Two experiences in 48 hours have led me to reflect on whether cultivating one's personal image, or 'brand', is necessary to achieve wealth, status, and career success, and if so, how?
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In a fascinating, if sobering, conversation in the car yesterday my wife told me she thought both our careers had suffered because we are honest, decent people who find it hard to present a duck-like image to the outside world. You know what I mean - all looks serene on the surface, everything we do eclipses the Jones's down the road, and we sport plastic Hello magazine smiles, though our webbed feet are paddlng away furiously under the surface. All that matters is an immaculate front-of-house; the stresses, strains, and hot, messy 'kitchen' in which everything is 'produced' in our lives is kept well out of sight.
My wife usually wears her heart on her sleeve, which she regrets, though she is loved for it by many, most of all by me. I do the same, 'unfortunately' - in my case it comes with the red hair! A recent BBC radio programme offered research evidence that redhaired people's DNA causes them to access their adrenalin faster, which explains their fiery tempers. Apparently red hair also signifies interbreeding over the millienia in remote corners of Ireland and Scotland. So I am doubly cursed!
My wife is uncomfortable when materially successful friends occasionally ask intrusive and insensitive 'loaded' questions about our finances and my business. They, and others of similar means, post photos on Facebook of their exotic, long distance holidays, visits to the opera, and so on. So I reminded her of a close American friend of ours who has lived in the UK for nearly 20 years, who rejected the chance to move back to the US last year with her British husband and two daughters. The reason she gives is that in her down-to-earth community in the North of England she is valued for who she is, not what she has. In the US, a place to which she returns at least annually, she feels people value you for how much money you have, and how you flaunt it. Sadly she feels she could never return, though that is the North of England's (and our) gain....!
On Friday morning I witnessed Jürgen Klopp's remarkable first press conference as manager of Liverpool FC, historically one of the world's top football (soccer) clubs, though in recent years a shadow of its former self. OK, I declare a vested interest! I have supported Liverpool for 45 years since I was a schoolboy. The then Liverpool captain's daughter was in my class in primary (elementary) school. We'd see players in our town, in the shops, or in pubs (bars) - so my father said, anyway, since I was too young to know! I grew up steeped in football - it was more like religion in and around Liverpool.
I've read all the coverage of Klopp's press conference by the BBC, and by my preferred national newspaper. It is remarkable stuff. Most of the journalists who witnessed it aren't Liverpool supporters, though they love football. Their reports speak of the traditionally cynical British football media, like the many thousands, if not millions, watching on TV round the world, being 'captivated', 'entranced', 'bewitched' and 'charmed' by Klopp.
Klopp is an extremely intelligent, savvy guy. It helps that he is tall, with film star looks, charismatic, and packs a superb, dry sense of humour. He is a marketing dream. He spoke passionately and eloquently, apologising first for his English, then speaking it beautifully, albeit in a typical, quaint Germanic style and accent. The one liners tripped off his tongue, accompanied sometimes by a broad grin. He will always be known as 'The Normal One' after his off-the-cuff quip in response to a question about how he compared himself with Jose Mourinho, the famously self-possessed Chelsea FC manager, who dubbed himself 'The Special One' when asked by the press in 2004 how he would like to be remembered for his time at Chelsea.
If you haven't seen Klopp's interview it's well worth listening to the highlights. Listen to the wisdom. Above all, listen to the authenticity, and take heed. In case you're cynical, I've also listened to a series of interviews with people who know him well in Germany, and read testimonials about him from others in German football. Klopp is the real deal. He is loyal. He spent 19 years as player and then manager at a small, inconsequential club which he loved in SW Germany, Mainz 05, and then 7 years as manager at Borussia Dortmund, which he led to two Bundesliga (German Premiership) titles and the final of the European Champions' League in 2013.
Klopp is not perfect. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He gets angry. He can be petulant with the press. At heart he is himself a football fan, deeply passionate about the game, and openly emotional. When he left both Mainz and Dortmund though he tried he could not prevent himself from crying in front of thousands, who still revere him. What's clear from listening to people who know him is that he doesn't worry about how people judge him, he is comfortable in his own skin, and he values relationships and people above all else. He is REAL. WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get.
Not a bad legacy to leave behind you, is it, wherever you've been?! People are crying out for it. And, you know what, research into the Top 1%, most sustainably successful organisations, shows precisely these qualities of leadership.
By contrast, visceral rejection of Tony Blair's manifest narcissism and spin, and unresolved fallout from it 8 years after he stepped down as Prime Minister, is what propelled Jeremy Corbyn to a wholly unexpected victory in the recent UK Labour Party election. Like Mourinho, Blair craved a legendary reputation. Look what's happened instead - he is now vilified by so many.
The key to personal branding is authenticity. Like it or not, many people will see through you, so don't fake it. Real people like real people who aren't cosmetically 'perfect'. Do not try to chase something artificial. Be proud of who you are, warts and all, and of your passions, whatever your apparent, so-called 'status' in the eyes of other people. I'll let you into a secret - the people that matter will love you for it, and that's all that matters at the end of the day.....
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