Connect the Dots of Your Personal Brand (4 Tips)
It’s easy to assume all work and no play leads to success. But, broad life experiences might just be the competitive advantage your personal brand needs.
In personal branding, you’re usually told to find your niche and develop as much expertise in your field as possible. You’re also told to share your personal interests in your personal brand to help connect you to people who share your values. But, what if there’s more to your interests than meets the eye? And broader interests and experiences actually underpin the potential success of your work.
I drafted this blog while travelling in Europe. I was fortunate to experience travel from a young age, so have an engrained fascination with culture. From food to architecture and everything in between I, like many, find inspiration in it all.
My parents, though of Indian heritage, were born in Malaysia. As was I before my family moved to Australia when I was one. I know what it’s like to feel Indian, Malaysian and Australian. As much of our family in Malaysia married those of Chinese heritage, Chinese customs also had some influence on our own. And, deliciously for us, our food too.
I am marrying a Serbian, who was born in Bosnia and migrated to Australia as a refugee of war. My friends come from diverse backgrounds, generations and professions. I learn every day from their life experiences.
But, cultivating broad experiences also extends beyond travel and keeping a diverse social network. When I gave the eulogy at my dad’s funeral, I described him as one of the most worldly people I have ever known. He was very well-travelled but in more ways than one. His interests transcended borders across many disciplines.
My dad spoke several languages, played the guitar, learned carpentry out of interest, played golf, was an avid reader, a sensational cook, adored music of many genres and was a man of deep faith. Instead of taking a narrow view of the world and his interests, he took a broad one. And it made him one of the most fascinating people to speak with.
Some of the world’s greatest thought leaders have understood the power of broad life experiences in their work. So, when it comes to your own personal brand, have you developed a broad point of view?
Tip #1: Create many ‘dots’ for your personal brand, then connect the dots
Steve Jobs famously continued attending select classes after officially dropping out of Reed College. One of those classes was calligraphy. He was fascinated by it, but didn’t foresee any practical application for it. Until years later that is. His learnings in that class underpinned the Mac’s signature beautiful design.
Jobs attributes much of the best design to broad life experiences and interdisciplinary talents. Connecting the dots between many interests:
“A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”
Tip #2: ‘Interdisciplinary thinking' and creativity for your personal brand
Jobs’ sentiment is reflected by Ash Ali and Husan Kubba in The Unfair Advantage. They say:
“Creativity is largely about training your mind to connect things you learn in one domain to situations that seem completely unrelated. This is known as intersectional or interdisciplinary thinking.”
Tip #3: Creating a ‘portfolio life’ for your personal brand
Jeff Goins, in his book, The Art of Work, would call Jobs’ Ali and Kubba’s approach a ‘portfolio life’. Not being attached to a single title or role, but rather acknowledging that it all forms a portfolio - a new form of mastery.
Tip #4: Leisure time hobbies that build your personal brand
As Adam Grant champions in his book The Originals, high-value hobbies can have high, often unexpected, returns. Research shows having hobbies is a defining trait among entrepreneurs and inventors. Those who started businesses were more likely to have hobbies that involved drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, and literature.
“People who are open to new ways of looking at science and business also tend to be fascinated by the expression of ideas and emotions through images, sounds and words.”
Galileo demonstrates this concept. When he made the remarkable discovery of mountains on the moon, it wasn’t his telescope that got the credit. It didn’t have the magnifying power. Instead, Galileo recognised the zig-zag pattern that separated the light and dark areas of the moon. Galileo had artistic training in a technique called chiaroscuro. It focuses on light and shade.
A narrow view of the world leads to linear solutions. Learn to appreciate the value of broad life experiences in your work. Like many greats gone before you, the secret to your success could be lying in unexpected places. So are you connecting your dots?
