Building a personal brand means being honest and true to yourself while giving back selflessly. In this interview Amith talks of his personal journey and lessons learnt along the way.
Amith Prabhu is a pioneering Public Relations and Reputation Management professional with over 15 years of experience, having worked, in India and in the USA at leading marketing communication companies. He is the co-founder of India’s only weekend offsite summit for the profession – PRAXIS under the aegis of The PRomise Foundation, which is a member of the Global Alliance (GA). He is on the international board of GA. He writes the longest running weekly online column on Public Reputation and it features on Reputation Today Dot In, the first 52 of which were published as a book in 2015. He is the Founding Dean at the School of Communications & Reputation (SCoRe) in Mumbai. He is a Living My Promise signatory. He has a Master’s in Public Relations and Communication Management from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune. He hails from Mangalore. When he is not travelling, he is based in Gurgaon, India.
“I have been going with the flow with the belief that all humans are brands and I’m one of 7 billion brands. The only thing I end up doing, mostly accidentally is being at the right place at the right time”, says Amith.
Watch the YouTube video interview and read the complete interview below. Look up more such stories on my YouTube channel and on LinkedIn.
Interview
1. What according to you is personal branding
A consistent way of offering people you come across certain things about the self in terms of what you wear, what you say and what you are known for.
2. Do you consider yourself a personal brand? If yes, how do you know it?
I don’t. But I also believe every human being with a name is a brand in himself or herself.
3. What does one do to go about building a personal brand?
By standing for something and doing it in a consistent way in order to attain a goal.
4. What are the attributes of a personal brand? And what do people associate your brand with?
How you appear, your style of presenting yourself in thought, word and deed. People associate me with being an organized go-getter, I think.
5. Based on your observations and learning who according to you is a personal brand? What characteristics do you admire about them?
Barack Obama. And Michelle Obama. I admire their easy way of carrying themselves and being as humane as possible in the way they speak, interact and carry themselves.
6. What steps did you take to build your brand? How do you know it is working?
I don’t think I’m a brand in the true sense. That way I’m a contrarian. I know I sleep happily most nights for 8 hours on an average and I fall asleep within 80 seconds of hitting the pillow.
7. What challenges did you face while building a personal brand? What techniques did you use?
I have not tried building one. I have been going with the flow with the belief that all humans are brands and I’m one of 7 billion brands. The only thing I end up doing, mostly accidentally is being at the right place at the right time.
8. During the process of building your own brand, what did you gain in the process? What did you lose?
As I said I feel in an honest way I have not done anything to build my brand. I have therefore neither gained nor lost anything. Because I offer pro-bono advice to some to build their brand.
9. How can someone starting from scratch build a personal brand? What is the first step he or she must take?
They should do three things. Stand for something. Be on social media and use it strategically. Say the things that they believe in.
10. If you had the opportunity to change something about the way you built your personal brand, what would that be?
Nothing at all because I have not done it. I have just gone with the flow.
11. What is your recipe for personal branding success?
Honestly. Brutal honesty.
12. Who according to you are personal brands whom others can follow and learn from?
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
13. With COVID19 and other crises what steps can personal brands take?
Stand for the causes more than ever before.
14. What’s your advice for youngsters (Gen Z and others) who want to consider their personal brands?
Work Smart. Be Honest. Make the most of every opportunity.
Liked this interview? Please do share your feedback and comments.
Keen to get ahead with your personal brand? Here are some resources:
- Take this course – Personal Branding 101: Unlocking Your Potential and Staying Ahead
- Take a FREE assessment on personal branding.
- Refer to the 3C model on Personal Branding
- Sign up for a 60-minute personalized chat on personal branding
- Personal branding for corporate communicators
Missed the earlier episodes? Read the interviews with Muqbil Ahmar, Tinu Cherian Abraham, Joseph Fernandez, Christina Daniels,Karthik Srinivasan,Gautam Ghosh, Alexander Michael Gittens, Mubeen Azeez, Itzik Amiel, Mangal D Karnad, Abhijit Bhaduri, Sandeep K Krishnan PhD, Scott Shirai, Sunil Robert, Latha Vijaybaskar PhD, Abha Maryada Banerjee, Dr. Amit Nagpal and Sukanti Ghosh online and share your thoughts.
Keen to join this Series and share your thoughts on Personal Branding? Write to me at [email protected]
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