In this episode of Executive Connect, we sit down with Alan McLaren, co-founder of Strata Originals and trusted advisor to more than 600 CEOs, to redefine what personal branding really is. Alan explains why visibility is not about ego, marketing, or chasing attention, but about leadership, service, and trust at scale.

This conversation dismantles the fear executives feel about putting themselves out there and replaces it with a practical, human-centered framework for building influence without the ick factor. If you are a CEO, founder, or senior leader who knows visibility matters but has been avoiding it, this episode will show you why your leadership brand may be your most undervalued asset.

Chapters:

(0:01) Why personal branding is misunderstood
(1:26) The pivot that changed Alan’s career
(2:55) Leadership is not about you
(4:44) Reframing personal branding as leadership branding
(6:55) The hidden risks of staying invisible
(9:14) How to get past fear and the ick factor
(11:33) The breakthrough moment for most CEOs
(13:48) Content that builds trust, not clicks
(16:55) What to do with only 20 minutes a week
(19:48) How clarity unlocks unexpected opportunities
(22:57) Why the CEO sets the leadership tone
(25:33) Lessons Alan learned building his own brand
(27:25) Using fear as a growth signal
(29:40) AI, authenticity, and the future of branding
(32:07) How leaders should start today
(33:54) How to connect with Alan McLaren

Melissa

(0:01) Think personal branding is about curating your own personal brand? (0:07) Think again. (0:09) It’s actually about unlocking the best version of you.

(0:13) On today’s Executive Connect podcast, we sit down with Alan McLaren, co-founder of Strata Originals, and the guy who’s coached over 600 CEOs in the last two years alone. (0:28) If you’ve ever felt the ick factor about putting yourself out there, Alan’s here to show you why your personal brand isn’t just a marketing tool, it’s your greatest leadership asset. (0:41) Get ready to laugh, rethink, and maybe even finally hit publish on that post you’ve been sitting on.

(0:48) Welcome, Alan.

Alan

(0:50) Melissa, what a great honor to be with you. (0:53) We’re going to have a blast.

Melissa

(0:55) I’m so excited to chat with you today, and I wanted to bring you on because I know firsthand how important visibility is for executives today. (1:06) Your work is changing the way leaders think about reputation and influence, and I know you’ve worn many hats, leading public companies to running agencies. (1:18) What inspired you to pivot to personal branding, and why do you think it’s so crucial for entrepreneurs today?

Alan

(1:26) Well, there’s a leadership story there. (1:28) So my business partner and I, Leanne, had an agency for 18 years, and during COVID, as a lot of people have COVID stories, we have one as well, 85% of our business disappeared on a Sunday before everything shut down. (1:42) So we had to look at that and say, is this just COVID or is there something more here?

(1:46) And there was something more there. (1:48) And so we looked inside our business and said, what is out there that is needed to be done that could be impactful, that can change leaders and change the world? (1:57) And it was, at the time, we called it Thought Leaders, helping thought leaders become thought leaders.

(2:01) We realized it had never been productized before, and easy to buy. (2:05) So we said, let’s try that and test it. (2:07) So we tested it, we liked it, and then we started the company.

(2:10) So that’s how we got it. (2:11) And I will share one quick story with you about purpose and passion, because I know how important that is to you. (2:17) We discovered our passion by accident.

(2:20) We thought we’re just going to help them with content. (2:23) Well, it’ll just be content. (2:24) What we ended up doing is transforming a CEO to go from what we call fog to fire.

(2:31) And it lights us up, I had goosebumps thinking about it, because we get to work with CEOs and make a difference in their lives, which make a difference in all their team’s lives. (2:39) So that’s how we got to it.

Melissa

(2:41) I love it. (2:42) So tell me this, looking back on your career, what’s one lesson you learned as a CEO yourself that shaped the way that you now coach CEOs on leadership and branding?

Alan

(2:55) Well, it’s really simple. (2:57) It’s not about you. (2:58) It’s not about me.

(3:00) It’s about serving others. (3:01) That’s what real, for me, real leadership is about is clearing the path for others. (3:06) And in the context of personal branding, or what we often call leadership branding, if you think about it, you know, you in the intro, you talked about the ick factor, the ick factor is when you think it’s about you.

(3:18) When you’re delivering value to others, then it’s no longer an ick factor, because you’re teaching somebody based on the things that you know. (3:27) Right? (3:27) So you know in your background, Melissa, in IT security and in technology, you know stuff.

