-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
Getting to Know Your Designer
In this issue, we examine how fabs work with their design customers, educating them on the critical elements of fabrication needed to be successful, as well as the many tradeoffs involved. How well do you really know your customer? What makes for a closer, more synchronized working relationship?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Launch Letters: Embrace Your Brand
August 11, 2016 | Barry Lee CohenEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
Embrace your brand. It’s your promise. It’s your word. It’s the trust, knowledge and confidence you communicate to your customers, the community, and the industry you interact with and react to every nanosecond. Break your brand, and you’ll be breaking your heart and your aspirations.
Quite simply, your brand is what others believe to be your value, and is expressed more often than not upon having your name come up during a third-party conversation. Keep in mind, brands are built by individuals, not organizations. The person’s view may not be true, in fact, it may be completely off the mark. Regardless, it’s their truth.
When you let others define your brand it’s like an alien force that invades your mind and body. It wants to immediately mold your reputation and worse yet, potentially denigrate your self-confidence and perceived worth. Don’t cede the power of you.
Speaking from my own experience, you can launch—or relaunch—your brand by being true to what you inherently know to be your strengths and has proven to make you successful and happy. Blastoff:
Be your own version of extraordinary—ordinary is boring. Subscribing to the status quo can often be debilitating, as well as regressive in your personal pursuits and professional aspirations. Making that extra effort—no matter how small or insignificant you may believe it to be at the time—is deemed to be significant and at times monumental to others. You may not even realize your dedication and principled approach for a given project has taken a major—and yes, extraordinary—burden off the backs of your customers, colleagues, and management.
Revel in reliability, relevance and believability. Ever feel uneasy when you need to depend on others with unknown, inconsistent or questionable track records to get the job done? There’s nothing worse than when you begrudgingly need to rely on these folks to deliver performance that reflects directly on your reputation, your character and in summary—your brand. I believe that there’s nothing considered sexier in the C-suite than a colleague you can depend upon to deliver ROI results without sacrificing performance. The colleague becomes a trusted and relied upon resource and partner. The aura of subservience and the constructs of a traditional supplier relationship gradually melt away.
Decide to make a positive difference, even under difficult circumstances. This is easy to state, but tough to realize. It can, and arguably should be uncomfortable to offer different perspectives other than the norm, or for that matter knowing you must agree with a group for the short term, until your own position with grounded recommendations are fully formed and vetted. Indeed, silence is golden, but it should not be mistaken for indifference or worse yet, ignorance. The silence should be thought-provoking and absorbing until you can offer value that will benefit the organization and advance your brand.
Be humble, but not timid. There’s a big difference. Over the years, I’ve experienced some of the brightest minds vanquished due to lacking the courage of their convictions to establish or maintain their brands. Although in most cases you should let the work speak for itself, thereby enabling your brand to shine, there are instances when you need to unplug a few ears from all the elevator music, that others are happy to endorse and contribute. Don’t be embarrassed. It is mutually beneficial to gently, yet directly remind key stakeholders the value you created as part of a collaborative team or independently. There’s no shame in the truth.
Most importantly, don’t let any individual or organization define you. Own your brand and you will own your destiny.
This article originally appeared in the August 2016 issue of The PCB Magazine.
Suggested Items
Kimball Electronics Jasper Supports Local Cancer Care with Generous Donation
03/20/2024 | Kimball ElectronicsKimball Electronics Jasper (KEJ) employees recently concluded a successful fundraising campaign for the Lange-Fuhs Cancer Center, a local healthcare facility dedicated to supporting cancer patients.
ROCKA Solutions to Showcase Expanded Services at IPC APEX EXPO
03/14/2024 | ROCKA SolutionsROCKA Solutions is excited to announce its participation in the upcoming 2024 IPC APEX EXPO, scheduled to take place April 9-11, 2024 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
Africa's Smartphone Market Records Strong Growth in Q4 2023
03/12/2024 | IDCNewly released data from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that Africa's smartphone market saw shipments grow 12.5% year on year (YoY) in Q4 2023 to total 19.8 million units.
The Knowledge Base: Mastering Trade Show Success for Exhibitors
03/06/2024 | Mike Konrad -- Column: The Knowledge BaseTrade shows serve as invaluable platforms for businesses to showcase their products, network with potential clients, and stay abreast of industry trends. However, amidst the hustle and bustle of a trade show, standing out can be challenging. Exhibitors must employ strategic planning and execution to maximize their investment and achieve tangible results. In this guide, I’ll review the best practices for exhibiting at a trade show to ensure your participation is not only successful but also memorable.
AI Applications Spur Growth, Smartphone Camera Lens Market Expected to Rebound
02/26/2024 | TrendForceTrendForce forecasts a rebound in the smartphone camera lens market in 2024, with a 3.8% growth spurred by AI-driven smartphone trends to reach approximately 4.22 billion units.