. FROM YOUR BRAND TO PROFITABILITY
    5. REAL-TIME CHALLENGE
    6. REAL-TIME CHALLENGE EXAMPLE
    7. WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE IN YOU
    8. COMMUNICATING—YOUR BRAND VALUES
    9. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  12. CHAPTER 6. Personal Choices That Burnish Your Reputation
    1. AL GOLIN, FOUNDER, GOLIN HARRIS
    2. KIP HOLLISTER, CEO, HOLLISTER
    3. MATT DAVIS, THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY—ON MOVING INTO A LEADERSHIP ROLE
    4. CHOOSING YOUR GAME FACE
    5. CHOOSING A POLISHED PROFESSIONAL IMAGE
    6. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  13. CHAPTER 7. Communicate Your Leadership Brand
    1. HOW TO COMMUNICATE WHEN STARTING A NEW ROLE
    2. CREATING A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY TO SUPPORT BRAND VALUES
    3. COMMUNICATING AS YOUR COMPANY GROWS
    4. CREATING A CULTURE OF COMMUNICATION
    5. CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS AND BRAND BUILDING
    6. PUBLIC SPEAKING TO COMMUNICATE YOUR BRAND
    7. BECOMING A CONFIDENT SPEAKER
    8. SPEAKING AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
    9. PROVIDE VALUE WHEN YOU SPEAK
    10. MEDIA INTERVIEWS
    11. PUBLIC COMPANY CEOS
    12. CEO NETWORKING
    13. NETWORKS ARE BRAND ASSETS
    14. BUILDING BRAND “AWARENESS”
    15. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  14. CHAPTER 8. Social Media and Brand—What Today’s CEO Must Know
    1. IS THERE A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS IN SOCIAL MEDIA, MARKETING, AND NETWORKING?
    2. HOW MANY CEOs ARE “SOCIAL”?
    3. WHY CEOs AREN’T GOING SOCIAL YET
    4. TO BLOG, OR NOT TO BLOG?
    5. WHAT’S AHEAD IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD?
    6. YOUR SOCIAL STRATEGY
    7. BASELINE ASSESSMENT
    8. HOW CEOs ARE USING BLOGS NOW
    9. GEORGE COLONY, FORRESTER, A GREAT BLOGGER
    10. IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME?
    11. HOW TO START WRITING
    12. MANAGING “SOCIAL” RISK
    13. TWITTER POWER
    14. ALLOWING YOUR PRODUCTS TO BE THE “STAR”
    15. KEEPING A LOW PROFILE
    16. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  15. CHAPTER 9. CEO Brand “Disaster Avoidance Kit”—Do No Harm
    1. WHAT IS YOUR BRAND REPUTATION WORTH?
    2. IF IT’S BROKEN, FIX IT FAST—BOB ECKERT, CEO, MATTEL
    3. THE SPILL AFTER THE SPILL—BRITISH PETROLEUM’S TONY HAYWARD
    4. NO OFFICE SECRETS—HEWLETT-PACKARD’S MARK HURD
    5. GOOD THINGS FROM NOT-SO-GOOD THINGS—MARTHA STEWARD LIVING OMNIMEDIA FOUNDER MARTHA STEWART
    6. BRAND DOUBLE BOGIE—TIGER WOODS
    7. MORE THAN A FIX-IT PROJECT—HOME DEPOT’S ROBERT NARDELLI
    8. THE COVER-UP IS THE SIN—MEG WHITMAN’S “NANNY-GATE”
    9. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  16. CHAPTER 10. Your Personal Brand Team—People Who Make You Look Good
    1. TIPS ON HIRING AND OUTSOURCING
    2. JOHN GUENTHER, BNY MELLON—WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN ASSEMBLING YOUR TEAM?
    3. WORKING WITH AN EXECUTIVE COACH
    4. WORKING WITH YOUR INTERNAL TEAM
    5. KARYL LEVINSON, FORRESTER RESEARCH—WORKING WITH A SAVVY CEO
    6. LEVERAGING YOUR TIME
    7. WHO ELSE BELONGS ON THE BRAND TEAM?
    8. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  17. CHAPTER 11. Ten Fast-Track Tips to Accelerate Brand Building
    1. YOUR UNIQUE BRAND
    2. WHY FAST-TRACK BRAND-BUILDING
    3. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 1: TAKE MASSIVE ACTION
    4. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 2: LEVERAGE, LEVERAGE, LEVERAGE
    5. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 3: GET COMFORTABLE BEING A BRAND
    6. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 4: SHOW UP AND REPRESENT YOUR BRAND WELL
    7. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 5: DO THE THINGS ONLY YOU CAN DO
    8. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 6: COLOR-CODE YOUR PRIORITY PROJECTS
    9. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 7: GET PROS TO HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS
    10. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 8: HELP OTHER PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY WANT
    11. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 9: GIVE IT THE PERSONAL TOUCH
    12. FAST-TRACK TIP NO. 10: ASK, WHAT DO I WANT TO DO THAT I HAVEN’T DONE YET?
    13. PLANNING EXERCISE
    14. FINAL THOUGHT—INVEST IN YOUR SUCCESS
    15. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  18. CHAPTER 12. Your Leadership Legacy—Writing History Today
    1. INNOVATION
    2. REINVENTION
    3. PEOPLE
    4. COMMUNITY
    5. WE HAVE ONLY SO MUCH TIME
    6. CHAPTER SUMMARY
  19. Index
  20. Suzanne Bates, CSP, CEO, Bates Communications, Inc.

Product information

  • Title: Discover Your CEO Brand: Secrets to Embracing and Maximizing Your Unique Value as a Leader
  • Author(s): Suzanne Bates
  • Release date: September 2011
  • Publisher(s): McGraw-Hill
  • ISBN: 9780071762908