30th October invitation...

Please join me in London at the Chicago GSB campus on the 30th October. I will be talking at a breakfast meeting - the topic is "Personal branding in an uncertain world: why it matters, how it works and how we can turn it to our advantage."

Who: CGSB, Insead, LBS and Harvard Alumni will be attending
What: Breakfast meeting
When: Thursday, 30th October 2008
Where: CGSB London Campus, Woolgate Exchange, 25 Basinghall St, London
Why: Soft skills are vital in tough markets
How: Register online to book your place

The event starts at 07:45am, will finish at 08:45am and costs £15.

We still have some places left, so please book as soon as possible - and for those of you who have already confirmed, thank you, I am looking forward to seeing you there.

Louise

Financial Crisis explained...

Adversity and wry humour are never far apart....

CEO - Chief Embezzlement Officer

CFO - Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET - A random market movement causing an investor to mistake him/her self for some kind of financial genius.

BEAR MARKET - a 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewellery, and the husband gets no sex.

VALUE INVESTING - The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO - The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER - What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR - Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST - Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT - When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER - A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION - The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW - The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO - What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.

WINDOWS - What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR - Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT - An archaic word no longer in use.

Do people see right through you?

In the tightening job market its more important than ever to stand out with a strong, robust personal brand. And for those who have lost jobs and are focused on getting back into the market - a strong brand will give you an all important competitive edge.

Last week, after five months of development and beta testing, we launched iWorkshop™ - the first interactive personal branding workshop available online. It feels extraordinary to crystalise an enduring, relentless niggling fascination with what makes one person succeed above others - into an application that can help people to stand out and shine.

Credit crunch fallout

This week, the world as we know it changed forever. Well, at least for the foreseeable future. The inevitable fallout from the credit crunch happened. Shockingly, it was all concentrated into one brutal week. The bastions of unshakable establishment on Wall Street and in the City of London crumbled. Lehman, Merrill Lynch, AIG, HBOS. Bank failures, rescue takeovers, government bailouts all came thick and fast. Massive, intense, relentless.

And the markets roared into life yesterday and bounced - a hugely energetic bouncy bounce that reverberated around the world. Shanghai gained 9.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 9.6 per cent, the FTSE 100 had its biggest daily gain in its 24-year history with 8.8 per cent and the S&P 500 closed up 4.0 per cent, having risen 4.3 per cent on Thursday. And the surges in London and the US were partially fuelled by a ban on short-selling announced on Thursday night.

With friends and clients describing their week as hellacious, many feel they have literally been to hell and back. Most feel that there is more to come. No one seems terribly sure about anything. The markets may be closed for the weekend, but the floors and desks and corridors are occupied as exposures are calculated and able minds grapple to find a way forward in unchartered terrain.

Sarah Palin

What a week for US politics! And the brands on display have made for fascinating viewing. First we had Michelle Obama with a heartfelt rendition of family values and the power of the American dream. Then came Hillary... dynamically rousing her supporters to vote for Democratic principles - and to get over the attachment to the person.

Then the nation collectively held its breath waiting to see if Bill would do the same. And he did - even describing himself as the warm-up for Barack's running mate Joseph Biden. Biden delivered his yin to Obama's yang - or is it the other way around? And the grand finale, Obama accepting his party's nomination in front of 38 million countrymen - fighting, fierce, up for it.

And just when we thought it was all over until next week when the Republicans will do the same, McCain stole the weekend media thunder and announced his running mate, Sarah. Sarah who? Who? Oh, Sarah Palin of course. Virtually unknown, a governor for less than two years, small town beauty queen, small town mayor - who has (now famously) said of the Vice Presidency role "...what is it exactly that a VP does every day?"

And so the rapid building of a brand is occurring as I write this and by next week, Sarah will be a household name. Fascinating. But not as fascinating as the impact that this has had on McCain's brand. We are now thinking of him as a maverick, a risk taker. If this is his way of showing that he is not George Bush, then he has certainly gone out on a limb to do so - far, far out.

