Four Foolproof Ways to Stay Crazy Ahead of your Competition

As I head into my 79th episode of the Thought Talk podcast, I’ve decided to take a break, step back, and do a bit of reworking.  The Thought Talk podcast will be back by the end of March and better than ever.   

So for this episode I wanted to share with you four tips I learned decades ago that can help you ensure that your brand stays crazy ahead of your competition.  In all honesty, they are so simple, it’s easy to toss them off. But don’t - they can truly transform your career and business. 

These four simple things almost certainly ensure your personal, CEO, business, or executive brand will be successful. Tune in today and see you again at the end of March. 

4 ways how you show up that matter most 

• #1. Show up — whether it be on social media, a webinar, a conference, or even just being where you say you will- showing up makes the difference between your brand shining or you being forgotten.

• #2. Show up on-time — whether it means getting on a webinar when it starts, delivering something when you promise, or just plain old being on time for an appointment- showing up when you say you will can elevate your brand.  

• #3. Show up prepared — Taking the time to understand the people, situation, context, and objectives of the situation you are talking to says you have a brand that cares. 

• #4. Do what you say you will. Ultimately, brands are built on trust, trust is built on credibility, and credibility is built on promises kept.  The brand bottom line - do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it.  Sounds simple doesn’t it? Think how many people you interact with who don’t do this and how it makes you feel about them. 

About Karen Tiber Leland

Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Resources

Looking for more tips? Karen’s latest book, No-Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done, offers a practical approach to tackling the kinds of productivity issues we face in today’s technological world.

You’ll find practical ways of assessing your relationship with time, avoiding interruptions and distractions by goal-setting, multi-purposing versus multitasking, delegating, managing online and offline meetings, maximizing to-do lists and minimizing unfinished business, embracing personal productivity habits, and right-sizing your social media and email, as well as many more readily actionable tips and tr