(3:33) You have perspectives that other people don’t have. (3:35) You have them as a female executive in tech. (3:38) You have them as a podcaster.

(3:39) You have all of those are unique to you. (3:42) Everybody has their unique story, and how to share that with the world, but they don’t know it. (3:49) Right?

(3:50) Because they often ask us this question, why would anybody listen to me? (3:55) And the answer is really simple, what you think is normal, somebody else is going to find fascinating. (4:00) And that’s what we encourage leaders to get out there and discover that, so they can change the world and change their companies as well.

Melissa

(4:09) Yeah, I love that. (4:10) I so agree with that. (4:12) I think every leader has a maverick inside them.

(4:15) But let’s talk a little bit about why personal branding is every leader’s greatest asset. (4:20) And I was one of those executives that are like, ick, I’m not posting about me. (4:26) And but I think a lot of leaders now really think that personal branding is optional.

(4:31) They don’t want to put them themselves out there, but you argue it is their greatest asset. (4:38) Can you break that down? (4:39) And then maybe why the mind?

Alan

(4:44) So let’s think about this. (4:46) If you were to change the word personal branding to leadership branding, would it feel different? (4:53) If you start thinking about right, so if you start thinking about it as your leadership brand saying, all right, I have this asset, I am now leading this company.

(5:02) What would happen if I am more visible? (5:04) So let’s just think out loud for a second. (5:06) How many times do you see CEOs out there posting for executives, looking for a VP, a COO, whatever, right?

(5:13) And they get crickets. (5:14) Why? (5:15) They haven’t built any relationships.

(5:17) Oh, looking to do this or, you know, attend our conference, and they get crickets. (5:22) Looking to raise money, M&A, and they get crickets. (5:25) Because what we talk about in the context of personal branding or leadership branding is relationship building at scale.

(5:31) We call it building trust at scale. (5:33) Can you imagine the relationships that a CEO has in his or her journey to become CEO? (5:40) There are thousands, if not tens of thousands of people you’ve met.

(5:43) You’ve forgotten half of them. (5:45) And here’s the sad part. (5:47) They’ve forgotten about you too.

(5:49) So the idea of being out there, visibility means something. (5:53) Being known allows you to do things and plug into things that you never knew existed because you’re visible. (6:02) And it will help you grow your business.

(6:04) And oh, by the way, it makes your marketing better, makes your sales better. (6:07) Because someone says, oh, I saw your CEO out there. (6:11) The team is happy.

(6:12) They’re proud if they like you. (6:14) Of course, that’s important that they like you. (6:15) But that’s part of the magic of being out there.

(6:18) It is not about sharing company content and saying, oh, we just had a press release, check this out. (6:23) No one cares. (6:24) No one cares about your press release.

(6:27) They care about your experience and your perspectives and your stories. (6:30) And that’s what we try to encourage people to do. (6:32) And the benefits are unbelievable when you dive in.

Melissa

(6:37) I love it. (6:37) It’s so true. (6:39) So for those executive leaders that are listening today who haven’t invested or spent the time building their own personal brand, what risks are they running in terms of influence, opportunity, and the way I look at it, even legacy?

Alan

(6:55) All of the above. (6:57) But here’s the thing. (6:58) You know, I was in IT security as well many years ago, Melissa, and we used to say when nothing happens, that’s a good thing.

(7:06) But no one is happy when nothing happens. (7:08) So if you’re a leader and you’re not out there and nothing happens, guess what? (7:13) You’re not going to know what you’re missing because you’re not out there to see it.

(7:17) You’re just not out there to see it. (7:18) I’ll give you an example. (7:19) In the last week, I’ve had three referrals.

(7:23) Three referrals that came from places I had no idea where they were coming from and said, and the referrals came in and said, I got five emails about you this week when I posted on this thing. (7:34) No idea who these people are that are doing that. (7:37) So the point is when you’re out there delivering value, people want to support you because they like no interest, right?

(7:44) That’s how the world works. (7:46) So they get to spend time with you, because by the way, we recommend video, right? (7:51) So what does video do?

(7:52) Clones me. (7:53) I’m cloned. (7:54) I’m cloned forever.

(7:56) And so you’ll spend time with me. (7:57) You’ll either like me or you won’t, and that’s okay too. (8:00) But once you like me, then you want to get to know me.