Men in Tights

With the recent focus on men's tights (yes, tights, as in pantyhose) on almost every news channel here in the UK, the question of whether men should wear make-up has also raised it's head.

It seems that men's tights and make-up are in demand - thousands of pairs of soft, silky tights are sold in super-large sizes every month, and a major retailer here in the UK is about to launch a new range of make-up for men. Although one wonders how it will differ to women's make-up apart from the branding? Perhaps the heavily macho version won't include a waterproof mascara as men don't cry?

When it comes to tights, we can all see the benefit to the Queen's Guards - standing in the freezing cold for hours on end - guarding the bastions of the English monarchy against anarchists, terrorists and stalkers. Or perhaps men could wear them at home to stave off the recent energy price rises. Afterall, it seems that the average UK household may soon be paying 100 GBP per month for their energy bills.

All well and good, except for the very simple question - do women find men in tights, or those with a dash of eyeliner attractive? From my (un)scientific research conducted on a group of smart savvy women (my friends) the response has been overwhelmingly conclusive. No. Howls of laughter, loads of eeeuuuw's, noses crinkled in distaste. And the "I'd run a mile if he took his trousers off and then started peeling off a pair of 10 deniers." It's always useful to put things into context.

Online presence...

What is the point in being on a social or business networking site if you don't put a photograph of yourself on your page? We certainly remember the names of our close friends and those we do business with, however, most of us have hundreds if not thousands of 'contacts' that we have interacted with over the years and the chances of remembering everyone without a visual reminder is slim.

Furthermore, why do these faceless people feel that its ok to connect without any explanation of how you might know each other or why they would like to know you?

The most common explanation that I've heard is that people want to maintain some sort of anonymity or exclusivity and only connect to those who know them really well. A comedy of contradictions - if you only want those who you know to connect then why have an online presence?

And the most fascinating aspect of this is the negative first impression that we have of this faceless brigade. I am sure that I am not alone when I say that I am deeply suspicious of those who attempt to connect as friends or business contacts without a photograph to jog the memory or explanation - what's the point?

An online presence, which is what this boils down to, is a vital aspect of a personal brand. We live in a world where 'googling' others is considered normal - even potential employers check out their applicants online. Very simply, we need to ensure that every experience that others have of our brand is one that represents us effectively. Masked ball's aside, we wouldn't appear at a party or business event hiding our faces - why do this online unless you want to make others suspicious of your intentions?

What do people say about you?

So what do people say about you when you are not there? When we are actually present, we have the opportunity to influence people - perhaps to convince others that we are the right person for the opportunity, the role, the project, the deal. However, more often than not, most of the important decisions are made when we are not present - and this is where our personal brands need to stand up for us.

One way of becoming aware of how you are perceived is to observe how others introduce you. There are usually three elements to an introduction - your name, what you do, and then the interesting bit - some sort of comment about what you do or how you go about doing what you do - which demonstrates how you are perceived by the person introducing you.

The alarm bells should be ringing if you find that you are regularly introduced in a way that doesn't represent who you are and what you do. Worse, they should be clanging loudly if you find that the people introducing you are at a total loss as to what you do - filling in the gaps with inane comments like "he's a good egg". So... if you are a personal trainer trying to build your client base, something useful like "meet Michael, he's a personal trainer who'll get you looking like Adonis in no time" could be reduced to "meet Michael, he's wearing the coolest trainers here".

Powerful personal brands need to be four things – the first is compelling – or in other words - interesting, unique, memorable, different. The second is authentic – we need to be able to ‘show’ not ‘tell’ if we are to be believable. The third is consistent – without a consistency, we will not be trusted. And lastly, we need to be well known to our market or audience. There is little point in being incredibly good at what you do if no one knows about you.

Women in Business

I found Lina Saigol and Roula Khalaf's article in the FT yesterday titled "Women make gains in Arab boardrooms" particularly interesting bearing in mind that I spent three and a half years based in Dubai. From a survey into boards in the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council, it seems that public companies listed in Oman and Kuwait have more women (2.7 per cent in Kuwait) on their boards than in Italy (2 per cent) and Japan (0.4 per cent).

