The Person to See

A Real Hero

Navy Petty Officer Mike Monsoor

 

PO2 (EOD2) (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Mike Monsoor, a Navy EOD Technician, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for jumping on a grenade in Iraq, giving his life to save his fellow Seals.

 

(Note: Mike was not a Navy SEAL, he was EOD.  He gave his life to save a group of Navy SEALS.)

 

During Mike Monsoor's funeral in San Diego, as his coffin was being carried from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, SEALs were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of two's, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike's coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.

 

The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay from all the Tridents pinned to it.

 

This was a fitting send-off for a warrior hero….

 

This should be front-page news instead of the crap we see every day.

Since the media won't make this news, I choose to make it news by forwarding it.

 

I am very proud of our military. If you are proud too, please pass this on.  If not then rest assured that these fine men and women of our military will continue to serve and protect.  

  

God Bless our Troops.

 

 

 

A Real Breath Of Fresh Air

Isn't Myron Rolle  what college athletics is supposed to be all about?

Young Myron is a standout safety on Florida State's Football team as well as an academic standout in the classroom. Okay, so Rolle sets the bar a bit high-we can't all be Rhodes Scholars. But until universities and colleges rededicate themselves to the true letter and spirit of the student athlete "the Rolles" of collegiate sports will continue to be far and few.   

If Ever There Was Any Doubt In Your Mind About The Import Of Your Personal Brand

Tiger Woods is unquestionalbly the greatest golfer in the world.  I just read that his skill made him a whopping $5,775,000 this year so far.  Not bad.

His personal brand in contrast will make him in excess of $100,000,000.

Shaq-A-Claus To The Rescue Again

I admire Shaq.  He's never been in trouble with drugs, the law or the league.  He is also a personal brand management master.

He's so smart.  All his self promotion efforts seem to always involve helping others.  His latest venture involves helping homeowners who are in danger of losing their house due to foreclosure.  In his words Shaq "...wants to buy delinquent homeowners' homes and than resell them back to these same folks at affordable interest rates."

Good for you Shaq.  You are the perfect example of the power of the free market.  We need more Shaq's and less government.

Personal Brand Management. It never Ends.

If you think you can at some point rest on your laurels when it comes to personal brand management, you might want to think again.  Don't know if you saw the story on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal about former Federal reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan.

The title of the article is "His Legacy Tarnished: Greenspan Goes On The Defensive."

As recent as three years ago the then 79 year old Greenspan was hailed as "the greatest Central Banker who ever lived."  Now that we are in the midst of some tough economic times, poor old Alan is being scape-goated.

What I like about Greenspan is he is fighting back.  He admits that his reputation matters and he refuses to take this criticism lying down.

Whether you like him or not you have to admire his feistiness and tenacity when it comes to personal brand management.

Some Words Of Wisdom From The Best

I was listening to an interview with burgeoning NBA star Tyson Chandler of the New Orleans Hornets.  He recounted a conversation he had with Michael Jordan when Jordan was President of the Washington Wizards.  The Wizards were thinking of drafting Chandler so he and Jordan Met one-on-one.

According to Chandler Jordan told him...

"The game will give you back what ever you give it.  What you do in the dark when no one is watching will determine what you get when the lights go on."

Young Chandler apparently took Jordan to heart.  Today much like Jordan used to do, Chandler works out everyday, including game days.  Sometimes twice a day.

Are you putting in the hours when no one is watching?

A Breath Of Fresh Air Amidst The Dirty Game Of Politics

A client of mine recently gave me Write It When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off The Record Conversations With Gerald R. Ford.  I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an inside glimpse of how to conduct yourself as a gentleman no matter the circumstances.

Write It When I'm Gone is a wonderful study of personal brand management in action. President Ford never lost perspective on manners, honesty and most importantly who he was even as he rose from a fairly modest Congressman to the highest office in the land.

Money Can't Buy You Love

If you think personal brand appeal boils down to money, power or title how about these apples...

Mayor Giuliani spent more than $60 million dollars campaigning in the Republican primaries and won a whopping one delegate.

While this may have shocked many it didn't me.  Every time I attended a Giuliani event it was always the same story: he came in really late, made a few brief remarks and than out the door.  The guy completely lacked any ability to develop any meaningful one-on-one rapport with the voters.

The lesson here is don't take your audience for granted.  They are who matter. Not you.

The Man With No Brand Finds His Brands In Defeat

For many in America Governor Mitt Romney's personal brand remained elusive.  The Las Vegas Review Journal even ran a poll asking people" What top three words come to mind when you think of the leading presidential candidates?"

While Hillary Clinton registered as a Feminist, John McCain a Military Hero and Barack Obama Hope believe it or not the phrase that came to mind with Mitt Romney was "I don't know."  No doubt Romney has struggled mightily with this issue throughout his campaign but I think he finally found his footing.  Ironically, it happened when he bowed out of the race yesterday.

In Romney's own words "I joined this race because I love my country and it is because I love my country that I now withdraw from the race" (Not an exact quote but close enough).

My wife summed up Romney's personal brand best, A True Gentleman.

Now if only Mike Huckabee would get a clue.  Talk about a guy loving the sound of his own voice. 

Romney's Personal Brand Falls Flat

I'm watching Governor Mitt Romney give his concession speech in New Hampshire and I'm thinking to myself, how can this guy not be President...

• He looks the part
• He's a proven success (multi-millionaire businessman)
• He's obviously very smart (JD/MBA Harvard)
• Great character and family man

Yet he could never get traction.  Why?  Because he could not sell his personal brand to America no matter how much money he poured into the race. 

While McCain, Huckabee and Giuliani have very human personalities (whether you like them or not) Romney came across as a technocrat.  Almost like the Stepford Candidate.

I'm telling you everything hinges on a candidate's ability to make the people feel. Look at Barack Obama.

By the way, I predicted many months ago in my blog that Romney would be the nominee and Huckabee his VP.  Shows you what I know!