(8:03) And then once you know me, then you want to trust me. (8:05) And then when your friend says, oh, you need some help with I saw this guy. (8:09) You need to talk to this guy.

(8:11) That stuff happens. (8:13) It doesn’t matter what your business, IT security, you’re a CIO. (8:16) It doesn’t matter.

(8:18) All those things add up to success over time, but it takes time. (8:22) It doesn’t happen in a month. (8:23) It doesn’t happen in three months.

(8:25) Sometimes it takes years, but it happens.

Melissa

(8:28) Yeah, so true. (8:29) I agree. (8:30) And you know, it’s funny.

(8:31) I think about like my own personal ick factor and then finally overcoming that fear. (8:37) Like I think a client of mine is like, I didn’t even know you had kids. (8:41) And I’m like, wait, what?

(8:43) Have I not put myself out there? (8:45) Do people not really understand me outside of my job? (8:49) So I know many CEOs have the same feelings.

(8:54) They hesitate to put themselves out there for being judged, coming off as inauthentic. (9:02) What is your advice for leaders that are still struggling with, you know, the ick, the fear? (9:09) How am I going to be received?

(9:11) How do we get them past that ick factor?

Alan

(9:14) Well, if you’ve made it to the job of CEO, you’ve had the crap kicked out of you your entire life. (9:22) Right? (9:23) Because you’ve built resilience, you’ve built relationships, you’ve built trust with people.

(9:27) You’ve already done it. (9:29) You’ve already been exposed. (9:31) It’s just been in a controlled environment.

(9:33) So now we’re just saying we’re taking it outside what we call a controlled environment. (9:37) But when you deliver value with people, you don’t have any ick, you don’t have any issues. (9:43) You know, out of we’ve probably done, I’d say probably 1200, maybe 1500 videos for our clients.

(9:49) I want you to guess how many negative comments we’ve had in say 12 or 1300 videos.

Melissa

(9:56) Uh, zero.

Alan

(9:58) Exactly zero. (9:59) Why? (10:00) When you’re delivering value to someone and you’re not selling, what are you going to get?

(10:03) So what is the risk factor? (10:05) The risk factor is not doing it. (10:07) The risk factor to do it, listen, if you need help, you might have a corporate comm team, you might have a CMO, some get it.

(10:15) Most don’t. (10:16) Because personal branding is not marketing in the traditional sense. (10:19) Then get some help to help you get to that place.

(10:22) Because on the other side of that fear is triumph, right? (10:27) It is incredible to watch someone do that. (10:30) Now, is it easy to do a video like this?

(10:32) It’s a skill that you’ve learned before. (10:35) And now you’re going to learn this way to do this. (10:38) And I want you to think about your next customer.

(10:41) They only grew up with this. (10:44) And if you’re not transparent, you don’t exist. (10:47) And if you don’t exist, they’re going somewhere else.

(10:49) So that’s the risk you’re dealing with. (10:51) It’s and so you gotta if I may be so bold, get over yourself. (10:55) You’re not that important.

(10:57) But your message is critical to you and your business. (11:00) So that’s what I would say.

Melissa

(11:03) Yeah, we’ve all been through different strengths, different challenges, we have little tidbits and tricks and tips that we’ve figured out along the way. (11:12) And sharing those is such a beautiful thing. (11:15) And I know you coach hundreds of CEOs.

(11:18) So talk to me a little bit about what’s the most common breakthrough moment when leaders finally realize they can show up authentically without feeling like they’re self promoting either their business or themselves.

Alan

(11:33) So what a great question. (11:34) So when we start, some of them get it really quickly. (11:38) 10% 90% needs some coaching and some help.

(11:42) Here’s what typically happens. (11:44) So we will set up with a client, we’ll coach them. (11:46) And I’ll say something as simple as, right, Melissa, if I was coaching you today, we’re going to do a 90 second to two minute video on topic A, you know why, why it’s important for CIOs to be out there.

(11:57) And I said, and I’ll ask you, what lesson do you want to leave the listener or the viewer? (12:02) And you’ll say, I want them to leave with this message. (12:04) Great.

(12:05) What story will you tell to do that? (12:08) Oh, I remember the story when I was at X company, what a great illustration of why it’s important. (12:13) Super.

(12:14) Let’s go practice that. (12:15) And we push the button and record. (12:17) And the first time you’re in your head, because you’re going, oh, I want to make these three points, I want to make these four points, I want to make these two points.