However, these figures are not representative of the region as a whole where only 30 per cent of woman play a part in their economies versus 55 per cent worldwide. My personal experience of working in the middle east is that women are well respected in business and are a formidable force to be reckoned with. The UAE, in particular, is vitally aware of the impact of having 50 per cent of their 'local' workforce in play - and my impression is that women are encouraged to excel in the workplace.

From a personal branding perspective, I found that the women in business that I met are particularly aware of how they are perceived and the initial impressions that they make. Business is still primarily oiled by relationships and reputations in a far more obvious way than in the UK and USA where the fundamentals are often masked by big company brands. Not that personal brands are necessarily stronger in middle east - rather, they seem to take the lead. I think that we mistakenly rely too heavily on corporate brands in the west - often to the detriment of our careers, and ultimately, the detriment of the companies that we work for.

Style over substance?

I have been working with a client who is in banking over the last few months. With so much turmoil in the markets, she wanted to ensure that her company understood her value. As she should - banking has been hard-hit globally with job cuts reaching frightening proportions and everyone is feeling understandably vulnerable.

It is at times like these that our personal brands really do work hard for us, not only in obvious ways when we are present, but more importantly, behind the scenes where we have little direct influence or control.

We often hear cries of 'style over substance' when discussing making our brands known to our market or audience. This is such a misnomer. Being known for who you are, what you do, and how you do it better is, in most cases, all about subtlety rather than blatant self-promotion.

Job Cuts

This week I was invited to join a panel on BBC Radio Five Live to discuss when those in business, politics and sports should resign. With so much uncertainty in the markets and a frightening number of job cuts reported and predicted, the need for a strong personal brand couldn't be more stark.

And it seems fairly obvious that when people should go is a timing issue. Either an unanticipated disaster has occurred as in the case of Terminal 5, or we want to pre-empt a possible disaster as in the case of Mr Brown. And one can argue that Mr Walsh's management style prevented those who thought that a disaster might occur from raising the issue - and their heads did roll. And the latter, well, we are predicting a rather difficult coming week for the British Prime Minister.

Yet more often than not it is worth seeing a possible disaster through to completion for the greater good of the organisation. In the not too distant past, the constant change of leadership had deeply negative effect on the Conservative Party, leaving voters reluctant to commit.

And it is at times like this when that we see people's personal brands having a profound effect on their futures. We are prepared to weather the storm with those that we can connect to emotionally.

Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson seems to have positioned himself as the “love me or loathe me” candidate in his bid to win the London mayoral race. And while this is inspired marketing for a distinct consumer brand like marmite, it is inappropriate for someone who aspires to taking on the biggest directly elected job in British politics. There seems to be a key factor missing in what we are now referring to as ‘brand Borris’ - that of a statesmanlike quality.

It is clear that a change is needed, however, I believe that Boris is heading in the wrong direction. We learned earlier this week that his team’s strategy appears to be focused on keeping him on a very short leash to avoid blunders and controversy. However, the cornerstone of any personal brand is authenticity. By becoming bland and appearing to conform behind a well-managed mask, he leaves us very little to buy into and we are suspicious of this new Boris. He needs to work his brand to his advantage, not stem its very lifeblood. He won’t win on protest votes alone.

According to a Guardian / ICM poll, trust is going to be the determining factor in who wins this race. The poll reflects that 42% of those questioned believe that Boris is honest, versus 28% for Ken Livingston. So the issue is one of character, which is remarkably unsurprising. No one buys vanilla - people buy people and we like traits and quirks and beliefs – they demonstrate what people stand for and give us something to relate to.

I suggest that Boris considers what his target audience will be interested in ‘buying’ from someone in the role of Mayor of London. He needs to analyse each potential audience that will influence his success and list everything that will be deeply compelling to each. The result will be qualities, expertise and experience that he should then compare to his own. Anything that appears to be weak, missing, or overlooked should be explored and where possible, developed and incorporated into his brand.

The next stage is to communicate and demonstrate all of this through action in a way that will appeal to his target audience. And no, he cannot simply send the spin machine into overdrive or get another haircut… authenticity is vital if he is to be believed.

