How to use product thinking to build a personal brand in the workplace?
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[This article](https://medium.com/@evonneyifangtsai/%E5%A6%82%E4%BD%95%E7%94%A8%E7%94%A2%E5%93%81%E6%80%9D%E7% B6%AD%E6%89%93%E9%80%A0%E5%80%8B%E4%BA%BA%E8%81%B7%E5%A0%B4%E5%93%81%E7%89%8C-50d13712727b) Author Evonne Tsai, is currently the deputy manager of the business transformation department of an e-commerce company. Thank you for authorizing the “Practical Guide” website to reprint.
My online course “Product Manager Workplace Learning: A Compulsory Career Guide for PMs!” has raised 400% of its funding! This is the article I promised you to reach the target and unlock, and I just take this opportunity to share with you how to use product thinking to build your personal brand in the workplace. Whether you are a Product Manager (https://www.helpful.guide/2019/06/3-tips-for-landing-your-first-product-manager-role.html) (PM) or not, I believe this article will be helpful to you.
I believe some people may be curious: Is it necessary to build a personal brand in the workplace? If I don’t take on additional projects to develop my own slash business outside the company, do I still need to build a brand?
Well, of course you do! In my opinion, there are several obvious benefits to building a personal brand.
Why should you build a personal brand in the workplace?
The most important benefit is, of course, that it can improve your visibility and recognition.
Many people think that their abilities will be buried, their bosses will not see their efforts and performance, they will often take the blame or take the blame, their credit will be taken away by others, they will not be able to see promotion and salary increase opportunities when they are too busy… etc. There are many possible reasons for these problems. But have you ever thought about how you can reverse your disadvantage?
Let’s start with the cause analysis. There are several possible reasons for this problem:
- “Can’t grasp the essentials of the work”, so get half the result with twice the result - This is common in newbies in the workplace who have no one to teach them, or they can’t find the way to do things, so they get half the result with twice the result. And because they are too busy, they have no time to think, so they can only immerse themselves in doing things, entering a vicious cycle of poverty and busyness. In response to this situation, “project management capabilities” will be a structured ability to organize your “way of doing things”, allowing you to start from the clarification of needs, to the control of resources, and the control of risks, and finally produce successful work results. In my online course “Product Manager Workplace Learning: A Required Career Guide for PMs!”, I will discuss how to do project management.
- Sometimes when faced with the need to manage upwards, because one is “not good at managing upwards” or “disdains to manage upwards”, one thinks it is “flattering” and is worried that other people in the company will be jealous and comment, so it is inevitable that one will shrink back. In fact, Upward Management is also a kind of “management” rather than simply “catering”. If you are confident in your own judgment and planning, then letting your boss understand what you want to do and convincing him to support you to become a tool for the success of the project is good for the company, your boss or yourself. In fact, you don’t have to be too naive and emotionally obsessed. Especially if other people are jealous and whispering, let them talk! The more you talk about it, the more distinct your brand of “good at communicating, getting things done, and being the boss” becomes. Recently, I saw a saying that “anti-fans are the most loyal fans” and I thought it made sense.
- Similarly, when you need to do self-marketing, you don’t know how to do it, or you are embarrassed to do it because you think it is too flashy. Just like a good product, it also needs marketing to be seen by the market! Otherwise, there are too many similar products on the market. How can we expect consumers to quickly see your value and place an order? There are dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people in a company, and there may be dozens of people in a department. The boss has so many things to do every day, but the “attention” he can allocate to you is actually very little. You work hard and have a certain level of strength, but if your contribution is not immediately recognized during salary increases, promotions, and performance reviews because you “failed to convey your value properly,” you shouldn’t blame your boss for not having a clear vision. Just like if your product doesn’t sell well, you wouldn’t blame your customers for not understanding the benefits of your company’s products, right?
What benefits can you bring by managing your personal brand in the workplace?
- You can strive for projects and opportunities that are “more valuable” and “more helpful to your own abilities”, instead of projects and opportunities where no one sees the results, or “as long as someone does it, everyone is good”.
- Since you can secure more projects that match your personal abilities and characteristics, you will accumulate more “successful cases” on such projects. In other words, your strength in the areas you are good at will become more refined, forming a positive cycle.
- Due to previous successful cases and “brand image”, when there is a promotion opportunity within the company, the boss will first think of you.
- When it’s time to change your job track, you will also have obvious “selling points” and “success stories” to talk about. Moreover, this is your own brand image and ability that you have been focusing on accumulating for a long time, and you will have an advantage over other competitors in this regard.
How to use product thinking to build a personal brand in the workplace?
I believe that in order for a product to successfully sell, it must master three key elements:
- Product: Product itself must be good enough and valuable to the target customer group.
- Marketing: convey the value of your product and make people trust it.
- Channel: A channel that allows target customer group to come into contact with your company and purchase products.
If we apply these three key elements in the workplace, how do you “sell” your own product?
