Transcript
Speaker: My name is Chris Mitchell and welcome to another episode of Balancing the Future. I'm excited to spend more time and I spent time with this man in the past. It is Kaplan Mowbray and I tell you, he is a wizard.
Speaker: That's what I'm going to title you, a wizard. He's an award-winning author. i mean, he is a jack of all trades and very, very successful. I'm just so happy that you're here, but I know I shortchange you.
Speaker: I know you've got your own bio. So share with the audience your story, who you are. Yes. I'm Kaplan Mowbray. I'm an award-winning author, a speaker, a leadership coach.
Speaker: I travel the world helping people to build their brand, to elevate their performance, become better leaders. And, um you know, over the course of my career, um i help I've helped people shift.
Speaker: You shift with the times, shift with the changing nature of the career challenges, but also shift with the nature of finding greater levels of purpose and intention. So I always love these conversations, and but I also love the takeaways that people have ah with the transformation that they make in their own lives. So I'm really excited to be here. Thank you so much ah for having me back.
Speaker: Awesome. Awesome. You know, we're going to jump right into it because I think there's a subject matter only table that's perplexing. Mm-hmm. For a lot of individuals. And I think that's artificial intelligence. Yeah. And how to navigate that when we say career and we say brand and we try to meet the expectation of corporate. Yeah. Nowadays.
Speaker: um So when I say AI in general. Yeah. I just want what's your perspective? What do you think when I say And I'm going ask some follow questions, obviously. Yeah. When I say AI, what comes to mind for you?
Speaker: You know, I think AI is something that is now part of the DNA and fabric and currency of our lives. Every facet of life, career, um productivity has been touched by it.
Speaker: um Some someone would say infiltrated by it, but some would say touched by it. And I think we are in an age now where we have a tool um that helps us advance.
Speaker: And it's a universal tool that has given universal access. So when I think about AI and I think about where we are in life and time today, it's the universal access of opportunity that is now open to all, that has broken down barriers of access that was not always open to all,
Speaker: You just have to embrace the courage to use it. You know, I like that. And what what comes to mind to me right away, and I know you're all about the brand. Yeah.
Speaker: Okay. And if my brand doesn't include AI now, I've got a problem. Absolutely. So what are your thoughts? And I know you've provided tools, books, and you're a very creative guy. You're probably going to invest even more energy and effort in other books yes yeah with some of the subject matter. But how important is AI for our own personal brand? Yeah. You know, one of the things um in the books and courses even technology,
Speaker: how to leverage AI to build your personal brand, it is an essential tool today. And there are two types of people that will exist in the professional ah ranks. The people who are ai literate and people who are ai illiterate.
Speaker: People who have a brand that is relevant and people who have a brand that is disposable. And your brand will shine and your brand will be enhanced by the quick readiness that someone can pick up around your skill and that skill being in AI powered.
Speaker: So when i when I think about, you know, what that looks like for me from a resume perspective yeah and my ability to navigate all of the various tools that are available and yeah the necessity to upskill and be able to present that the right way, um just given your take on brand and my knowing this about myself, yeah and I'm going to step back even further to say, if I'm applying for a job, yeah and I'm not leading with AI, yeah meaning my skill set and what I can do, yeah I'm out of the equation. And what I mean by out of the equation, there's no opportunity for me. yeah
Speaker: Share your message. I mean, look in the camera and share your message as you relate to this, because I think it's it's yeahs something everyone needs to understand that's looking for opportunity. If you are looking for opportunity today and want to build a personal brand that is relevant um for opportunity, for career advancement,
Speaker: ah AI has to be a part of that equation in how you are known. You have to be known for having the capability and the skill to leverage AI to do something better, faster, um with more insight, backed by greater levels of research and validation.
Speaker: that it will allow you to improve, create, grow, or shape. You know, at the end of the day, a business still is trying to improve an opportunity, ah create you know opportunity, improve results, ah ah grow and shape the future.
