Reinventing you: define your brand, imagine your future

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YOUR BRAND

IMAGINE

YOUR FUTURE'

• »

Reinventing

DORIE CLARK

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEVV PRESS

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR

REINVENTING YOU

“As the corporate ladder morphs into a corporate lattice,

where there is no single climb tovvard career success but

rather a multiplicity of ways to grow, personal branding be￾comes your calling card. Reinventing You presents effective

ways to help you develop your brand proposition.”

— Cathy Benko, Vice Chairm an, Deloitte LLP;

best-selling author, The Corporate Lattice:

Achieving High Performance in the

Changing World ofWor/{

“T he days of reliable, liíelong careers— complete w ith pervsion

and gold watch— are over. W ith Dorie C lark’s clear, practical,

step-by-step approach to reinvention, the reader comes to see

this fact not as daunting, but rife with opportunity and possi￾bility. Enriched with riveting examples from the worlds of

business, politics, and nonproíìts, this indispensable guide will

help you take control of and shape your professional life.”

— Meg Cadoux H irshberg, author, For Better or For ỊVorị:

A Survival Guide fo r Entrepreneurs and Their Families

“Necessity may still be the mother o f invention, but todays

relentlessly changing world necessitates reinvention, some￾times sequential reinvention. I can think of no better guide

through that daunting process than Dorie C larks vvonder￾fully readable and informative book.”

— Robert Cialdini, author, Influence:

The Psychology o f Persuasion

Reinventing You is a must-read for anyone who wants to ex￾pand their career horizons and become more authentic— in

work and in life.”

— Chip Conley, author, Emotional Equations:

Simple Truths for Creating Happiness + Success;

founder, Joie de Vivre Hospitality, Inc.

Reinventing

d e f in e

y o u r b r a n d ,

ịm a g in e

y o u r f u t ư r e

Reinventing

you

DORlE CLARK￾HARN

A( y | X ^ s ' e k l ^ ^ sFOƯNDATION

Boston. RE-SALE

QUÀ TẶNG CỦA QUỸ CHÂU Á

KHÒNG ĩ ) ư ơ c BÁN L A I

C opyright 2013 D orie C lark

All rights reserved

Printed in the U nited States o f America

10 9 8 7

N o part o f this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into

a retrieval system, or transm itted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording, or othervvise), w ithout the prior permission

o f the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to permissions@

hbsp.harvard.edu, or m ailed to Permissions, H arvard Business School Publishing,

60 H arvard Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02163.

T h e w eb addresscs reíerenccd in this book wcre live and correct at the tim e o f the

b o o k s publication but m ay be subịect to change.

Library of Congrcss G ataloging-in-Publication D ata

C lark, Dorie.

R einventing you : detìne your b ran d ,im agine your futurc / D orie C lark,

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4221-4413-8 (hardback)

1. C areer dcvelopm ent. 2. Succcss in business. I. Title.

HP5381.C6593 2013

650.1— dc23

2012034921

T h e paper used in this publication meets the requircm ents o f the A m erican

N ational Standard for Perm anence o f Paper for Publications and D ocum ents in

L ibrarics and Archives Z39.48-1992.

ISBN : 9781422144138

cISBN : 9781422144145

For my mother, Gail Clark, with love

CONTENTS

1. The New Branding Landscape 1

2. Recognize W here You’re starting 13

3. Research Your Destination 31

4. Test-Drive Your Path 49

5. Deveiop the Skills You Need 65

6. W ho’s Your Mentor? 79

7. Leverage Your Points of Difference 95

8. Build Your Narrative 113

9. Reintroduce Yourselí 135

10. Prove Your W orth 155

11. Keep It Going 181

Epilogue: Make Your Reinvention Work 195

Appendix A:

Your Proíessional Reinvention Self-Assessment 201

Appendix B:

Classroom or Book Group Discussion Questions 209

Notes 211

Index 215

Acknowledgments 223

About the Author 225

Reinventing

CHAPTER 1

The New Branding

Landscape

Are you where you w ant to be proíessionally? W hether you

want to advance íaster at your company or change ịobs or

even careers, one thing is clear: no One vvants to spend a life￾time doing a job they hate. To succeed in todays competitive

job m arket and build a career that leverages your unique pas￾sions and talent, it’s almost certain that at some point you’ll

need to reinvent yourself proíessionally— and ensure that

others recognize the powerful contribution you can make.

After all, it’s clear that the era o f gold watches and lifetime

em ploym ent is over. H ow m any people do you know who

are lifers at a companyp For better or worse, people today

skip around proíessionally, íorced by layoffs or seeking a bet￾ter title or salary. Even for those who would have vvanted to

make a career at one company, the options are lim ited. H ar￾vard Business School Proíessor Thom as D eLong attributes

1