It started with an article written by Tom Peters, in August 1997, for Fast Company Magazine, titled “The Brand Called You”, where he delivered the case for becoming CEO of ME Inc. Since then, the world has been paying attention and more importantly, ordinary people like you and me are using these principles to our advantage.

For me personally, it started when I stumbled across the term almost four years ago. My career originally started in the corporate world where I worked selling services and solutions in finance and later technology for the likes of Dunn & Bradstreet and The Financial Times Group. I then worked as a headhunter for TMP Worldwide before founding Venture Partnership Ltd, a London based Executive Search firm, at the rise of the new economy. After that I lived in the Middle East where I was managing director for Quintessentially, the British members-only global concierge club.

I have been fascinated by what makes one person more successful than another. In those days we would talk about the necessary balance of EQ/IQ. Which is great if you want to gain an understanding of the blueprint of a leader. And not so great if you want to help someone to get there. 

Personal branding delivers a real self-awareness. And when we are aware of what we are doing, and how it impacts our careers and success, we never lose it. 

So what is personal branding? Personal branding is more than just a hot topic. It is certainly not a new phenomenon, nor is it a luxury. It is about how others perceive us – our very reputations. We brand each other constantly by way of introduction, in describing one another and by articulating opinions about each other in person or in the media. We all have a brand whether it is positive, neutral or negative – and all of this is happening whether we are managing the process or not.

We live in a branded world: we talk about picking up a Starbucks, loading our iPods, wearing our Jimmys or Manolos, scoffing a Mac, being on our Blackberrys or iPhones. We even have nicknames for those who are deeply attached to these things…'crackberry' is just one common example.

When it comes to people, the same rules apply: just mention Obama, Branson, Angelina, Mandela, Madonna, Khofi, Thatcher – I could go on – and we immediately have an idea of who these people are, what they do, and what they stand for.

When we are known by just one name, rather than our first and last, it seems that we are truly global brands. And we are using the word ‘brand’ in relation to people all the time: just flick through the news channels or read a newspaper and hear discussions about how an individual’s actions or circumstances effects their brand.

Personal branding is the art of developing, owning and managing our public personas. Everything we do, or choose not to do, communicates our values and character. Our public persona may or may not be in the broader public eye; however, in today's branded world, creating a competitive advantage through development and ownership of your own brand is vital.

The central idea behind a great personal brand is that it should serve us well. Our brand positions us as the person to go to in our area of expertise, it raises our visibility and income, and sets us apart from our competitors. Ultimately, our brands need to attract what we want, and repel the rest. 

We like to think of a personal brand as the cornerstone of attraction – we don't need to appeal to everyone, to all things. We need to appeal to our target market or audience and eliminate time consuming and costly distractions.

Education, skills, training, resources, experience and market knowledge have always formed the foundations of success. However, without being known for who you are, what you do, and how you do it better, they remain only commodities and the chances of rising above the competition are slight.

The Benefits of managing your personal brand are numerous, although broadly speaking people tend to have one of two aims – gaining a competitive advantage, or managing change. All things being equal, focus on the four core principles of a powerful personal brand:

• Be compelling to your target market or audience
• Be authentic
• Deliver consistently
• And we need to be known for all of this.

Very simply, If we don't decide what our image and personal brands should reflect about us... others will.

A strong personal brand can help you to:

• Create powerful, lasting first impressions
• Increase your visibility and raise your profile
• Build a reputation that precedes you
• Be known as the expert in your field
• Gain and maintain a competitive edge
• Fare better in economic downturns
• Increase your income

In this tightening job market it's more important than ever to stand out with a strong, robust personal brand. And for those who have lost jobs and are focused on getting back into the market - a strong brand can deliver an all-important competitive edge.

1. Perception is reality. Spend some time discovering how you are actually perceived by your audience or markets - what you learn will give you invaluable clues as to anything that might be creating obstacles for you.

2. Really focus on what it is about you that is distinct, different, memorable, unique, and ultimately compelling about who you are and what you do.

3. Turn the tables and examine each market or audience that has an influence on your success from their perspective, and ask yourself what will be deeply compelling to each of these - focus on adapting how you approach these accordingly.

4. Ensure that all of this is authentic and consistent – anything less will be perceived as untrustworthy and unreliable.

5. Take the lead in a variety of ways appropriate to your role and markets to demonstrate your brand - from initiatives to focus groups to keynote speaking or new endeavours.

6. Develop your soft skills, particularly your intuition…I have yet to come across a successful business person who doesn’t rely on their gut instinct when it comes down to it.

7. Relationships are key…ultimately we tend to go with those that we feel that we have some sort of emotional connection to – let your personality shine through in order to give others something to buy into.

8. Champion an issue or a cause that demonstrates your values and allows you to show your ‘brand personality’ in a way that will be respected by your colleagues and market as a whole.

9. Make sure that your image is not standing in your way…first and foremost it needs to be appropriate, which will communicate how you value yourself leading others to value you in the same way.

10. Pay attention to your how you communicate – you may well be undermining your efforts with your tone of voice and body language.

Above all, don’t attempt to be anything other than yourself, just do it better.