I’ve just returned from a wonderful afternoon at the Sheraton Towers in Singapore presenting to 75 highly motivated delegates (95% women) at the Women’s Leadership Forum.

The theme was “Share and Grow” and my topic was personal branding.

Now most people think USP stands for “Unique Selling Proposition”. Not in my book, I believe it is “Unique Special Person”.

This is based on my premise your personal brand is about being authentic to yourself, your family and your work.

A personal brand is like a pearl. The end product is beautiful, lustrous and natural. But every pearl starts with a small grain of sand. As you know, the grain of sand irritates the oyster and it deposits layer upon layer of lacquer on the grain until a pearl is formed.

Your personal brand is like this. It takes time to develop, nurture and grow … and you may be forced with many irritations and setbacks. In the end it is worth it, a priceless piece of nature.

Until next time …. keep positive, Tom