Leveraging Thought Leadership | William Arruda | 303

Today’s guest is William Arruda, a personal branding pioneer, speaker, and coach.  William is the author of Digital You and Career Distinction and creator of 360 Reach a web-based personal branding survey that has helped more than 1.8 million people! William tells us how in 2001 he went from a comfortable job at IBM to having no income for 18 months after reading Tom Peter’s The Brand Called You.  The hard 18 months helped him develop this thought leadership and methodology that he uses to this day! Peter and William discuss the importance of constructing methodologies and frameworks that can be repeated and explained in meaningful ways, which allow you to stand out from the competition.  Those frameworks build the foundation that you can spread your thought leadership in endless ways. William shares the three C’s for branding: Clarity, Consistency, and Constancy.  He explains how to properly deploy them and the importance of each for building a brand that has meaning and is unforgettable. We wrap up our conversation with William giving advice to anyone looking to establish or expand their brand. Three Key Takeaways: ·         Your thought leadership needs to have solid processes and frameworks to ensure it is repeatable with the same outcome each time. ·         Thought leaders should consider the external view of their personal brand.  Seek external feedback to verify how your brand is held in the hearts and minds of your clients. ·         Every day we are overwhelmed with information.  You need to be consistent and constant with delivering thought leadership to your audience.