Naomi Campbell arrested at T5

Yesterday Naomi Campbell was escorted off a flight to Los Angeles at Heathrow's Terminal 5 and arrested for allegedly spitting at an officer after she was told that one of her checked-in bags had been mislaid.

Naomi, who was seated in first class, became abusive towards cabin crew after she was given the option of leaving the flight until her bag was found, or to continue on without it.

Now much has been said about the humiliating failings of Terminal 5, so I won't labour the point, however, spitting is another matter. It seems that Ms Campbell just can't help herself. Her public displays of aggression, rudeness and guttersnipe behaviour are only reinforcing a personal brand that has much to be desired. Do we care, is it really news, is there anything startling about this?

I think not - when it comes to her brand, Ms Campbell is proving to be horribly consistent. The question here is whether this unchecked ego will see any backlash from the audience that she needs to appeal to. I suggest that Naomi gives some thought to how those who might employ her, her friends and supporters, and the general public will react to this. Will they continue to forgive, or are they quite simply, over it?

Heather Mills McCartney

Yesterday's insightful article by Kira Cochrane in the Guardian "Why we love to hate Heather" details the many misogynistic and stereotyped ways that Heather Mills McCartney has been branded by the press and others. But while she seems to be damned and condemned, doing nothing along route to help herself, there may well be a way to rebuild her brand - albeit slowly and with caution. I know that it's a 180 on my previous blog, and as impossible as it may seem right now, I think that with the right mindset, advice and self-discipline, something can be done.

We know that personal brands need to be deeply compelling to their audience, authentic, consistent and known. Indeed we can almost hold Heather up as a case study for the perfectly executed anti-brand - she fulfils all of these principles, only from a negative perspective. As a personal branding consultant, I believe that if she can do it all so perfectly negatively, its possible to turn it around. With extreme caution and very slowly.

Heather will carefully need to pick a target audience that has some empathy with her cause and stick to this in the short to medium term. She will need to dig deep to find and establish a different, distinct and positive element of her brand and story that will be compelling and of value to this audience - something that is truly authentic, beyond doubt and as yet, untainted. All of this will need to be delivered unwaveringly and consistently over a period of time. She needs to be a living, breathing embodiment of all of the above.

Then, and only then, should the process of communicating her brand begin - very subtly and only in the right arenas. Central to all of this should be a commitment to apply an unyielding self-discipline, to withdraw from the public eye until she is ready and to find a sense of grace and elegance that has been so lacking.

It's going to be a challenge, of that I have no doubt. But then again, life is a series of choices and challenges. Should Heather choose to rehabilitate her brand, she will need some help. She can always give me a call and we can explore this further...

Heather Mills McCartney

Here begins lesson 101 in how to destroy a personal brand. No, I'll start again. Here begins lesson 101 in how to reinforce a negative personal brand. Uh, no, how about: Here begins lesson 101... Oh I give up. It's all just too hideous for words.

Heather Mills McCartney has been lambasted... and it seems that she happily contributed by a thorough self-basting, before offering herself up for a roasting by the press following her High Court, high profile divorce from Sir Paul McCartney. No surprises there. No surprises anywhere in fact. Not at her throwing a glass of water over Sir Paul's lawyer Fiona Shackleton, which Heather apparently referred to as 'baptising', nor the fact that she won less than a fifth of the £125m that she was claiming.

And I don't know why I am surprised that she hasn't learned a single lesson about managing her personal brand, but I am. One would think that all of the pointers are there for her - as clear as day. Would it really take that much to find a touch of elegant neutral ground or a slither of grace? She seems hell-bent on reinforcing all that we have come to perceive as vile, trashy and vengeful. Can this brand ever recover? I think not.

Chelsea Clinton

From prop to propagandist... Hillary's not so secret weapon has been outed. Our enduring memory of a geeky teenager with braces is slowly but surely being replaced with a polished, poised and some would say, convincing speaker.

As the only child of power couple extraordinaire, protected as much as was humanly possible, Chelsea followed in her father's footsteps and went to Oxford. She largely managed to stay out of trouble and the media with only a few hiccups... all of the usual variety associated with her age - partying, falling out of nightclubs. Not even a hint of inhaling.

