Every industry has what we all know as reputation baggage. The type of baggage we all know as history, habits, “rep,” and, the worst of all, preconceived notions before you have ever shown up.
That’s like someone who’s known your older siblings to make up their mind of you, your ideas, your values, and your worth based on having had experience (good or bad) with your siblings.
Every industry has this.
Every job position has this.
Every neighborhood has this.
Every city has this.
This is why I took this up in this week’s episode of One Minute Wednesday.
Here in this post, I’m only talking about your career—your chosen profession—and the industry you have adopted to be your platform to leave your mark and make your dent in the universe.
Your first barrier: the reputation of the industry you’ve chosen. (And as any profession requires, you need to be prepared to tackle obstacles and not let them become excuses.)
If you chose to be a chef and build a food empire, that industry has a reputation.
If you chose to be a designer, or a fashion critic, or a writer, or an artist, or “an entrepreneur” in Silicon Valley, each of these industries has a reputation that existed before you came along.
Before you came along.
The 3 Weapons Leaders Use to Not Inherit Their Industry’s Baggage
I’ve “road-tested” these “weapons” with clients and their brands around the world, and they are the difference between whether the world is defining your brand story, or if you’re defining your brand in the world.
Here they are:
- Know why you came into this industry. Know it to your core.
- Remember that when people seek to saddle you with “what others have done (or have a habit of doing) in your industry,” be prepared to tackle this, and
- Always give (and include in your giving) education that allows others to rise above what’s happened before to discover what’s now possible now that you’re here.
In other words, be a movement.
Be a revolution ready to overhaul some old “sacred cows” that are ready to be taken out to pasture as I explain here.
Don’t let your industry dictate how you’re seen in the world.
You’re NOT everyone else. Why be seen and thought of as if you were?
Take charge.
Decide to change the industry and expand your sphere of influence.
Be ready to have your brand do things previous brands didn’t do.
Don’t know how? Drop me a line.