Speaker: But AI has given you the ability to ah really present yourself as someone who could do that, someone who has a brand being known for that. um But if you don't have that as a skill, you can be canceled because there are so many other people who do have that as a skill.
Speaker: And secondly, it shows that you may have not taken the time to brand yourself to be relevant for today's times. Because the thing about your brand is it's what you want to be known for but it's also what you consistently and intentionally do.
Speaker: So we know that AI is a tool that many organizations, most organizations now um have used as part of the fabric of how to improve their operations. And they're hiring you to be part of the fabric of improving their operations.
Speaker: ah So if you haven't been become intentional about adoption of AI skills, adoption about prompt engineering skills and capabilities, then it says that you haven't been intentional about presenting yourself as the best possible candidate, which then puts your brand in a in ah in a position of not relevant for today's times.
Speaker: You know, I think about leaders that are in positions of influence and those that are entering the game. Okay. And I think the message is different for both of them. And what I mean by that, in my opinion, i think folks that are entering really don't know what to expect.
Speaker: Yeah. And it the gravity of some of the things that you mentioned. Yeah. But I want you now share with the leadership. Yeah. So they understand what the expectation is for them. Because the game and I'm and and I'll go here as well, because I know that corporations are shifting. yeah They're moving. They're transforming, which means there are a lot of people on the market.
Speaker: Yeah. Trying to figure out what their next opportunity looks like. yeah Equip these leaders, these folks that have a skill. Help them understand how important it is that they leverage AI and and their brand so they can get to where they want to be.
Speaker: Yeah, you know, I think it's a great you know so scenario right now. The many leaders who have been in organizations for many years who now have to also model, adopt and lead the transformation of new skills, new culture, leveraged and powered by AI in their organizations, which means they have to be the model of excellence and capability in in AI ah capabilities.
Speaker: And lot of leaders are playing catch up. because they also don't wanna be seen as someone who is not in the know, someone who is not relevant for the times, and someone who can't lead the organization into the future.
Speaker: The great thing about AI, whether you are a candidate coming into a role or leader leading transformation within your organization, it's all about how you create the opportunity for future growth based on present day optimization.
Speaker: AI optimizes um communication, it It optimizes operations, it optimizes research, it optimizes planning, which allows an organization to better be in a position to grow.
Speaker: So if you think about, are you someone who is an optimizer, you know, you drive efficiency, you can ah outthink with future insights that help you anticipate challenges and risk.
Speaker: You can help grow and accelerate because you're now taking mundane processes and operations out of the equation because AI or or the agents within AI do that for you. So now you can focus on innovation, you know, and and a double day innovation, which means not the ideas for the future,
Speaker: but but the ideas that transform the now as you also shape the future. and And what that does is it gives an organization a greater level of agility. So these things come into play now for leaders, and you're either a leader who's going to be agile enough to leverage AI to create more levels of innovation, greater levels of insight, and oftentimes creating new ways for the organization to think about future growth.
Speaker: And you become a model of ah shaping the organization's transformation into the future. Or you're a leader who is kind of stuck with this is the way we've always done it. This is the way we do it. This is the way I'm comfortable in doing it.
Speaker: um We need the same amount of people that we needed seven years ago. um Or we don't want to leverage AI fully because we still have processes that are working. So why break it if it's working?
Speaker: And a lot of leaders are stuck with that question. Why break it if it's working? But at some point, you know and we've seen this in history with the examples of organizations that didn't adopt when they had the opportunity to at some point you will become irrelevant and the pace of change and and the opportunity of technology powered by AI will make you slow mover in a lane that requires you to be fast.
Speaker: so So this is an observation by Chris, and I know there's stats out there to support this. yeah um And I'm thinking of how public accounting used to be. And I'm thinking about the pyramid. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Speaker: You start out, we bring in many and we get few at the top. Okay. And then there was a graduation, graduation in the model, and now it's more of a diamond. Yes. Okay. Yeah. And there are less that are getting in. Yeah. And there are many in the middle section. Yeah.