(12:22) No, just tell the story. (12:25) Because it’s your story, you own the story, the story has a lesson to it. (12:29) Well, that seems really simple conceptually.

(12:32) But it takes time to learn the skill to be able to tell that story succinctly and impactfully. (12:37) That’s the coaching. (12:39) After we do session one, where we record about a dozen videos, they get it.

(12:43) And then in session two, they are unstoppable. (12:48) Because now they know what two minutes is, they know what stories they’re going to tell, they’re comfortable. (12:53) And now when we do that, they’re now telling us, I want to do a video on this.

(12:57) I said, well, here, point this at your face and do a video. (13:00) We don’t want it perfect, we just want it you. (13:01) So that’s the transition that happens.

(13:05) And of course, you’re always helping them position the story better, because it’s important to have the impact in that time. (13:10) But that little exercise of going from fear to now I’ve learned this skill is empowering for them. (13:16) And it takes them into their business, because now they can tell stories more effectively inside their business to in and shorter stories.

(13:25) You don’t want to be too verbose. (13:26) But that’s exactly what happens.

Melissa

(13:28) Yeah, I love it. (13:30) I think it’s so true. (13:31) Once you it’s like a muscle, once you practice it, you get really comfortable lifting that weight, and it makes it easier to continue to lift the weight.

(13:39) So I love it. (13:40) Let’s talk about the content itself on how to build it in a way that it builds trust, people think of you. (13:48) And I know you’ve said that content isn’t about clicks, but it’s actually about connection.

(13:53) So how do leaders create the content that doesn’t just fill feeds up but actually build relationships, trust and make somebody want to contact them.

Alan

(14:05) So there’s two parts to that. (14:07) And one is the content, the other parts, the engagement. (14:09) So let me talk about both.

(14:11) So with the content, the first thing, of course, is to understand who you are. (14:16) Very few people take a moment to actually look introspectively at who they are and what their gifts are. (14:21) So step one is to really take, take stock of that inventory, and say, what really are my gifts?

(14:27) What how do I come across to the world? (14:29) And is it congruent with what I want the world to know? (14:31) That’s kind of step one.

(14:32) And we do that with our clients. (14:34) And then step two is okay, based on that, what content helps tell those stories. (14:38) And it’s gonna be different for everybody, right?

(14:40) Some are, it might be resilient story, it might be, you know, one of our clients. (14:46) This is his words, I should have been a drug dealer. (14:49) And now I’m running a billion dollar company.

(14:51) So the the stories from I should have been a drug dealer to get to a billion dollar, who else has those stories? (14:59) Only him. (15:00) Right?

(15:01) So we now package up those stories and say, Okay, let’s look at the next 90 days. (15:06) What are the videos we’re going to produce with you, which we do on zoom or Riverside or on the phone. (15:11) And then we lay out those stories, and then we record them in batches.

(15:14) So that’s, and then that content goes out there. (15:17) We do three posts a week for our clients. (15:19) And it’s one main video, one fun video and one that takes them to their YouTube channel.

(15:24) So that’s the work we do. (15:25) But the relationships get built in another way, too. (15:28) They need to be active on LinkedIn.

(15:31) They need to go on and you and I are connected. (15:34) So to build our relationship, when I see you post something, I’ve got to go on and say, Melissa, that was really cool. (15:40) And this is what I thought, here’s my perspective on it.

(15:42) I am now building trust with you, because I’m now not just saying great video or wonderful podcast. (15:48) Here’s what I learned. (15:50) And here’s my perspective.

(15:51) Because here’s the trick. (15:53) Those get impressions, too. (15:55) The comments get impressions, too.

(15:57) So if they’re insightful comments, you’re now bringing other people into the world who are in that feed. (16:02) They’re going that Alan guy. (16:04) Oh, he’s insightful.

(16:05) I want to connect with him. (16:07) And now what are you doing that those circles get built out and out and out. (16:11) So the video is you cloned, and the engagement is you real until you get to a place where you’re a celebrity.

(16:17) So if you’re a Gary Vaynerchuk or Richard Branson, you can’t be commenting back. (16:22) It’s just not going to happen. (16:23) So you’re now more of a media channel.

(16:26) But most of us are still building our world. (16:28) So that connection, those connections matter. (16:31) And that’s how it’s done.