- Product: That is, your capabilities and performance, as well as your “target customers”, that is, the departments you work with and the stakeholders on the project. Think about it, what is your value?
- Marketing: How can your value be seen, felt, recognized, promoted and strengthened by “stakeholders in the workplace”? These stakeholders include your cooperating departments, bosses, and even customers.
- Channels: When you establish a brand image, through what channels and methods can others “purchase” your value, or even realize your value? For example: promotion, poaching or recommendation, have you demonstrated your ability to extend the potential to new opportunities?
As for how to actually do it? Let me start from my own career experience and share with you how to build a workplace brand.
Does your company ever “see a certain person and think that he is the best at something”, or “see a certain thing and think that this is a person’s expertise”?
For example, on PTT, as soon as netizens talk about relationship issues, “Xiaosheng” will pop up and wake everyone up with a fixed opening: “Hello girl/brother, I am Xiaosheng. I occasionally guest post to embellish your life.” There is also “Before you start, listen to a song!”, which is very recognizable, the content is also valuable, and it is always thought-provoking. Later, whenever I saw Xiaosheng’s reply, I would click in curiously to see what he had to say this time.
Whether you can date may depend on your feelings, but whether you can be friends, you must know how to watch your words.
As of today, the Facebook fan page of “I am Xiaosheng” has as many as 200,000 followers.
Or, if someone asks a question about “Doraemon”, the voice of “Summoning Doraemon” will start to wash the tweets, because only Doraemon can quote classics and analyze the details in Doraemon that we have never noticed, and it is very interesting. There are even people who ask special questions to summon Doraemon. When I see questions related to Doraemon, I must click on it to make a pilgrimage.
From I am a niche to Doraemon, it can bring us a lot of inspiration: if you can continue to do something in the workplace, and “do more” things that you don’t have to do, but it will be better if you do it. Then, you can continue to produce and share it with those who need it, and you can gradually build your workplace brand image.
Speaking for myself, when I was a novice PM at the beginning, working on OEM projects, because I had a thorough understanding of the status and context of each project, customer needs, and development progress, and I could systematically sort out and answer the boss’s questions, I naturally became “the person most familiar with OEMs.”
Next, because OEM involves function customization, you must first understand the product before you can customize it. Therefore, I further expanded my abilities to become “the person most familiar with the design of various detailed product requirements”, so that the company naturally promoted me to become the PM responsible for the main product line one year later.
Then, when I was designing products, I felt that my product planning capabilities were insufficient. I was often too busy, and when asked what competitors were doing, I quickly checked them out and could not continue to follow.
Therefore, I decided to do my homework and spontaneously analyze and compare the functions of our product with many other competitors in the market. I also provided the latest information to everyone, and organized it into easy-to-understand conclusions and comparison tables for relevant departments, including PM’s own team, development team, marketing team, and some business colleagues who may encounter this competitor.
Actually, I didn’t think too much at that time. I just felt that I couldn’t query when asked, and wanted to find a way to systematically build some product knowledge.
These are all things I do more than I should, but I accidentally “get” some things right. Although it was very hard at the beginning, working overtime until midnight every day, doing this “I don’t know if anyone cares” thing, I didn’t expect that this thing would help me a lot…
First, as product managers, we must understand what others are doing? It’s not enough to know Why, you also need to know How. Why do they do this, and what is the difference between it and our products? These are very important information and abilities, and this is the ability to “speak, be discernible, and be valuable to others.” However, according to my observation, many product managers invest in the systematic establishment and comparison of this kind of knowledge system because they do not have extra time and energy. It is really a pity to think about it. But having said that, this has become my unique value in the workplace.
From a learning perspective, “comparison” is a good way to learn. When you see a product, you may not have a feeling about its design, but if you see two products using different ways to design the same function… you can start to think about it, what kind of background and goals lead to such different results? Do we want to do this ourselves?
If you think in this context, your growth rate will naturally be much faster! This approach allows me to proactively and comprehensively supplement the market landscape of this industry and establish a product strategy blueprint. Having said that, my own “product design feel and logic” was also established bit by bit in this way.
Then, through selfless sharing, I established the impression in the minds of other department partners that “if you want to ask about competitors’ features and roadmaps, you must ask Evonne first.” I also had the impression that “Evonne is very passionate about product development and continues to actively research other products.” Then, when the company was planning a new product line from scratch, it was natural for them to come to me. Well, this is called “it comes naturally”!
When we are developing new products, of course we have more opportunities to come into contact with and think about new product design logic and information, which allows me to continue to strengthen my product analysis and design capabilities. Now think about it, this is actually a positive cycle.
What’s even more interesting is that after leaving my original company, I first went to ASUS to do things unrelated to the surveillance industry. However, one day (more than a year later…) I suddenly received a message from my former research and development (RD) colleague. Because he jumped to a leading manufacturer in the surveillance industry, and this manufacturer was looking for someone who could do product marketing for surveillance software in North Asia. He had to have a good understanding of the development of the surveillance software industry… So, he immediately thought of me and asked me if I was interested in talking. He said he would be happy to help me make referrals (gosh, even the RD still remembers it! Moreover, I have been leaving my job for more than a year!).