Speaker: And it's an example and it's something that I've seen happen. And this was even before AI. This was happening. It was happening. um I'm going to toss some stats out there and stats, I probably won't talk concrete stats, but there are less jobs available. Mm hmm.
Speaker: come in and I've noticed this because I'm paying attention to those who are finding jobs. Yeah. You know, I'm boots on the ground. I mean, I'm a part of that whole exercise. So in bringing in recruits and I'm like, my goodness, they're not bringing in as many individuals, young professionals yeah to be a part of the profession. Yeah.
Speaker: Have you noticed that? Yeah. I mean, and I, and I know that this will, this will be directly into brand and AI and what you need to do to equip yourself, but you have to be noticed. Yes.
Speaker: But that's just what I've noticed. Have you noticed something similar in the in the numbers and and how things are shaped? Yeah. You know, when you think about what's happening in the workforce today ah and the disruption of workforce trends today, and AI has challenged the need for who do we need?
Speaker: How many do we need? What skills do we need? And what can we do to create a difference in the need that we have? And let me let me explain that.
Speaker: um For job seekers, and I coach a lot of job seekers who are in transition, I'm seeing, you know, um sometimes upwards of two years to get a role, to get back to role. Wow. Wow.
Speaker: um you know And a lot of that is because lot of organizations are in a wait and see period. they AI is being adopted, ah tested. ah Some roles are being tested as to, can we do this role powered by AI and AI agents, or do we need a human in in the role?
Speaker: Some companies are looking at, can we do human-powered, human-led AI-powered roles? that require maybe less human capital, but um but the right human capital to to power the technology.
Speaker: And the other thing we're seeing is, you know, you know if you're coming out of school, um how can you, you know, the the the the the the students that the that companies are recruiting, um why do we need ah many at the bottom when the skills that AI gives and provides puts you in the middle right away.
Speaker: So if you're a student coming out with excellent AI skills and capabilities, and it's a part of your brand, in addition to what you've learned technically in your profession, in your industry, you can shoot to the middle, you know, coming out as an entry-level employee.
Speaker: So when you shoot to the middle, that means that we have to we don't have to hire as many middle managers. And it it also provides opportunity right away for people who have excellent skills. So that's why it's important to have a great brand that is relevant.
Speaker: You know, AI is a part of the equation, AI capabilities and skills, but what you're communicating in your brand is that you are relevant, but also you are ready now.
Speaker: So let's explore brand. yeah What I'm missing, what I need to add. What would be some of the things? And you can do it from, i'm trying to upskill as a seasoned professional and I'm starting out.
Speaker: What does that look like? If I'm adding to my brand, what am I adding specifically to make myself more visible as a good, as ah as a quality candidate? You know, I think there's two things. You know, it used to be, you know, back in the day you would say, oh, I have these skills technically.
Speaker: You know, and that could be your ability to navigate um language in a computer or it could be um your communication skills, et cetera. Today, you want to show that you have use of ah LLMs you know within the AI system. you know There's many that are out there. and I can name a few like Claude and ChatGPT and Copilot and Gemini and and and others.
Speaker: and There are programs out there like for Perplexity, which is deep research. And companies have modeled their own unique, customized versions of some of these LLMs as it relates to AI.
Speaker: The fact that you can mention them is is one one level. and The fact that you can say, here's a problem that I know you're trying to solve as an organization, and here's how I would ah leverage AI to solve that problem.
Speaker: That's a very proactive way to demonstrate on your resume or in your communication with a particular hiring manager, as an example, that you've thought through how you can leverage AI to help an organization with a relevant problem.
Speaker: And that's a way to position yourself and sometimes to separate yourself from the path. Because many people will just put, here's the work experience I have. Others will take the time to say, here's how I am leveraging technology that is available today.