(16:31) You build it out that way.

Melissa

(16:34) So we know that executives and CEOs and founders and owners are really busy people. (16:40) So for those busy executives that have 20 minutes a week to devote to content, what’s one type of post or activity that you tell them to focus on to build trust quick.

Alan

(16:55) So I would say if you don’t, if you don’t have time for content, then time is a proxy for value, right? (17:01) Or value, right? (17:02) It’s at the end of the day, you will do things that you find valuable.

(17:05) So the reason you have 20 minutes is because you don’t know enough about it to give it 40. (17:10) So if I can be very bold, right, because if there was an if you if I asked you this question, does your business engender trust today? (17:17) And the answer is, maybe does do you engender trust?

(17:21) Well, I’m not really out there, then ask yourself this question, what would that mean for your business if you and your business were trusted? (17:28) Then the investment flips and go, oh, I see that. (17:31) So that extra meeting with that team can be sacrificed to do this.

(17:36) Because guess what, if their buddies call them for a golf game, do they find the time? (17:41) They do, right? (17:42) Something bad happens in your family, and you’ve got to go to the hospital, do you find the time?

(17:48) Your nanny or your wife or your your husband can’t go pick up the kids. (17:52) Do you find the time you always find the time. (17:54) So it’s an excuse, Melissa, it’s an excuse to say I don’t have the time.

(17:58) Now, many of our CEO clients really don’t own their schedule. (18:02) So that’s why they outsource us. (18:04) So we become their back office, we do all the work for them, they show up for our content, and they show up on LinkedIn.

(18:10) And so we do 95% of the work, it works for them. (18:13) But we tell them we can’t do this without you. (18:16) We need your full attention when we’re recording, and we need your full attention.

(18:20) And we say 15 minutes a week on LinkedIn, we’re going to measure you and we’re going to check you and we’re going to coach you. (18:26) If you don’t do it, we know you need to do half an hour next week. (18:28) So that’s the work.

(18:29) So they need coaches, not because they’re not competent, they need accountability. (18:34) Because they don’t own their schedules often, right? (18:36) That’s the challenge.

(18:37) People are filling their calendars. (18:39) So and of course, we have to work with them within their travel and other stuff that happens. (18:44) But at the end of the day, the idea is to be consistent and do it for a long time.

(18:49) And sometimes you need help to do that. (18:51) Or you have a team that could help you internally do that as well. (18:55) But you need support because CEO can’t do it alone.

(18:58) That’s the reality.

Melissa

(19:00) And I love it. (19:01) I think it’s so true to anything we want in our life, we got to hire and build in those checks and balances. (19:07) I know, you know, rest and recovery is really important.

(19:10) And sometimes we get so busy that we don’t do it. (19:13) So I have to schedule it myself. (19:15) And so I think it’s so true having somebody that’s accountable and checking up on you is so key.

(19:22) One of the other things I want to talk about with you is I’m a big believer in investing in yourself, investing in your brand. (19:31) And I know you talk a lot about investing in you and your personal brand, because it uncovers opportunities leaders don’t even know exists. (19:40) Can you unpack that a little bit, maybe share some real life examples of how this has played out for some of your clients?

Alan

(19:48) Yeah, so let’s start out by I’ll give you one example of probably stories best to tell. (19:52) So we had a had a client who was a power lifter, female power lifter, and a pilot. (20:00) So you would say that is a fearless person, right?

(20:06) And the answer is the fearless in those environments, but not fearless in the path to personal branding. (20:14) So what do we do with her? (20:17) Well, we helped her learn how to do all the things that we’ve already talked about how to conduct videos and how to do that how to get out there.

(20:23) You know, what ultimately happened is confidence was developed, that I can do this. (20:29) And you know what ultimately happened to her, she had the confidence to start a business that she’s been thinking about for three years. (20:36) She was a CEO in transition, and said, I need to get another job.

(20:40) That’s how she came to us. (20:41) And she said, at the end of that process, where she uncovered what was magical about herself, and what she really wanted, not what she thought she needed. (20:52) And that magic happens in that interview process that we do with our clients.

(20:56) Because it’s about them. (20:58) How many times do you interview yourself? (21:00) You can’t.

(21:01) So we do the interviews and uncover those things. (21:04) And then things open up for you. (21:06) So you have clarity.

