100 Best CEOs in the World is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Based on various criteria defined through data collected on nearly 2,000 CEOs worldwide, Harvard Business Review ranked the top 100 CEOs who have done the best job running their companies over their entire time in office, or for those still on the job, up until September 30, 2009.

Criteria used included:

• During their tenures, the CEOs had to post a total shareholder return of 997 percent (adjusted for exchange-rate effects).
• They had to raise company shareholder wealth by $48.2 billion (adjusted for inflation, dividends, share repurchases and share issues).

 No big surprise that Steve Jobs is #1 on the list. Following him are Yun Jong-Yong (Samsung Electronics), Alexey B. Miller (Gazprom), John T. Chambers (Cisco Systems) and Mukesh D. Ambani (Reliance Industries).

Some relatively unknown faces make it to the top, while some obvious candidates in terms of reputation don’t make the top 50, or even the top 100 or top 200.

The top five female CEOs are Margaret C. Whitman (eBay), Andrea Jung (Avon Products), Carol Meyrowitz (TJX), Susan M. Ivey (Reynolds American) and Kate Swann (WH Smith).

Location and industry didn’t factor heavily in the results. What did factor in was whether the CEO was with the same company or a different one before taking on the CEO role. CEOs who were insiders (promoted from within their companies) performed better than those who joined their organizations in that position.

Dan Schawbel Interviews Seth Godin is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

The February 2010 issue of Personal Branding Magazine will be on the digital stands on February 1.  But you can get a free sample issue now!

Volume 3, Issue 3 is about becoming so important to your company, your customers and the people around you, that they can’t live without you. When you’re valued in the marketplace, you’re wielding a powerful personal brand.

Seth Godin reveals his hope for career revolutionaries who want to remain relevant in a world that is being transformed by the internet. Food Network’s powerhouse Guy Fieri talks about how he has built his personal brand as a television personality.

Dan interviews Alexandra Levit, author of “New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career”, and talks with New England Patriots’ (NFL) defensive end Jarvis Green about taking the leap into entrepreneurship.

The sample issue has 8 articles including:

• Grow, Polish & Protect Your Future
• How to Be An Authority by Getting Personal
• Be Timely – SEO Your Blog, Keep It Updated and Build a Following

Subscribe to the full paid issue to get all the skinny.
 

Related post:

Interview with Dan Schawbel – Me 2.0 Personal Branding

Personal Branding Expert Dan Schawbel Interviews MC Hammer is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

The latest issue of The Personal Branding Magazine is due out on November 1, but you can get a free sample today!

In the cover story, MC Hammer 2.0: How to Use Social Media to Reinvent Yourself!, Dan interviews the celebrity hip-hop star who sold millions of albums in the 80′s.

Today Hammer is a social media powerhouse with a multi-million Twitter following and his own social network to keep in touch with old fans.

The sample issue features 8 articles, including:

♦  How to Fix a Broken Image or Completely Reinvent Your Brand on the Web

♦  Does Your Personal Brand Have a Competitive Advantage?

and partial inteviews with:

♦  Kerry Rhodes, an American football player who currently plays safety for the New York Jets NFL team

♦  Patrick Lencioni, NY Times bestselling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and six other bestselling books

♦  Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President and Director of Insights for Edelman Digital

♦  John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing – The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide and the Duct Tape Marketing Blog

♦  Mitch Joel, President of Twist Image and author of Six Pixels of Separation

The full issue includes the full interviews and:

♦  28 articles by subject matter expert authors and bloggers, covering brand reinvention, strategy, and related topics

♦  The 2009 Personal Brand Awards

Free Personal Branding Magazine is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Dan Schawbel is offering a free sample of the latest issue of his Personal Branding magazine.

In the sample issue you’ll find:

Cover story:

An interview with Evander Holyfield: Become the Heavyweight Champion of Your Niche

Interviews with:

•  Abiola Abrams, star of VH1′s Tough Love
•  Ken Blanchard, author of Who Killed Change?
•  Melanie Notkin, founder of SavvyAuntie
•  Steve Strauss, author of The Small Business Bible

Articles:

•  How to Become THE Number One Resource in Your Field
•  From “D” List Dude to “A” List Star

The full paid August issue contains 28 articles total covering information and advice related to dominating your niche and building your brand.

Enjoy some deep reads on personal branding!
 