Speaker: the The AI programs and systems that are available today, the capabilities um to solve a problem that you may have now. And I want to sign up for that problem. And I think that's the thing that you, we have to be in in the in a position of of um ownership, of wanting to tackle the challenges and problems that companies have today and wanting to tackle it, leveraging the great capabilities that that AI um proposes and and introduces for us.
Speaker: So when I think about progression now in a career, and I'm talking about my professional, it's already embedded. They're not looking for an opportunity. Mm-hmm. And AI, in my opinion, can be a tool yeah to get them to that next level yeah of success within their career. yeah What are your thoughts when I say that?
Speaker: You know, today people use AI often as a search engine. and And we are seeing, I'm seeing this, that AI searches are overtaking even traditional Google searches as an example.
Speaker: and People are going to AI for answers to questions. But what I do see as well as career progression is the planning. We often didn't, you know, when you want to advance your career, i always tell this to my clients, ah you have to be a student of career advancement.
Speaker: And AI allows you to prompt scenarios both scenarios that show linear progression and scenarios that show ah horizontal, lateral progression, skills that you may need for the future job that you wanna have, and the people and organization roles that you need to talk to, the type of assignments that may give you the validation credentials.
Speaker: So you now have a tool that can organize, orchestrate, plan and architecture a roadmap for career advancement scenarios.
Speaker: So then when they happen, they're not happening by chance, they're happening by choice. You're setting up with meetings with individuals in departments that are going to be relevant for skills that you need to pick up by choice.
Speaker: Because you planned it. You're setting up scenarios where you're going to learn um different skills and learn like how to leverage AI to produce the solution to that problem by choice because you plan for that scenario.
Speaker: So one of the greatest skills in today's world is prompt engineering. It's the fact that um now we know that learning will overtake knowing.
Speaker: I'm go to say that again, learning will overtake knowing. goyle And what that means is your ability to prompt your AI capabilities and LLMs to um give you more learning will be that the thing that separates you in advancing your career because now you have insights and foresight.
Speaker: That was powered by your ability to to critically prompt the the system, the AI tool, to give you an expanded way to look at solving problems, and improving opportunities, growing results, breaking down risk.
Speaker: And now you're seen as um not just smart in the room, but you're seen as essential in the room. so So the key here when you think about ai and career progression is, are you leveraging the tools to provide career planning scenarios that chart and give you a roadmap for advancement that is intentional, that will then allow you to be seen as someone who is essential?
Speaker: and Because the difference is you could be playing it by chance, And you may be doing things that and you may be counteractive to your career progression.
Speaker: Whereas if you are setting up meetings, picking up skills, asking for assignments that are relevant to where you're trying to go, um looking at the qualifications of a role, two roles above you, making sure that you're having experiences that give you those skills now, and position yourself as someone in those rooms who has those skills and is relevant for those problems that you're solving for,
Speaker: you're now like a air traffic controller, you're navvy or conductor in orchestra, you're conducting your career progression. And now there's no rhyme. there's no There's no, you know, sort of chance to this. This is happening by intention.
Speaker: And it's very powerful. And you become powered and empowered in your career and because you're leveraging AI to give you scenarios that push you along with intention, but also make you essential because of how you're leveraging your skills.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm going to go back. And I think there are... um individuals that are coming out of school. Yes. There's a spot in there where they didn't get the training.
Speaker: Now, I think if you saw as a freshman, yeah the curriculum looks different. Yes, absolutely. If I graded, you know, yeah two years ago, yeah not so much. Not so much.
Speaker: So I'm trying to speak to that group because I know it's different for them. Yeah. Because now, because AI, if you think about AI, and I want your perspective on this as well, a year ago, it's not what it is today.