(21:08) You use that in your video, right? (21:10) Clarity matters. (21:11) Well, when we’re we have our ladder on the wrong wall, then what are we doing?

(21:16) So clarity is the first step to your leadership journey. (21:20) So you have to know yourself like I know that I’m a heart first leader, I know that I live my life, heart first. (21:28) So what are the risks when you have a heart first leader, people look at you?

(21:31) Well, maybe he’s too kind, maybe he’s not tough enough. (21:33) Like those are other things that come up. (21:35) What are the shadows that he has?

(21:37) Well, he doesn’t like when people are late. (21:39) And then then he becomes bad Alan when people are late. (21:43) So knowing all those leadership attributes help you now communicate the best of you because you know, I can’t really talk about that stuff because it pisses me off.

(21:53) But this stuff is where I shine and where we all start. (21:56) You light up when you talk about that. (21:58) And they go, I do.

(22:00) And now we’re their cheerleader and we’re helping them. (22:02) Because at the end of your intro, you said this is really about leadership. (22:06) This is about leadership.

(22:08) We talk about personal branding, but it’s leadership. (22:11) It’s it’s showing people and showing your teams that being out there matters. (22:16) Because it helps all the things we talked about growing a business, hiring the right people, M&A, raising money, all those things matter when you’re out there.

(22:24) And you’re just you can’t do it alone. (22:27) So clone yourself and get out there. (22:30) And then that’s where all the fun stuff happens.

Melissa

(22:32) So I love that you said that. (22:36) So how do you see? (22:38) I would agree with you.

(22:38) I think leadership is really key with branding. (22:41) So talk to me about this intersection between leadership culture inside an organization. (22:49) And really, does the CEO’s brand set the tone for everyone else in the organization from a leadership perspective?

Alan

(22:57) You you asked the question because you knew the answer. (23:00) Absolutely. (23:01) All right.

(23:02) Because it’s so easy, right? (23:04) When we talk about anything about accountability. (23:07) So you tell your sales team, you need to be out there and you’re not.

(23:11) You tell your executive team, you need to be out there and you’re not. (23:14) We need to go to shows and events and you’re not. (23:18) My business partner has a great line.

(23:19) She says, you know what? (23:21) This entire world of digital, if you’re not out there, it’s like going to a networking event and staring at the wall. (23:27) You are in the biggest network on the planet.

(23:31) People are looking for, they want value, not noise. (23:36) If that’s you, you’ll attract your tribe. (23:40) And then what happens when you do it?

(23:42) It’s one of the things we’ve actually learned in the last year was we’re starting to work with CEOs and their executive teams. (23:49) Imagine the power of a CEO out there actively three times a week on LinkedIn. (23:54) And now their 10 executives are also out there.

(23:58) What does that do to the multiplier effect? (24:00) And your competitors won’t know what hit you. (24:03) Because think about this.

(24:04) If everybody has, let’s assume for argument’s sake, they have 2000 people on their LinkedIn. (24:10) Well, times 10 people, times the CEO. (24:13) How many relationships are you nurturing and building by being out there actively over a year?

(24:19) And then at the end of that year, maybe you’ll have 30 or 40% more people on your LinkedIn and your relationship building and your nurturing. (24:27) What’s going to happen? (24:28) That’s when referrals show up.

(24:30) Because most people don’t know what you do for a living, not you particularly. (24:34) Most people don’t know what we do for a living. (24:36) Right?

(24:37) They ask you, oh, I’m a lawyer. (24:39) What kind of lawyer? (24:41) Oh, I’m a litigator.

(24:43) Oh, well, isn’t that interesting? (24:45) I have four people that asked me about litigators in the last year. (24:48) I didn’t know you were a litigator.

(24:49) I’ve known you for 10 years. (24:51) I just didn’t know that about you. (24:53) If I knew that, you could have had four leads from me alone.

(24:58) That’s what you’re, we’re talking about is relationship building and trust building. (25:02) It’s actually, it’s at scale. (25:04) That’s the fun part about it.

(25:05) If you’re consistent and that you have to be consistent, not one post and don’t show up for six months. (25:10) If it’s one post a week and it’s for a year, good for you. (25:14) Better to do two, better to do three, but at least be out there and be out there consistently.

Melissa

(25:20) I’m curious, was there something about your own journey into personal branding that you didn’t expect until you actually lived it personally? (25:30) Like what was the lessons learned or maybe what surprised you most?