Related post:

My Interview with Dan Schawbel – Me 2.0 Personal Branding

Branding My State Fair to Lure Martha Stewart is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Marie Bernegger, Quilter Bee (photo by Meg Guiseppi)

My dear friend Marie Bernegger (shown here in front of one of her beauties) and I have undertaken a grassroots campaign to convince Martha Stewart to visit our New Jersey State Fair, which is held in Sussex County in early August.

It was Marie’s idea to give it a try. How could it hurt to just ask? She solicited my wordsmithing to spin our Fair’s homespun brand to align with Martha’s own personal brand, and to grab her attention.

Marie is a professional quilter and a member of the Fair’s Home Economics Committee. She’s deeply involved with several community-supportive projects that are showcased each year at our Fair.

I think the letter is self-explanatory.

Dear Martha:

Did you know that about a one hour drive from New York City lands you smack dab in scenic, rural Sussex County, New Jersey – a farmlands retreat with rolling hills, glacial lakes, and lush greenery? We love our feeling of wide-open space around here.

The 2009 New Jersey State Fair, Sussex County Farm and Horse Show will be kicking it up from July 31 through August 9. We want you to come!

There is no other state Fair so close to the big Apple that is so old-fashioned, wholesome, tradition-driven, and fun. Our community has many proud farmers , an extremely active 4-H Club, and so much to offer.

When I think of celebrated crafty, animal-loving people who might enjoy our Fair, your name tops the list.

Sure, we’ve got the pie-eating contest, the chili contest, the tractor pull, and plenty of live entertainment. But look what else we’ve got:

♦  Many families show their farm animals, including rarities like Nigerian goats, Myotonic goats, miniature donkeys and horses, plus a whole array of lop-eared rabbits.

♦  Knowing how much you enjoy all types of animals, you surely would get a kick out of the “Open Show of the Poultry Fanciers of Sussex County”, in the Small Animal Pavilion. Last year we had 160 different classes of poultry. It’s here you’ll likely come across a 4-H’er being tested on various parts of chickens’ anatomy. The rooster crowing contest in the same building shouldn’t be missed.

♦  Our honey bee-handling demonstrations and honey competition draw people from beyond the tri-state area to our local beekeepers’ and apiarists’ wares.

♦  We have an impressive new conservatory and greenhouse where amateur and professional gardeners of all ages will be exhibiting their finest flowers and vegetables – some beautifully, some whimsically arranged.

♦  Artisans from the local Peter’s Valley Craft Center do a knockout blacksmithing demonstration, featuring ironworking such as hand-forged kitchen tools and decorative scrollwork.

♦  Statewide competition in the quilting category is fierce with talented quilters showing their stitching magic. I’m proud to say that I won best in show in 2006 and 2007. 

G R E A T    F O O D ! ! !

♦  Are you a kettle corn kind of person? Or do you prefer simply roasted Jersey fresh corn? We have both.

♦  I hear you’re a hot dog lover. Drop by the Newton Rotary’s Stand for “the Best of the Wurst” – German hot dogs, sausages, brats, and weiswurst.

♦  Step into the Richards Building where the home economics categories are showcased. Would you like to be a judge in the baking contest or gingerbread contest? Or how about the New Jersey’s Best Cheesecake contest or “The One and Only Blueberry Contest”, featuring blueberries in crafts and recipes?

♦  And don’t forget the “Jersey Fresh” tent for samples of local artisanal cheeses and other dairy delights.

Aside from all the fun, your visit would help increase awareness of our state Fair and bring attention to two special Fair events dear to my heart that deeply impact our local community and ripple outward:

♦  The Quilts of Valor program. A devoted, dedicated group of volunteers (including myself) have been quietly hand-crafting quilts for unknown recipients who have served our country. Would you like to help us make a lap quilt for a wounded soldier home from Iraq? This is what we often hear them say: “I can’t believe that someone who doesn’t even know me made me this quilt!”

♦  Each year I devise and deliver a sewing demonstration spotlighting a special technique, then sell the directions and turn over all proceeds to Project Self-Sufficiency of Sussex County, a local grassroots nonprofit agency providing critical services to lift impoverished, marginalized women and children out of the cycle of poverty.

This year, I’ll be demonstrating how to sew a napkin using a mitering technique I picked up from your Martha Stewart Living magazine years ago.

