CIPR

With the explosion of social media, we're hearing a lot about personal brands again. Now, Andy Warhol's infamous 15 minutes of fame is a reality for anyone who can upload a video to YouTube or create a blog.

However, as a project manager, when I think of personal brands, I like to think about it in terms of how people experience you. What do people think about you? What's your reputation? More importantly, how do you want people to think of you? What do you want your tagline to be? If you think about what you want to accomplish this year, what is your mantra?

Think of a word or a tagline that will inspire you this year. Some people like the clarity of a single word like 'simplify'. Other people get more inspired by a tagline like Nike's famous 'Just do it'.

In a survey conducted by taglineguru.com, their top 10 taglines were:

California Milk Processor Board 1993:

Got Milk?

American Express 1975:

Don't leave home without it

Nike 1988:

Just do it

Wendy's 1984:

Where's the beef?

Apple 1998:

Think different

Avis 1962:

We try harder

Miller Lite 1974:

Tastes great, less filling

M&M 1954:

Melts in your mouth, not in your hand

Allstate Insurance 1956:

You're in good hands with Allstate

Timex 1956:

Takes a licking and keeps on ticking

Once you have your tagline, there are many ways to bring it to life, including writing down your tagline or creating a simple graphic of it, and posting it where you can see it. What we can visualise, we can make happen.

Think of three to five specific behaviors you need to model for your tagline to be experienced by others. For example, if your tagline is 'Simplfy', what are you going to do so people recognise you as someone who simplifies things? Will you create agendas and email them at the start of a meeting? Will you come up with a new way for your team to collaborate online? Will you be a rallying cry and driver for getting rid of time-wasting tasks?

Build into your year four things (one for each quarter) that would be significant achievements underneath the mantle of your tagline. If 'Simplify' were my tagline, you could donate all the things you no longer use to the Salvation Army or a local charity.

When you're writing a project plan, ask yourself what you might include in your plan to show your tagline in motion.

Make it tangible and have fun with it.

Your tagline is really a tangible way to motivate yourself to be the person and project manager you want to be. We all write resolutions, but the key is finding the way to motivate ourselves long after the ball drops. Try the tagline, and see how it works for you in 2010.

This article is part of a monthly column for the 'Know How Network', which was written by Michelle LaBrosse, founder and Chief Cheetah of virtual learning company, Cheetah Learning