Speaker: Right. A year ago, I'll be like, okay, AI. I used it. I used it. when my I wasn't that impressed. I'm like, that's it's good. Right. right Now? Oh, it's impressive. Yeah. Yeah. And what it can do. Yeah. But I think about those students that did not get that exposure. And I think about their brand and what they were told.
Speaker: And they relied on a curriculum that maybe didn't provide them what they needed. I personally say it's still your responsibility to go and bridge the gap. Absolutely.
Speaker: So I'm curious as to what you would share with them, because that's my deal. I say, well, you got to bridge the gap. Yeah. Because ah the game's changed. And quickly. You know, I think um when you think about the skills needed for impact, the skills needed for career progression, but also the skills needed for basic career survival,
Speaker: you you have a choice to be aware and intentional about what am I missing? ah What skills, as it relates to AI, do I need to leverage further ah to help organizations solve the problems as to why they hired you?
Speaker: you So when you think about those who have not or missed the so that that initial training and understanding of the skills needed, it's the questions that you ask your prospective employers or current employer.
Speaker: and what How are we leveraging as an organization AI within our own organization? That's a question. And what skills do I need ah to continue to hone to solve the problems in the way that we're going to solve them um for for the growth of tomorrow?
Speaker: Because organizations are solving problems that existed years ago, but they're solving them differently now because they have tools within AI that allow them to um to address that issue and challenge differently.
Speaker: So the question is, do you have those skills? So to playing catch up is a choice. and you know Closing that gap is a choice. But you have to be curious enough to ask, what are the skills in the way that I leverage AI that I need for how we as an organization are solving today's challenges?
Speaker: You know, another thing, and I think it's come across, maybe comes across differently. yeah um I need an opportunity. I'm unemployed. Yeah. And I can't speak to how powerful it is to use AI as a tool yeah to be successful in getting a job.
Speaker: Yes, absolutely. And we talked about this briefly. yeah And I said, if you don't know how to upload yeah your resume and a job description yeah and do a perfect match and understand where your gaps are, far as what that employer is looking for, if you haven't done and you're not doing you're not going to be selected because the whole process, in my opinion, yeah is automated.
Speaker: Yeah. Think about LinkedIn. And if you've applied for anything on LinkedIn, you'll know that it's automated yeah and how they get back to you and what that touch looks like. Yeah. So how do, what do you have to share as it relates to that process? Because some would say, well, this problem, there's only one way to apply for a job. I'm like, no, nowadays you have to be more forward thinking in how you go about that exercise.
Speaker: Yeah, you know, there's two things, two perspectives on that. One is, is you have to be more forward thinking in terms of, you know, the application of relevance. So uploading your resume, and but also, you know, what are the what the questions that you should be asking?
Speaker: you know, ah that that position you or how to best position your your skills and for this particular role. You know, what would ah what would make me a candidate that they would pass on?
Speaker: You can ask those, the the the you know, the AI and LLMs that question. And that may give you some insight on blind spots that you may be missing in your job search.
Speaker: A lot of, you know, people, you when you're going for a role, a new role, or if you've been laid off and trying to get back and into the workforce, ah Those are the questions that you should ask. What am I missing based on my career trajectory, my summary, um the history of time, the period time that I've been that i've been off of work?
Speaker: What are some of the things that I can do to bridge that gap to be immediately relevant and essential for today? um But the second piece of it, and I think this is an important piece, and when you think about how organizations are balancing ah AI with human capital, you know, human-led, AI-powered.
Speaker: That's a very powerful thing. You know, AI is as good as the human that leads it. You know, it it it it's a response to a prompt, ah to um an analysis, to ah the curiosity of a question So when you think about positioning yourself for opportunity and leveraging AI as a tool, ah the the human insight in leading the curiosity, the outcome, the analysis, the breakdown of the prompt starts with the questions that you ask and how you position.
Speaker: So the balance of here's my human insight on the the questions that I ask, the the clarity of of your ability to carve insight and research, that's what's going to power the AI result.
