
Thought Leader Life 028: Guest Peter Sterlacci
On 21 June our guest was Peter Sterlacci (@PeterSterlacci). Peter is a pioneer of personal branding in Japan. Building on his background in intercultural consulting & training and Certified by Reach, the global leader in personal branding, he works with on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to ‘break away’ from the pack and ride to success.
In a culture where “fitting in” is the norm, he uses a three-step process derived from his own passion for cycling to promote the mindset shift necessary to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career and life success. His personal mission is to pioneer a ‘cultural shift one personal brand at a time’ by empowering Japanese to stand-out and be remarkable in a global environment.
In this episode, Mitchell and Michael share views with #ThoughtLeader Peter Sterlacci all the way from Kyoto, Japan. As the person recognized to pioneer personal branding in Japan, Peter sees his work to be a “lot of fun with lots of challenges”. And even though he can speak Japanese (though not fluently), he is more inclined to work with non-traditional businesses and people who have a global perspective and who see the English language as a tool to be successful. He defines #ThoughtLeaders as experts in their field and who significantly make a difference by giving something of value that people can actually use in their business or personal lives. Peter says a #ThoughtLeader who wants to develop his/her personal brand must know what differentiates him/her from everybody else who has done something similar or has a similar skills set. And then you must be able to communicate that in a clear, consistent and constant manner, particularly online.
Going deeper into the issue of personal branding vis-à-vis the company brand, Peter explains that in today’s world, companies have realized that allowing and enabling employees to bring in their personal brand and incorporate their authenticity into the company brand really works and builds business. This is the new norm as opposed to the traditional view that companies must disable their employee’s personal brand to protect the company brand. One effective way to bring out personal brand to help build the company brand is by joining groups on LinkedIn. In any case, LinkedIn has become the top resource for building anyone’s personal brand.
Commenting on the Thought Leadership Funnel (http://www.thinkaha.com/thoughtleadershipfunnel), Peter notes the importance of engagement and why it is critical in #ThoughtLeadership given that it is where people become truly, actively involved. He mentions one challenge in going through the engagement part, and that is how to sift through the people who are trying to engage with you to find those who are really providing value and addressing your needs.
In the interview, Peter also reveals his two unique mentors that helped him trail blaze in the field of personal branding in Japan. He also shares valuable tips on how to develop your personal brand and bring it out to the world.
To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, subscribe to the channel: http://youtube.com/user/thoughtleaderlife.
Here are a couple of aha moments from the episode. See more in the “Aha Moments from Thought Leader Life” books available in the THiNKaha App:http://AhaAmplifier.com/.
- As a #ThoughtLeader, you got to have a personal brand. @happyabout
- Companies are now realizing that their biggest commodity is the people who work there and they want to retain them. @petersterlacci
- When you speak of a brand, try to just be something to some people, not everything to everyone. @petersterlacci
- Whether a product, a service or a person has some value to promise to the world and that’s what builds the brand. @petersterlacci
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