You’ve heard the saying: When one door closes, another one opens.
There’s more to it, of course. For instance, if you blew-up the door on the way out, your task will be much harder.
When it comes to life- and career-management, there’s really only one thing we can control — and that’s our own actions. Who knows what curve-ball is coming next, but how we respond is on us. What we do in those times of challenge reflects how we’re perceived, helps define who we are, and impacts our future prospects.
Steve Weatherford New York Giants Farewell. Credit: screen-grab from YouTube video.
Take the case of NFL punter Steve Weatherford, formerly of the New York Giants.
The Super Bowl XLVI winner was released last Friday as part of the team’s final roster cuts. The non-guaranteed 2015 income of $2.175 million is gone. Whether or not he knew it was coming, it had to be painful for Weatherford and his family.
Despite the challenge, he kept any negative emotions in check. He acted with his personal brand in mind.
Watch the video he posted to social media.
Steve Weatherford’s classy response is textbook-plus on how to make a professional transition and manage a personal brand. Although Weatherford is a football player, his communication decision-making is relevant to the business world:
- He understood his brand: a well-known public sports figure in the New York market.
- He leveraged another part of his brand, his social media prowess, by taking his message directly to fans – and potentially future employers.
- And he deployed a range of content marketing tactics to get his message out and shared: produced a creative video, and posted it across multiple platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. (I first saw a video clip on the local TV sports report.)
Our personal brands are the most important professional asset we manage and nurture. Give yours maximum attention.
Harvey Chimoff is a versatile marketing and business team leader who believes good marketing sells. Contact him at harveychimoff dot com.
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