Speaker: So it's important to present yourself as someone who leads effectively, And leads AI effectively to then create the power of the AI result that produces the outcome of what you what you achieve.
Speaker: You know, when I think about brand and I think about it being the individual being proactive. Yes. And I think about all the change that's going on. Yeah.
Speaker: Can you speak to that? Because I know AI is one, but all of the change and my brand and making sure I'm in the best position. Yeah. And I'm keeping up with things the right way. Yeah. I know ah because I've talked to you about this branding. It's a it's a bold it's a job. It's a job to stay on top of it. But what would you have to say? I know AI is a part of it, but there's yeah there are changes that are going on. How do I make sure that I'm doing enough?
Speaker: You know, we're in a world of digital relevance or digital irrelevance. ah We're in a world of you are ai literate or AI illiterate. ah We're in a world where you will be ah have career mobility or career immobility, all based on how you position your brand.
Speaker: So when you think about today's world, someone, you know, I always say this, people meet you before they meet you. And that includes the AI LLMs. They meet you before they meet you because, gore you know, recruiters and hiring managers today will also put into the AI systems, you know, tell me something about this candidate that would make me ah want to hire them or disqualify them for being ah the right person for this role.
Speaker: And just like that, something's going to come back based on the digital footprint that you've established over the course of your career that says ready now, relevant now, great skills, has been positioned here, has a great brand, has been externally validated by these sources, or crickets.
Speaker: Nothing. Silence. And all of a sudden, you may be technically on paper a great candidate, but your digital footprint has a brand that says you have been disqualified.
Speaker: So we have to embrace the power of building consistent cadence in the digital footprint that we build. Building a digital footprint, and that could be the things that you post,
Speaker: um it It could be the insights that you share. It could be the places that you visit and draw research from and and and then use that as an opinion. It could be the videos that you share about advice. It could be um the perspective of what you know for.
Speaker: It has to count when people meet you before they meet you. And that's the one big, often sort of mistake that job seekers still make today. They don't focus on ah that the fact that people meet you online well before they meet you in person.
Speaker: ah Well before you upload a resume, someone is looking at why they should hire you or not based on the story that is presented when they you know Google your name and or in today's world, you know put your name into an AI tool like ChatGVT as an example or Claude as an example.
Speaker: It's happening. um So the first thing you need to do is, one, you know, go to ChatGBT, Claw, Gemini, Copilot, or whatever system you're using, and and and and put your name in and says, tell me all the information that is, you know, that is known about me that would make you relevant for this role.
Speaker: And you may find that what comes back is not necessarily how you positioned yourself. And just like that, you now have an understanding of, well, my digital footprint does not portray my brand.
Speaker: I need to do a better job of creating content um or creating a footprint based on what I'm doing, what I'm known for, things that I've authored, whatever it is that position you as an authority or credible in the space.
Speaker: Because there are people who are doing this and they become ah the first mover advantage in getting a role, even if you may be the one that is most qualified. You know, when I think about that footprint and how do I craft that message and how conscious and what makes sense. so what's what's a generic formula? i'm probably asking you a lot here yeah on the spot. yeah What is a generic formula? LinkedIn is good. LinkedIn is great. mean LinkedIn iss a great tool. there are other and There are other ways to do it. There other tools. So what what would you recommend? Because...
Speaker: It will source this information. If you go to chat GPT and you tee up my name yeah and what I've done, it will scan everything yeah and deliver. yeah But I need to make sure that if I'm on Facebook, if I'm on TikTok, if I'm on whatever you know platform I'm on, it needs to reflect that. yes And i don't think people really understand that I think it does it.
Speaker: It's an automated process now, more so than people think. Yeah. Where it pulls in its intel. Yeah. So speak to that if you don't mind. So so two things. One, um the AI tools pull from what's available on the Internet.
Speaker: So if you want to be known for something, it should be readily available somewhere else before the AI tool, and before you even prompt the AI tool to find you.