Alan

(25:33) Well, when we first started, we made a decision that for now I would be out there doing exactly what I’m teaching my customers to do. (25:42) So you go to my LinkedIn and say, what do you guys do for a living? (25:45) Go to my LinkedIn.

(25:46) I’m going to teach you how to do that. (25:47) So that’s simple, right? (25:48) So, but here’s what I learned when we started the journey.

(25:51) I thought as a head of a marketing agency for 18 years, they would want to know all about my marketing expertise. (25:58) I was also known as a leader because I was in, I am still in YPO and I had a journey in YPO where I was seen as a leader, right? (26:07) So, and I was a leader.

(26:09) So I did videos on both. (26:11) Marketing got crickets. (26:12) No one cared.

(26:14) No one cared that I knew about digital buying, ad buying and this and that and Facebook and nobody cared. (26:21) They saw me as a leader because the audience was a lot of YPO members. (26:25) So that’s how they saw me and I went, so it’s so important.

(26:29) What I thought was important didn’t matter. (26:31) What they thought was important that matters. (26:33) So that drove us to the place where we said, it doesn’t matter what you think.

(26:37) It’s how people perceive you, your reputation, use that word earlier, your credibility, your expertise, all those things are important to building your leadership brand or your personal brand. (26:48) Then you go out. (26:49) Now I talk about leadership and personal branding or leadership branding because they go together.

(26:55) A good leader builds a good leadership brand and that helps everything they’re trying to do.

Melissa

(27:01) Yeah, I love that. (27:03) I’m curious about the fear, going back to the fear thing, you know, and being really vulnerable when you’re working on your personal branding, is there a right method for that? (27:14) So I guess the example is can fear be as just fear, failures, lessons learned, be as just powerful as actually sharing the wins?

Alan

(27:25) We all know that failure is a wonderful teacher if we frame it as lessons, right? (27:29) We all know that. (27:30) Everybody who’s been successful knows that.

(27:32) And what’s fear? (27:34) Fear is just, you know, fear is not real. (27:38) Fear is not rational, right?

(27:39) And sometimes you think about, you know, fear is, oh, you use the word, you know, my fear of pushing that button to publish. (27:46) It’s not the same as a bear attacking you, but it feels the same way, doesn’t it? (27:51) So at the end of the day, you start to say, I’ve already dealt with fear hundreds and hundreds of times in my life.

(27:57) This is just another one. (27:58) And oh, by the way, tomorrow, something will show up on your dare stuff that scares you. (28:03) Guess what?

(28:04) You’ve already overcome those, right? (28:06) And the idea is, how do I deal with fear? (28:08) I’m fighting through it.

(28:10) I can’t back away from it because that’s not where growth happens. (28:13) We all know that. (28:15) So use fear as a motivator to know that you’re on the right path.

(28:18) If it scares me, it means it must be important. (28:22) So fear can be a real motivator to get it done. (28:24) And if you can’t get over it yourself, that’s where you have people that can help you to get over it.

(28:29) There’s not one client now that has any fear who have worked with it. (28:33) Zero, none. (28:34) And I see them now, they’ll literally point a phone at their face and start doing a video.

(28:40) And they’ll say, what do you think? (28:41) And I’m going, the fact that you did that just blows my mind in a happy place. (28:46) I’m in a happy place because you felt the confidence to do that.

(28:49) So fear is irrational. (28:51) It’s not real. (28:53) Think about the benefits to you and your business.

(28:56) And fear will go away when you’re serving others. (28:59) Melissa, that’s the key. (29:01) And you know true happiness only comes from service, right?

(29:04) It doesn’t come from anything else. (29:05) All the accolades, all the money, all that stuff is nothing other than, oh my God, I helped Melissa today and she thanked me. (29:14) And that was the coolest thing ever.

(29:16) We get to do that every single day, every single day.

Melissa

(29:20) 100%. (29:20) So, so true. (29:22) I love that.

(29:24) So when we think about the future of branding, how do you see AI, E-A-E-O-U, AI changing the way leaders build their personal brand in the next three to five years?

Alan

(29:40) Well, the truth is we don’t know, but here’s what’s going to happen. (29:44) 90% of the contents can be AI driven. (29:46) So we know that, right?