Post degree, she joined McKinsey in New York and then a hedge fund and was rarely seen on the social circuit, preferring to attend charity dinners and sit on the board of a ballet company. She refused to give interviews. In short, she managed to work hard, play soft and keep a low profile.

Ring in the change. Initially we saw her by her mother's side, silent and supportive. However, as Hillary's campaign went from inevitable to deeply uncertain, she stepped up and is now eclipsing Bill's efforts. It seems that Obama has a new contender for the hearts and minds of the young. We are even starting to hear talk about the 'Chelsea effect'.

And whilst she is still refusing to give interviews and claims no political aspirations apart from getting her mom into the White House, I think that we will watch this space with interest.

500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art

by Philip Scott Johnson

Celebrity drug use...

There has been a lot of recent coverage on celebrity drug use as a result of the annual report from the UN's International Narcotics Control Board warning that treating celebrities 'leniently' is undermining faith in the criminal justice system and has a damaging effect on young people. And whilst I agree, it struck a cord as the argument that young people see celebrities as true role models in the old fashioned sense may well have lost some of its impact.

Today, young people are a lot more savvy, more aware. I recently heard the author of Wikenomics, Dan Tapscott (the man behind Wikipedia and author of many books) talk about his multi-million dollar research project, which showed, amongst other things how young people process information. Interesting enough, he found that young minds are 'wired' differently to ours due to the way that information is presented to them (the internet, facebook, myspace, youtube, mobile phones, computing in general, mulitmedia) and he feels that the great social and economic divide will soon be those young people who have been exposed to this, and those in developing countries who's brains will still be wired like yours and mine.

Back to drug use and interestingly enough, if the media weren't involved and we didn't have individuals 'caught on camera', the impact might not be so great. It makes me think of elvis, the rolling stones, the beatles... the rock n' roll lifestyle that has always been, and how we are prepared to forgive so much when it comes to those in creative industries... as we have always done. It seems that not only are our personal brands key here, even entire industries are branded and treated accordingly. We are still prepared to buy a movie ticket, a music CD, go to a concert, buy the goods that celebs endorse knowing that those involved use drugs. However, would we accept the same from our banker or doctor or personal trainer? I think not.

There will always be those who slavishly follow their idols, however, the rest of us recognise that drugs are slavery, and the best thing we can teach young people is how to be free. Often it is the media, not the celebrity that has the most clout and de-glamorising drug use should continue to be top of the agenda. And should celebs face the same penalties, well yes, afterall we live in a democratic society, right?

Personal Branding Tips

I have recently added a Q&A section to my site... feel free to ask if you have any burning Image or Personal Branding queries and I will get back to you as soon as.

On that note, I thought that I would share my 'top tips' for Personal Branding.

Here we go:

1. Find out how you are actually perceived or what your reputation is – ask a variety of people;
2. Spend some time exploring what it is about you that is or will be memorable, different, distinct and deeply compelling to your market or audience;
3. Ask yourself if what you are offering is authentic, if not it will only breed mistrust;
4. Make sure that your message or what you deliver is consistent, if it is erratic, it will lose value and undermine your efforts;
5. Create a Personal Brand statement outlining who you are, what you do, how you do it and why it is compelling… and use abridged versions of it consistently wherever appropriate;
6. Explore how you can make your Personal Brand known to your market or audience and act on it.
   

Simon Cowell

Interesting comment from Simon Cowell on American Idol's latest series cutting the remaining 24 down to 20 this week. He said it as it is... nothing unusual in that, however, he happened to outline the foundations of a powerful personal brand.

Now, we often hear Simon describing a performance as dull, boring, unmemorable. On this occasion, he went into a little more detail. He said that the performer had to bring something different, memorable, interesting, unique, relevant to the table. I would sum it all up and use one word. Compelling. All of these things need to add up to compelling. We need to want more. Loads more.