Speaker: And that could be, if you have a personal website, it could be your LinkedIn about statement, you know, on your LinkedIn profile page. It could be, um places that you've worked, could be articles that you've written, um articles that you've shared.
Speaker: and the reason why that's so important is because ah if there's nothing known about you, it says that you haven't established a valid, credible ah industry connection to your skill.
Speaker: And that may not be true because some people have great skills and they're great in the industry. They just don't have a digital footprint. But people often start in the digital space to get a sense of, should they trust you? Are you the right person to hire?
Speaker: are you the right person to to book? Are you the right person to put out as the opinion that people should hear from and listen to? So the formula should be first, what do I want to be known for? um Where can I see and validate that that is or have evidence that that is true?
Speaker: Who else has validated me as a, you know, who's validated you as ah as a perspective for your expertise? um What are you missing in the equation of the what you want to be known for in your digital footprint versus who you think you are in person?
Speaker: So when you think about the the formula for your brand, for your digital footprint, um you know, the science says, understand the categories and keywords that you want to be associated with.
Speaker: You know, industry expert in this space, um credentialed voice and authority in this space, technical problem solver in this space. And that's important because the algorithms online are going to associate you with category, expertise, impact, and reputation.
Speaker: You know, category, industry, you know, expertise and reputation. And um people want to hire people who are associated with a category, have industry expertise, have been validated externally for the impact that they have, and have a really powerful reputation.
Speaker: Because if you have all those things, you are going to create tremendous impact for the organization that you work for or the entity that you represent. And that's why it's important to have an understanding of ah that that formula.
Speaker: Most people don't know what category they're associated with. I work, I have these skills. um They don't ah focus on the external validation that is needed to separate you as someone someone should hire over someone else.
Speaker: and They focus on their expertise, but the expertise isn't also showcased with evidence online. whether that's an article that you write, and an an article that you share, a comment that you you post, or your profile, your digital profiles across all your ah you know social media channels.
Speaker: And then the impact. you know Where can someone see that you actually change an outcome? Is there evidence? Not that you know this work or know this technical skill, but have you changed an outcome?
Speaker: Have you improved an outcome? Where can people see evidence that you are someone who can do that, who has done that, ah or who will do that in the future? So all those things matter.
Speaker: you know And they they they position you for a powerful brand, um but it takes proactive thinking to position yourself with that level of insight. And most people um aren't that prescriptive.
Speaker: But in today's world, you have to be that prescriptive. You know, we're almost out of time, but... The things that we've talked about is the brand. And we've talked about AI. and We've talked about how important it is to make sure that you're getting it right. I don't care if you're a leader.
Speaker: I don't care if you're someone right out of school. I don't care if you've been shortchanged in the process and not gotten the curriculum you think you need. It is invaluable. The digital footprint is a priority. Yeah.
Speaker: Okay. It is something that is sourced. It is something that AI can get to pretty quickly yeah and deliver a message as it relates to you and your background and your history and your work and so forth and so on.
Speaker: I think it's important for you to leave one one takeaway, one takeaway for the audience. And I know you you can sculpt that however you want. Yeah. But yeah I think they need to know something about this process. Yeah. Brand, AI. Yeah.
Speaker: what they need to expect. We're all in a state of change. Yeah. Yeah. This is a we're all being transformed. Yeah. We just don't know we are. Absolutely. But if you get through this over the next 10 years, believe me, yeah you'll go through that transformation. Yeah. absolutely So what's your what's your takeaway?
Speaker: You know I think there's two words that just keep coming to mind as it relates to AI and AI used to power your brand, ah your personal brand, your your professional brand, your leadership brand.
Speaker: And one is relevance. ah Two is intention. um Because today to be relevant you have to be intentional about the words that are known about you, where people go to search for you.
