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• Professional Bios that Tell Your Story and Make Business Conversations Easier

  By Joe Walsh

  Posted on June 5, 2012 at 2:29 pm

  Often lost in all the high-minded and important talk about branding — brand strategy, brand positioning, brand identity, brand expression, etc. — is one of branding’s simplest purposes: making business conversations easier. That’s where something as rudimentary as a good biography can work its charms (assuming it has some).

  This point was made in stark relief earlier this week on a call with a highly accomplished former general counsel. The background is simple enough. The GC is in a career transition and is considering a shift to law firm consulting. Since we do a fair amount of this work, the GC had been connected to me by a former colleague and friend. No magic there, just good old fashioned social networking. But the phone call, our first, was revealing about biographies. At least to me. The GC opened the conversation by saying she admired my bio. I asked what is it that you like about it?  She said, more or less: “I get a sense of who you are, not just what you do.” Hmmm.

  Yes, my bio has an account of the things I do and where I’ve gained experiences to share. But it also reveals personal interests: where I was born (across from Boston’s Logan Airport, no joke), what I like to do in my spare time (gardening, listening to the Red Sox on the radio—usually in tandem), even the names of my kinfolk (Jed, Ellie Mae, Jethro and such). Who cares, you might ask? She did. We talked about several of these things in a minute or two, which naturally gave way to her interests and the business at hand. We had an easy rapport. And the bio made it easier.

  The point. A bio that contains only the professional equivalent of name, rank and serial number (plus a list of representative clients or publications) is a missed opportunity. It should do more than recite a resume. Find a way to make yours personal. As the branding pundits often say, “branding is really a personality.” The idea is to convey it early and often. An engaging bio is great place to start.

  Tags:

  Branding, Business Practices, Marketing, Thought Leadership 

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