Personal Image Tips

Creating positive first impressions is all about our Personal Image, which is made up of three things; how we look, how we sound and our body language. We form opinions about others in a matter of seconds and then spend the rest of our time justifying our decisions to ourselves.

Our Image communicates so much about us. It has a powerful effect on how other people approach and respond to us, personally and professionally. A positive, appropriate Image instantly puts our audience at ease. Adversely, a negative, inappropriate Image creates hard to shift obstacles and barriers to success.

Top Tips:

1. Ensure that your clothing is appropriate for the occasion
2. What you wear and your grooming communicate how you feel about yourself… ask yourself what it is that you are conveying to others?
3. Keep accessories, jewellery, make-up, perfume and aftershave subtle and appropriate
4. Practice the art of introducing yourself and of making small talk
5. Smile, make eye contact, shake hands, relax, don’t fidget
6. Be conscious of the appropriate etiquette in the circumstances that you find yourself
7. Remember other peoples names and use them
8. Listen, pay attention to what the other person is saying in order to show interest and find common ground… don’t chatter

Dwain Chambers

And so the row over Dwain Chambers, doping and athletics goes on. From a general sporting perspective, this is an easy one. We all agree. If we are to compare and reward physical prowess and skill, then all things must be equal. A level playing field so to speak.

What makes all of this interesting is Dwain's public claim that it is almost impossible to win a major medal in athletics without the use of artificial stimulation. And he of all people must know the contents of this dirty can of worms. He failed a test for tetrahydrogestrinone, the Balco designer steroid in 2003 and was given a two-year suspension. Having served his time, he returned in 2006 as a member of the British sprint squad, taking relay gold in the European Championships.

And that leaves us with way too many questions... who isn't doping? Is anyone clean? Can we trust the results? Is it real? How do we stop it happening?

One can argue that Dwain has paid his dues for past misdemeanours... he should be allowed to go on. After all, the social trend is to forgive those in the public eye for their ill-judged transgressions. However, this is a very different arena. His body is the basis of his success and it’s cheating. Plain and simple. One can liken it to putting rocket fuel in a formula one car, if that were possible. Its just plain wrong. Do we celebrate the efficacy and wonders of the drugs, or the performance of the athlete?

And I wonder if this brand will be able to recover. So damaged in 2003, will he now fight in the name of 'lessons learned' and can we forgive and forget? After all, it seems that his playing field is not at all level and we may well ask if he is being vilified, persecuted in the name of all those who as yet remain undiscovered.

Bull in a china shop...

I do enjoy working with those who promote and manage people in the public eye. The good ones have an innate sense of the power of personal brands and a determined interest in helping the talent they manage to make the most of theirs.

A case in point a couple of weeks ago with an Agent who wanted what I think of as a little insurance on behalf of a young and inexperienced artist who shall remain nameless. This raw talent has been catapulted into the public eye and is struggling. No, let me re-phrase that. The people who manage him are struggling. He is a happy bull in a china shop and finding trouble in the most unlikely of places.

We spent a couple of hours together as I coached him on his image & personal brand and their impact on his career. Perhaps predictably, the usual motivator of increased financial success held little appeal. He has more money than he ever dreamed of and the numbers don't mean much. They are just numbers... with lots of commas and zeros. And as for reputation... he quite likes his 'wild boy' image. What finally worked was the opportunity to create a legacy for his family. His mum to be precise.

A couple of weeks later, a few more hours of coaching and he seems to have 'got it'. Thank goodness. I like to see Agents smiling.

Intuition...

One of my clients is an entrepreneur of note. Having worked with him last year on his own personal brand, I am now working with all of the heads of the companies that he invests in. From my perspective, its interesting to see that there are a number of key common traits in the people that he is backing. From his perspective, he has chosen these people and their ideas based on a gut feeling. When it comes to the wire, he relies on his intuition.

And I find that these savvy smart people that seem to embody the word success really do use and trust their intuition more than most. They take all the knowledge that they can gather using their five senses, and combine it with the one thing that is difficult to quantify. They research, analyse, logically work through the data and assuming it stacks up, then tap into a wisdom or 'knowingness' that just has nothing to do with facts or figures. In my clients' words... "there are so many similar ideas, technologies, services - assuming that there is a level playing field, the only thing to bet on is the people involved." Interestingly, he has bet on people with healthy personal brands... they are compelling to their markets, absolutely authentic and consistently consistent.