Speaker: So for example, and if you are one of the top physicians or accountants, ah professional, technical professional in your in your field,
Speaker: ah You have to tell the world that you are one of the top, you know, accountants or physicians or professionals in your field. And it's got to be known because then when you so when you tell the world that through how you respond on the internet, through the online profiles you have across your LinkedIn profile or other online social media accounts, or if you have a website even, um then the internet knows to scrub that word in the AI tools.
Speaker: So you have to tell AI You have what to pull. But AI will only pull for what known and what is present. So you have to be intentional to be relevant.
Speaker: You can't leave it to chance. So when you think about your digital footprint today, what's known about you, where do the words appear that shape your brand that can be easily pulled from an organic AI search about you um that position you and your skills for future impact.
Speaker: So we have to be intentional and consistent. Consistency matters. Relevant, intentional, and consistent. It matters today. And it matters for your brand.
Speaker: It matters for the career trajectory that in terms of career advancement. It matters for your life. You know, it matters today because today people are being canceled quickly because they're not relevant.
Speaker: ah They're being separated quickly because they're not intentional about being proactive in shaping their brand. And they're being disqualified because they're not consistent.
Speaker: So the algorithms do not pick up the consistency of what you're known for, the category, the industry, the expertise, the reputation, um because you're not consistent.
Speaker: So I would leave you with ah the challenge to ah continue every day to create why you are relevant. Continue every day to be intentional about shaping your brand and continue every day to be consistent because the consistency creates a pattern that creates an expectation that allows you to be trusted.
Speaker: that allows you to then create tremendous opportunity. And then AI just powers and accelerates that and takes you into a great level of a future. Awesome, awesome. You didn't say anything about your book. You got to share but your book. Yeah, so you first the first book is The 10 Ks of Personal Branding.
Speaker: And these principles today still ring true. You got to know yourself. You got to know what you want to be known for. You got to be consistent. You got to turn the stories of failure into stories of learning because learning now overtakes knowing, especially in this world of AI.
Speaker: You have to have a powerful way to communicate who you are online through your digital footprint. You have to create opportunities, not wait for opportunities. ah You can't be silent.
Speaker: um You have to be now intentional, you know, overtly intentional because that separates you from the pack. And then you have to know your expectations. You know, you have to shape your expectations so that you're not limited because today you can be limited quickly because people don't have an expectation what you deliver.
Speaker: And then power it by the why. You want to have an impact. You studied, you studied hard. You want to grow your career because there's a why in you that wants to make something better to improve an outcome, to create an opportunity, to grow a result, or to shape the future.
Speaker: Let that why be the thing that makes you and separates you with clarity, with conviction, with empathy, with care. Because at the end of day, we still need leaders that care and have a powerful why.
Speaker: AI will power it, but the human will lead it. And that's why it's important to have a brand. So um so the book is, the 10 Ks of Personal Branding is still relevant. ah My newest book, ah The Green Method, is all about mental preparation.
Speaker: to elevate high performance. And, you know, maybe in another episode, we'll talk more about that. But the mindset of opportunity starts with the mindset of mental strength, you know, gratitude, reach, energy, excellence, and non-negotiables. It's a formula and a process to help you achieve great mental strength so you can keep growing, keep going, um because you have a natural reflex to face adversity and hard seasons.
Speaker: And I'm really excited to share that with you in a future episode. and But again, going back to what we talked about being relevant, ah being intentional and being consistent. Awesome. Awesome. As always, absolute pleasure having you here. I learn every single time you show up. So thank you for making time for us. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Awesome. Awesome. I'll look into the camera and I will share this.
Speaker: This has been eye opening experience for me. Your personal brand, how you go about um projecting that right image keeps you relevant, keeps you on top of the deck when it comes to trying to source and find talent.
Speaker: There is no way to get around AI. The only way to get around AI is to tackle it head on. And that's become a part of the solution. So go ahead and transform like the rest of us. It's been an absolute pleasure sharing with you on Balancing the Future. I look forward to our next conversation.