How can you resist?

The whole county is already geared up for this year’s activities. Your visit would certainly make this the most exciting year ever. Thanks so much for even considering visiting our very special Fair.

Warm regards,

Marie Bernegger
Member, The Home Economics Committee

Think we have a chance with Martha? Any suggestions on how to get her to come? Does this make you want to visit our Fair?

Obama’s Personal Brand Exposure: Reassuring or Risky Business? is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

President Obama has clearly embraced the new world of the Presidency 2.0, with his transparency, pop culture appearances, and brand-driven approach. But is his well-publicized image riding for a fall?

I’ve written before about Obama’s brand here on the Executive Resume Branding Blog in Obama: A Rebirth of the Cool and Return to Intelligible Speech At the Top.

Some pundits are saying that Obama’s brand positioning may backfire – people may stop listening.

According to a post last month by Andie Coller at Politico, The Everywhere President,

In the midst of a severe recession, with two wars overseas, a new president is unavoidably going to be at the center of the news universe. Obama has taken this intense public interest to a new level – encouraging a highly personalized, uncommonly intimate presidential image.

As communications strategy, the idea seems to be that Obama is the Oprah of politics: People will buy his policies because he is on the cover. But a personality-driven presidency does have its risks.

Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, said “He’s trying to metaphorically remove the moat from around the presidency, but that can be a dicey kind of thing. People can be really fickle about this kind of stuff.”

William Arruda, author of Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand and founder of the Reach Personal Branding Club, said

Obama is “perhaps the best example of personal branding we have today.” Effective branding is “based in authenticity, and the thing that makes [Obama] so successful and so confident is that he is being who he is.”

But Arruda agreed that relying on the strength of his popular appeal is a gamble Obama may not win.

“There’s a risk because he is so visible; he’s become the face of everything that happens,” he says. Missteps could cost him dearly. “Could it bring his whole brand down? I think that depends on the issue.”

For instance, he said, if Martha Stewart’s stock misdeeds revolved around her personal brand and what she stands for, she may not have been forgiven.

“If we learned that she didn’t know how to make papier-mâché snowflakes, or that none of the recipes were actually hers, or that she stole them from someone else her brand would not have survived.”

So far, I find Obama’s pervasive presence reassuring. And I appreciate his genuineness and authenticity. It’s too early to tell how his brand positioning will affect the presidency, but I like knowing where he is and what he’s up to.

What do you think? Is Obama setting himself up for a fall?

Personal Brands That Attract Despite Some Dubious Attributes is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

I know my speech and writing aren’t perfect. I’m as guilty as anyone of grammatical flubs. Sometimes I purposefully twist words, just because it tickles me. Even so, I cringe at misuse of the language.

I can’t take it when people pronounce the “t” in “often”. My skin crawls when they say:
       
◊  “Supposably” for “supposedly”
◊  “Fermiliar” for “familiar”
◊  “Realitor” for “realtor” . . . especially someone who works in the profession
◊  “Nuke-ya-ler” for “nuclear” . . . a certain former President comes to mind.

But some people (fictional and real) who verbally jitterbug and mix things up, endear themselves to me more with each abuse. In their cases, two in particular, it seems that what would otherwise be a negative personal brand attribute, is a positive one, because I want to hear more.

One of my favorites is bumbling, inept, but lovable Deputy Barney Fife, of the vintage Andy Griffith Show, who had a special brand of language mangling. Famous for his malapropisms and mixed metaphors spoken with great conviction and zeal, Barney provided a wealth of goodies I couldn’t get enough of.

I still love watching reruns of the show that feature Barney. Here is some of his best work:

◊  To him, someone with a strong urge had a “compellshun” to do the thing.

◊  Someone deeply intuitive had “extra sensitive perception”.

◊  Something that makes you feel better is “therapettic”.

◊  Someone who is inexperienced is “nave”.

◊  He opined that, “The kindness of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”

◊  Barney, telling a long story to Andy, said,  “Andy, it was like a tale out of two cities!”

◊  When Andy asks for Floyd the barber’s help tracking down a clue, Barney said, “Don’t ask him, he’s as blind as an owl!”.

◊  Showing off his authority and aggrandizing his small town’s 2-cell jailhouse to little Opie and friends he cautioned, “Here at ‘the Rock,’ we have two basic rules. Memorize them so you can say them in your sleep. Rule One: Obey all rules!”