Cecilia Sarkozy

Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, formerly Sarkozy has won provisional damages of €30,000 or £22,321 from French magazine Closer. The magazine was found guilty of violating the former wife of French president Nicholas Sarkozy's right to privacy. Closer had published pictures of Cecilia and Carla Bruni, the presidents' girlfriend, side by side, both in black bikini's, clearly comparing the two.

Ms Ciganer-Albeniz seems to be having a real battle at the moment as she attempts to protect and manage her image and personal brand. Earlier in January, three books about the former First Lady were due to be published, and in a bid to block one of them, 'Cecilia' by Anna Bitton, a French judge ruled against her.

The price to pay for being in the public eye has risen considerably over recent years. The social trend of an insatiable thirst for public humiliation, dirty laundry and general infamy is beyond reason. I can appreciate that we would like to know more about the characters behind the 'brands', however, it should stop long before the intent is purely malicious. I think that we are all fed up with this type of rubbish.

Amy Winehouse

So just what effect will Amy Winehouse being caught on camera allegedly taking crack cocaine have on her personal brand? Apart from a general consensus that her lifestyle may well be her undoing, I don't see that it will have any effect on whether we buy her music or not. Afterall, she has only confirmed and reinforced her brand or what we perceive about her... 'creative genius with self destructive lifestyle'.

And fascinating to see those in creatively led industries get away with so much infamy. We may not agree with their lifestyles, and yet social trends seem to indicate that we are happy to watch their movies, buy their music, art, and the aspirational products that they endorse as in the case of Kate Moss. We certainly wouldn't be so forgiving if we discovered that the Governor of the Bank of England had a nasty habit.

Brand 'bin Laden'

Yesterday, on a day when the FTSE had the sharpest one day fall since 9/11, the importance of perception could not have been more relevant. And believe it or not, I was sidetracked from the markets, Alistair Darling delivering the fate of Northern Rock, more MoD laptops loaded with civilian private data going missing and an Indian company securing Jaguar... by CNN's Aneesh Raman interviewing Mr bin Laden. That's Omar Osama bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's son.

He is in the process of attempting to raise funding for a horse race 'for peace' across North Africa, which from the sounds of things is proving to be difficult. And Mr Raman ended with what can only be regarded as a rhetorical question... "can a son re-brand a name his father has made synonymous with terror?" Well, we all know that the bin Laden family are involved in all sorts of legitimate businesses apart from terror. But in this case, I fear that it may take more than a race for peace to shift perceptions.

Top down...

Fabulous company that I am working with at the moment. What a great group of people, most of whom I styled over two days this week. The interesting thing about their image culture is that they have chosen very similar types when it comes to those who are dealing with clients, or the 'face' of the company.

Image culture, as a component part of corporate culture, is always top down. Very simply, if the CEO, board, directors have a sloppy image, you can read between the lines and without fail, the rest will follow. We tend to choose people who are just like us in more ways than one.

From my perspective, I only ever work with organisations where the stakeholders are part of the project. There is little point in attempting to implement lasting, positive change if leaders aren't taking the lead.

Naomi Campbell interviews....

What a furor. What a flurry. What a flap. All about Naomi Campbell interviewing Hugo Chavez in February 08's edition of GQ. Well, what did we expect... ground breaking insights? We have the unlikely combination of brand 'supermodel' interviewing brand 'dictator' resulting in, well, resulting in not much really. Except perhaps a clear reinforcement of both brands and an inspired wave of controversy for brand GQ.

This is apparently the first in a series by Campbell interviewing 'personalities' in politics, sport and entertainment. If the outraged comments by readers are anything to go by, Campbell's role as contributing editor is something to watch closely. From a personal brand perspective, it will be interesting to see what effect all of this has on how she is perceived.

Love this!