After passing five rounds of interviews, I found that the industry knowledge and analysis methods I had accumulated were very important assets for this hardware company to enter the software market. So, in the end, I succeeded in getting that opportunity.
All in all, by “analyzing and comparing competitor information and continuing to share it with other stakeholders”, I——
- Complement and strengthen “myself” ability and value as a product manager.
- Establish a brand image and let people in other departments remember that “I am the person who knows the best about my own and competitors’ products.”
- This brand image extends to more than a year after I leave my job. When other companies have similar opportunities, my former R&D colleagues will think of the value I can build and make the new company willing to “buy”, that is, poach me. Because the abilities I have are not only useful in the original company, but also have value and use in other companies that make other companies willing to pay.
Clayton M. Christensen) and others in “[Use Theory of Innovation: Mastering Consumer Choice, Innovation Does Not Have to Take Chance](https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/0010760251?utm_source=vis The book ta&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-201906) once proposed a famous “Use Theory”. Simply put, customers often don’t want your product or service, but a solution to their problem.
Hard work cannot be exchanged for success, and it may also damage the workplace brand
Again, keep doing something, and “do more” of things that you don’t have to do, but will be better if you do them. Then, please continue to produce and share with those in need, and you will gradually build your [workplace brand] (https://www.thenewslens.com/article/116504).
It should be noted that “the more things you do” must be “valuable”. In other words, what we want to pursue is “merit” rather than “hard work”.
It’s like a product, if it doesn’t provide value, no one will want to take it even if it’s free, it just takes up space! Even the “free” strategy may hurt your brand image. Once people create the impression that your company’s products are free or cheap, it will be difficult to start charging later.
If the way you build your brand image is to work overtime continuously for decades without providing valuable beef to others, then you are likely to build a brand image of “there is no way to work, and things are inefficient”, or even “spending time in the office”. Moreover, this approach may not always work. Maybe your boss who only cares about overtime hours will pay for it, but in the market, no one will recommend you because they think of “you are good at working overtime” (maybe some sweat companies will like you to work, or advertise 996 work system, but most of the jobs that come to you will not be valuable jobs).
If the way you build your brand image is “I’m willing to do any kind of errands”, it will only lead to the result of “Everyone thinks they can come to you to do any errands.” It will be difficult to build a valuable brand image. Unless, you can turn a small thing into a big thing of great value and continue to grow! Otherwise, you will actually just fall into the stereotype of “a good person” and a vicious cycle of doing more and more chores.
In addition, I have also seen a paradoxical question: “I have done one thing so successfully that only I can do it, but what should I do if I can’t get promoted?”
Don’t be stupid, the reason why you can’t be promoted is not because you are too successful, but because you have not done that thing so well that “you can establish a system and method and let another person assist you, and the result will still not be much different.” In other words, on the one hand, you cannot prove that you have the ability to “lead a team and replicate your own success”, nor can you prove that “by doing new things, you can bring more value.” So, naturally, you can’t convince your boss to foot the bill and let you do more advanced things.
Or maybe your current abilities and values are only related to “this job” and cannot be copied to other work tasks. As a result, you will encounter great obstacles if you want to [realize] this value in the future (https://www.contenthacker.today/2017/12/blog-monetization-strategy.html).
You have to scratch it yourself so that others can praise you
Coming to the end of this article, I suddenly thought of a very funny but accurate slang: “Catch it yourself so that others can praise you.”
Many people want to build a personal brand, but the point is not to say how good they are. This approach is embarrassing and can easily make people question “are they really that good?” However, you can accumulate your brand image in everyone’s mind through some “repeated achievements.” In this way, when everyone talks about this matter in the future, they will think of you, and it will be a matter of course for them to spread their own value!
Personal branding is a way of reinforcing who you are and what you stand for in your career and life.
In short, are you ready to become the “XX King” of your company?
Thank you for your support. The fundraising activity for this [online course] (https://hahow.in/cr/iwanttobeapm) has reached more than 400% of the target, and the course will start on August 1st. The early bird program is now running. Welcome to share this course information with friends who are interested in entering the field of Product Manager!
In addition, my new book “[Building 360-degree marketing product power: Product managers take you to the core of business competition] (https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/0010819300?utm_source=vista&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-201906)” has also been published! Friends who are interested are welcome to refer to and purchase.
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💡 Photo Credit: Mimi Thian
Further reading
- Build your private board of directors: Let growth no longer be lonely or blind
- “Vista’s Little Voice”: How to find your own keywords
- “Self-home Entrepreneurship Bible” teaches you to develop multiple sources of income: take stock of resources and do things that you like and that are helpful to others
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