My Aunt Jeannie was another oblivious mangler, who was well-known and loved for her slip-ups. More than overlooking this fault, her blunders were a distinguishing and memorable characteristic. My family and I couldn’t get enough of them. Here’s a short list of some of her gems:

◊  She baked in a “confection” oven.

◊  She had friends in “Terry Hawk”, Indiana.

◊  When she visited them, she stayed at the “Marrionette” Hotel.

◊  She owned an “Electriclux” vacuum.

◊  She took a trip to “Alcapulco”.

◊  She took “Pepta Dismal” for a bad stomach.

◊  She would “mari-ah-nate” meat before cooking.

◊  She called those flakes in her hair “dandreth”.

◊  She took “Tylenaw” for a headache.

For a little diversion, take a look at Barney trying to recite the Preamble to the Constitution. Andy has to prompt him with every word.

Related post:

What Are Your Top Personal Brand Attributes?

Even Santa Has a VisualCV is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Here’s how Santa immediately captures attention with his clever, on-brand VisualCV:

“I am a seasoned global logistics executive with a 300-year track record. I work at the highest level to ensure consistent delivery every time. I take enormous pride in the holiday season customer experience and through my efforts, strive to ensure that the joy of giving and receiving stays relevant in our digital age. I enjoy working with animals, children and elves.

I am also lucky enough to have a very recognizable personal brand which has led to a lot of work in advertising and image licensing, for greetings cards in particular. I was keen to take control of my personal brand online and also increase my career networking opportunities by building my own VisualCV, after all, no-one’s job is guaranteed 100% these days.”

His work history includes “Advertising Frontman for Coca-Cola”.

His skills include:

• Driving a flying reindeer sleigh
• Chimney entry & exit

I hope his VisualCV brings him everlasting online brand visibility and job security.

Obama: A Rebirth of the Cool and Return to Intelligible Speech At the Top is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Have you heard the collective sigh of relief? Have people told you they suddenly feel lighter and comforted by Obama’s move into leadership?

A friend swore to me yesterday that her blood pressure recently dropped to a healthy level, after an 8-year dangerous high.

Stand-up comedians are concerned about the sudden lack of good material to work from. Some fear it’s the end of comedy.

Among hopefully many other positives and benefits with Obama and his administration, we’ll no longer be plagued by hearing the leader of the free world talk about “nuke-yah-ler” weapons. Or mangle the English language. Or fumble for an obvious word.

As a wordsmith and someone who appreciates smart use of words, I’ve been cringing for 8 years, anticipating yet another beating to our wonderful language.

Andy Borowitz opines tongue firmly in cheek in his Huffington Post article, Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy, that Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years:

“Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama’s appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect’s unorthodox verbal tic, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama’s decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it ‘alienating’ to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.

“Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement,” says Mr. Logsdon. “If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist.”

Conversely, Borowitz includes a rebuke of Obama’s insistence on using complete sentences by Gov. Sarah Palin:

“Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can’t really do there, I think needing to do that isn’t tapping into what Americans are needing also,” she said.

Ain’t literacy great???

Obama and McCain’s Campaigns Get Limericked is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Talk about personal brands being scrutinized and put through the wringer, the Washington Post just concluded its annual PostPartisan “Tell-the-Campaign-in-a-Limerick Contest”, and out of 300 entries, the winners are in.

As a professional wordsmith who appreciates clever turns of phrases that tickle, I couldn’t resist sharing 3 of the Honorable Mentions and the Winner. ENJOY!

by engelmann:
No greater survivor there can surely be
than John McCain, Vietnam pilot and detainee
but even a veteran of crashes
couldn’t escape from the ashes
of the smoldering wreckage of Bush forty three

by slenon:
When engaged in a contest political
Running mate choice is most critical
Avoid giggles and winks
Pick a partner who thinks,
And possesses some skills analytical

f_kranzberg:
“It’s the economy, stupid” they say,
‘Cept for McCain on that fateful Fall day.
Did it cost him the crown?
Or is Palin the clown,
Who cares – we enjoyed Tina Fey!

And the Winner is: busstopboxer
McCain’s new best friend, Joe the Plumber
Is having his Indian Summer
He soon hopes to be
On a country CD
And probably driving a Hummer