Hillary Clinton

Very interesting to see Hillary Clinton taking a huge calculated risk in New Hampshire. Politics is where we see Personal Brands working their hardest. A fine line to walk allowing emotion to rise to the surface. And it worked this time, in this market.

I am watching all of this with great interest... we have the race issue, we have the gender issue. We have 'change' vs 'experience'. And Hillary needs to juggle more than ever... too strong and she is robotic, too emotional and she is weak. Tearing up may appeal to the women's vote... but may alienate the men and give her competition plenty of ammunition.

So the risk has paid off on this occasion... and her camp will be encouraged, although aware that it can't be used in all states or environments. Fascinating.

Growing a brand...

Life seems to send us the lessons. When we need them. A case in point being a client who's previous boss is someone I like to refer to as the Terrier. You know the type, or should I say, the brand... hard, wiry, relentless - successful at all costs. Little in the way of empathy and certainly no statesman-like qualities. And it appealed to my client's background, his hard fought way to the top.

Ring in the changes and he now has a new boss... professional background, more statesman than hard nosed business-man. And my client is finding it hard to adapt. What he is beginning to realise is that the Terrier was there to teach him how to harness the fight, and the Statesman is now here to teach him how to polish it.

So we dig hard to find what is compelling about my client to the Statesman, and how he can make the most of this new dynamic. And the answers are clear as day.

Having previously identified with the Terrier, my client knows that he is more than that. He knows that he has broader business skills. We explored the elements of the Statesman's brand that he himself possesses, albeit in their infancy, and he has had a shift in thinking. He has switched from resistance mode to what I call 'smart' mode. He is now looking to grow his Personal Brand to incorporate a new approach. And over time this will be truly authentic, he will have delivered consistently, making him hugely compelling to a wider market.

And I believe we have a winner in the making.

Hello London!

Well hello London! Can't imagine why I rushed back when the option was another week on a deliciously warm, silky sanded tropical beach. Ah, but responsibilities, accountants, clients call and so here I am. And admittedly in shock. Gosh its cold.

And the only real saving grace was the MMissoni sample sale this morning. Just one word. Fabulous. My good friend LE and I are regulars and always walk out in shock groaning under the weight of parcels having gouged deep holes in our bank accounts. Thankfully we are on opposite ends of both colour and style spectrum's so no need to fight over each piece. Small mercies.

And need to plan the next escape... mmm, what shall it be?

Mr Brown

What can I say. The Gordon Brown we all know is the solid background Scott. We are aware of power struggles, controlling tendencies and other shenanigans, but his Personal Brand has overall, been consistently dull. And now the need to win hearts and minds. To become more statesman-like.

And I watch this struggle with interest. His camp and adviser's reeling with each attempt at growing his brand. Hell, they should know that brands are built on authenticity, consistency.

And Sarkosy seemed to show just how thin this Brown veneer of appeal is. Sarkosy talked of the 'love affair' between France and the US in a way that only the French can do. And authenticity shone through. Brown on the other hand appears to be as dry as a desert, stumbling through without a water source.

So we watch and wait... how will this brand pan out, what will finally sit well?

Brand equity...

I have a good feeling about 08. Sitting here in the sun, a world away from chilly London. There is something wonderfully fresh about the early days of January, contemplating the good stuff that 07 delivered... to be carried forward - and letting go of that which no longer serves us.

And it seems that I am not the only one. My client last week is in the process of untangling a business partnership and going it alone. We talked about the equity in the partnership's brand and like a reality check, it was soon clear that the principals - the two partners were it. No use selling a brand where the principals are it, for the prospect of being tied in for a few years is too dull to contemplate.

Entrepreneurs are interesting creatures. Especially when they aim to grow their business by increasing their personal brand value rather than growing their team, products/services or markets. So the logic is that they are the brand. Afterall, that is what they are selling... their expertise, knowledge, experience. The company name should reflect this, it should contain their name rather than some smart catchphrase. They are the brand equity.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I hope that 2008 brings us all much joy, happiness and prosperity. And lets add a double dose of health, world peace and general goodwill. Goodness knows we all need it.

And thanks to all of you for your good wishes. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Louise