| Brands evoke responses. Talk to anyone who | | | | bankrupt with inconsistent or poor |
| loves their Starbucks coffee, or hates their | | | | performance.Whether emails or hallway hellos, |
| car; loves their Apple iPod, or hates their | | | | meetings or project plans, ideas or feedback, |
| internet provider. When you think of your | | | | you imprint your signature with each action. |
| favorite or least favorite brands, certain | | | | Every encounter informs people what to expect |
| feelings and attributes come to mind. These | | | | from you. And these impressions, good or not |
| represent the brand. The same is true for | | | | so good, create brand "you" at work.Remember |
| people.When you hear the name Joe, you have | | | | first grade when you proudly printed at the |
| an impression of the Joe-brand, good or not | | | | top of the wide-ruled paper your name so |
| so good. When Erin is assigned to your team, | | | | everyone could see it? We may not write our |
| you may figuratively breathe a sigh of relief | | | | names in big, bold crayon on our work |
| or roll your eyes. It's the Erin-brand that | | | | anymore, but make no mistake, your name is on |
| evokes your response. What about your name? | | | | everything you do.People who are winning at |
| What reaction does it elicit from your boss, | | | | working know that. They're like great product |
| coworkers or clients?We expect brands to | | | | brands. They're reliable, dependable and |
| demonstrate their attributes, or brand | | | | authentic. They deliver their unique brand |
| promise, not once or twice, but every time we | | | | attributes, not once or twice, but day in and |
| encounter them. Inconsistencies in | | | | day out; not just on highly visible or |
| performance can damage our brand | | | | politically aligned projects, but on the |
| relationships and cause us to select other | | | | routine, mundane ones, too. And they're as |
| brands. With people-brands, it means we | | | | personable with the person who can't promote |
| promote, fire, assign projects and compensate | | | | them as the person who can.People who are |
| based on that brand performance.Of course, we | | | | winning at working understand they are a |
| may forgive an occasional slip, seeing it as | | | | unique brand with specific gifts, talents and |
| an atypical hiccup from a brand we otherwise | | | | attributes. Their name is their icon. Their |
| love. For me that happened with Disney. I'm a | | | | brand promise is delivering the best of who |
| Disney fan, traveling to Walt Disney World | | | | they are. Want to be winning at working? |
| once or twice a year. But a few years back, | | | | Deliver the promise in your brand.(c) 2006 |
| the magic was tarnishing. The parks weren't | | | | Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.Receive |
| quite as clean, the staff not quite as | | | | a copy of 21 Winning Career Tips (a free |
| friendly, the experience not quite as | | | | download) at Nan Russell has spent over |
| promised, or what I had grown to expect.Since | | | | twenty years in management, most recently |
| Disney had the equivalent of banked good-will | | | | with QVC as a Vice President. She has held |
| in their brand relationship account with me, | | | | leadership positions in Human Resource |
| from years delivering on their brand promise, | | | | Development, Communication, Marketing and |
| I tried a few more trips. Happily it turned | | | | line Management. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford |
| around. But brand relationships we once loved | | | | University and M.A. from the University of |
| can be diminished and good-will accounts can | | | | Michigan. Currently working on her first |
| be overdrawn. It happens at work, too. | | | | book, Winning at Working: 10 Lessons Shared, |
| Previously strong relationships can become | | | | Nan is a columnist, writer and speaker. |