Personal branding in the COVID-19 era

In this winner takes all environment, standing out of the crowd has never been more important to nail that contract, job, or major deal.

In his book titled: "Out of the Crowd", Richard Mwebesa, a marketing, business development and sales professional approaches personal branding from a fresh perspective. Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual. 

Unlike the usual self-help business books, Mwebesa weaves conventional wisdom and experience from the trenches with lessons from the Bible. Also unique to his book is the use of exercises to ensure that the reader is on the same line of thought as the author.

In the first chapter, Mwebesa devotes a great deal of time explaining how people can shape and unlock an authentic identity, which is the essential building lock to personal branding. 

"Through introspection, you strive to learn what defines your silent "why". Today's choices are tomorrow's realities," Mwebesa points out. He offers two acronyms for personal branding, namely; ABLE and OWN that summarize his theory to personal branding.  

The first acronym stands for Attitude - through adapting to the environment, Believability - through building trust, Learning - through building confidence through experience, and Exposure - being alert to opportunity.

The second acronym stands for Operate - being proactive, Wield - using your reputation to build influence, and Nuance - using character to create a distinct personal brand.