(29:48) The question is, do you want to be on team human or do you want to be on team computer? (29:52) So what I, what I believe, what we think is otherwise our business won’t exist if we don’t, if we don’t live on team human, because you’re going to chat GPT or Gemini or Cronk or whatever and type in, what do I need to do for my personal brand? (30:07) You can pop in your LinkedIn profile.

(30:08) It’ll give you all the how’s and the what’s. (30:12) It’s not going to give you the cheerleading and the why and the stuff that you need for you, because yours is different than anybody else generically. (30:20) Well, what will happen when this conversation is, I am cloned as a, as Alan McLaren has all my attributes, everything else, that’s going to happen.

(30:29) That happens right now, right? (30:31) What we want is when I’m, you ask me a question and I look up like that, I want that to be humans. (30:37) I want it to be, if I say, um, three times, it’s okay.

(30:40) If I don’t use my hands properly, it’s okay. (30:44) Because when all the noise is over, AI is going to be the most incredible tool we’ve ever had in our lives. (30:51) And of course, there’s some other sides to it that are horrible.

(30:54) Use the tool to help you. (30:56) Do not forget that this energy that you and I have today, a computer cannot do. (31:02) I can’t feel your energy.

(31:04) If I’m a computer, a computer can’t give off that human energy that you know, when you’re standing next to someone, you you’re not even talking to them and you go, that’s creepy, or Oh my god, that feels really good. (31:17) Nobody’s speaking a word, energy matters. (31:20) And so that’s where I think we’ve got a least our business, we want to focus on the humanity part.

(31:25) And the vulnerability part, because computers, yeah, they can fake it and mimic it. (31:30) But it’s not real. (31:31) So that’s what I would say is the opportunity and the challenge, but we’re on team human.

(31:36) So we got to continue to focus on that.

Melissa

(31:39) I love it. (31:40) I think it’s so true. (31:42) Kind of in closing, getting any final thoughts or anything we haven’t touched on that you want to leave with our listeners, it could be a tip, advice or anything for CEOs and founders, executives that are working on their branding, and then sharing any the best way to get in contact with you to learn more about what you do as far as branding.

Alan

(32:07) So I guess I would leave with this. (32:10) Many of you have already tried and failed, right? (32:13) You’ve tried and failed because it was too hard, or you weren’t clear on your own journey, or you had help from people who thought it was marketing, right?

(32:23) So if that’s the case, understand that it was important enough to try, you just didn’t have the right process to get used to that. (32:30) There is a process to do that today that allows you to have a measurable impact for yourself and your business. (32:36) So I want to encourage you to think about it again.

(32:39) So that’s number one. (32:41) If you’re not sure, just start posting or start commenting on other people’s stuff now. (32:47) You can do that today.

(32:48) Go on and just start, find people you like that you know, and start saying something insightful, at least seven words, something insightful, and watch what unfolds when you start to comment. (32:58) It’ll give you the, oh my god, this is a real place to start engaging, and that’ll give you the impetus to start saying, maybe I need to start contributing to the voice, my voice, my leadership voice to this narrative, and then good things will happen. (33:12) Because here’s the thing, if you don’t contribute to your narrative, someone else will contribute the narrative to you.

(33:19) They will write the story about you as opposed to you writing the story about you. (33:23) Who’s going to do that right? (33:24) Because your perception, how people perceive you is the reality.

(33:28) And if that’s not what you want, change it. (33:31) And if nobody knows, that’s bad too, right? (33:34) If someone’s checked you out, and they don’t know anything about you, what’s just happened?

(33:40) They’re checking you out every single day. (33:44) Is the story being told properly? (33:47) That’s what I would say.

(33:48) And for me, I think for people just to connect with me on LinkedIn, Alan McLaren’s probably the best way to go. (33:54) We have a website, but it’s a website. (33:55) But you want, I want to connect with people and just say that you saw me on Melissa’s podcast, because people try to sell stuff to us all the time, but say, and I’d love to connect and find out more.

(34:05) Happy to help. (34:06) Happy to talk to people. (34:07) It doesn’t cost money to talk to us.

(34:09) We want to help because that’s our mandate is to help people get out there. (34:12) That’s what we would like to do. (34:14) That’s our impact.

(34:15) And the more people that are out there, the better stories are out there, the more fun we’ll all have.

Melissa

(34:20) I love it. (34:21) That’s so great, Alan. (34:22) Thank you so much for being here, sharing your time, your heart and your knowledge with our listeners.

(34:29) That’s the Executive Connect podcast.