An evening with Santa John: There is a brand within you.

On Friday, February 18, we had an interesting webinar by Mrs.Santha John.

About Mrs Santha John

Mrs Santha John was born in Munnar, Kerala and was educated in Delhi, Nainital, Chennai, Hyderabad and New York. She is the Founder- Director of CoachLife.asia and Associate Member of the International Institute of Coaching & Mentoring (IIC&M). A helpful and accessible person, Mrs. John has been informally coaching people all her life. But she wanted to learn it formally. That is why she decided to learn coaching from the best person in the field, Curly Martin, Platinum Level 7, one of the top 10 Life Coaches in the world and who wrote the first definitive book on Coaching.

Mrs. Santha has had an illustrious career of over 35 years as a successful serial entrepreneur and has won 3 International Awards, Entrepreneur of the Year Award by HMA (Hyderabad Management Association) and Z TV award for the Creative Entrepreneur.  She has served as the President of the Advertising Club of Hyderabad twice and is the former Chairman Emeritus of JWT Mindset. She has also been the Vice Chair of United Way of Hyderabad.

Mrs Santha John also serves as a Team Lead in THRIVE Hyderabad, an International Mentor-Mentee initiative present in 6 countries. She is a mentor at T-Hub and a member of CII IWN, FICCI FLO and HMA. She initiated the GLOBAL 100 SAREE PACT from Hyderabad and today it has more than 16,000 members.

Mrs John has one son and is passionate about cooking, baking, yoga and watching movies on the big screen!

What is a brand?

A brand is a set of expectations, memories, stories, relationships that taken together account for the consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.

All of us have a unique personal brand whether we know it or not. Personal banding is managing our own name and reputation in a world of misinformation, disinformation, and semi-permanent Google records. People are forming perceptions about us whether we realize it or not. When we go for an interview, the interviewer has already found out a lot about us even before we have reached the venue.

A personal brand is an asset to be protected, moulded and shaped. We should be clear about what we are and what we want to be. What should people say about us when we are not in the room? For Mrs Santha John, it was about becoming independent.

Why is personal branding important?

It provides a clear focus for personal development. We will become clear about where we need to focus on developing ourselves.

It can establish us as a thought leader.
Personal branding can benefit us in various ways.
It can enable us to take part in conversations that matter to us.
It can help people who are searching for someone like us.
It can help build our business.
It can help us get hired if we are looking for a job.
It can help us make new friends.
It can build self-confidence and self-esteem.
It can enable serendipitous success.

Note: As the book, The Celestine Prophecy mentions, being open to the unexpected leaves room for new paths in our life. We may be trying to achieve something. A business we want to grow, a story idea we want to develop, a new job opportunity we are trying to seek during this economic chaos. Through serendipity, we may stumble upon something or someone that might direct us to the right path. We may find a coincidental answer during a phone call with a friend or a conversation with a stranger in line at the supermarket. Our job is to see it when these moments arrive.

In short, personal branding often holds the key to building our reputation, and credibility and being successful.

Important for all of us

Mrs Santha John spoke about a teacher who had resigned from a well- known school. She was dismissive about having a visiting card. Mrs John explained to her that all of us need to provide our contact details so that we can be reached. We cannot remain in an ivory tower. We must interact with the world to build our personal brand.

Not self-promotion

Building a personal brand is not about self-promotion. It is more about becoming a role model. It is about acting as a voice that others can depend on. The intention should be to help others benefit by having a relationship or association with us.

Personal branding is not about self-grandiosity. We should see the brand from the perspective of others and not from our own perspective. It is more about being helpful than showing off.

Recently, when Mrs Santha John visited a college, a lady who makes brownies wanted her help to get connected to a digital agency. Mrs John has tasted the brownies and found them to be good. She is now trying to help the entrepreneur promote her product better. Being helpful and accessible is the way to build our personal brand.

Next steps

We can write a personal brand statement.
We can add a very personal tagline that best describes us.
We should try to surround ourselves with top notch people so that we can learn from them. We should not let awe stop us.
We must swallow our ego and ask for advice.
We must ask a lot of questions and listen.
We must make ourselves available to peers and organizations.

We should not complain that we do not have time for personal branding All of us have at least 100 hours per week. If we plan, we can always find the time.

Q&A

On the importance of authenticity

To be successful, we must be truthful. We should not do things just to please others. We must be authentic and project the truth. We do not have to do everything that others are doing.

On dealing with differences between self-concept and perceived image

It is important to resolve the dissonance. Children love Coke. But Coke is not good for health. That was the dilemma Coke faced. So, the company found it difficult to drive Coke consumption. Pepsi tackled the problem more effectively by starting to offer other foods and beverages which were healthier.

There is always space to move around a little and ensure that the self- concept and perceived image are better aligned.

Evolution of brands in the last four decades

Today, it is more about the experience and the emotions than the product. For example, Nike is not about the shoes anymore. Brands should be willing to take up bold themes and display bold imagery.

Print vs digital media

Print media is dead for all practical purposes. Print is costly and not targeted. It is like throwing stones into the water. Digital is more targeted, cost effective and the ROI can be measured. Digital advertising can also be customized. But digital also needs a budget.

On revitalizing a tarnished brand

We must be honest and factual. We must be ready to apologize, if had made any mistake in our service delivery or by product defect. Sometimes, it is better to be silent rather than become defensive or overreact.

On the role of teachers

Teachers should not rest on their past laurels. They must handhold students and give them hope. They must understand the market realities and personalize the learning for the students.

Teachers should try to understand what students want to do in life. Many students decide on a career path before doing the necessary homework. As teachers, we must make them aware of the pros and cons of what they are trying to do.

On the first impression being the best impression

When we walk into the room, without having spoken anything, we make an impact. What we say later has a much smaller impact. There are any things we can do before the meeting to shape impressions. We can find about more about the people in the meeting. We can be on time. We can ask for directions the day before. All these are part of the first impression. In short, there are many simple but important things to do to build a good impression and thereby a strong personal brand.

On coaching

To build a good image, we need the right coach. When the former US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice wanted a coach, she did not go to a black. She realized that the world is dominated by white, old men!

On dealing with people who talk behind our backs

We cannot stop people talking about us behind our back. If there is some truth in what they are saying, we must reflect on it.

Summary

As Sudhakar summed up very well, there is a brand within all of us. We must identify, nurture and leverage this brand. Building a brand is not about bragging. It is about making ourselves available, accessible and useful to others. Personal branding is useful both to us and to the people around us. We can become thought leaders. People can reach out to us. We should not look at personal branding as seeking publicity. We should be available and let people know how we can be contacted. We should leverage the social media to our advantage. A Weber Shandwick report has mentioned that it is important for people to have a social media presence. In fact, people trust us more if we are active on social media. We must write books and articles. We should become role models. We should not have any ego. We must align with the truth and be authentic. We must have the courage to stand up for what we believe in.

We thank Dr. Vedpuriswar for bringing out the highlights in the form of this note