Things happen. We get up everyday and expect smooth sailing but the truth is, most days, things happen. Personal branding is the work you do to insure that when things happen beyond your control, your primary message of value stays intact.
If you were faced with a situation beyond your control that affected not one but many other people (such as customers), how would they react? What would your customers think and say about you? Would your personal brand stand the test?
It takes a special kind of commitment and dedication to continue entertaining a crowd of thousands on a freshly-broken leg. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters has just that kind of devotion to his fans. He recently broke his leg falling off the stage during a show in Sweden. He asked his EMT to set his leg and they helped him get back onstage to finish the show.
When it comes to your customers’ needs and your promises kept, how far are you willing to go to make sure you’ve lived up to your personal brand? You better know that right now because…things happen. When they do and you react contrary to your personal brand, your actions re-establish your brand. It takes years to build trust and only seconds to destroy it.
I’m a big fan of Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl. I have an obscure personal connection to him through a friend and I’ve always admired his commitment to music and his fans. He has a childlike wonder and relentless enthusiasm for rock n’ roll. He’s constantly searching beyond the limits of conventional idioms to find inspiration for new, interesting adventures. Dave’s commitment is evident in his actions.
Personal branding requires commitment, evidence and actions. You must be committed to the things you stand for and the value you strive to provide.
5 Lessons in Personal Branding from Dave Grohl’s Broken Leg
We can all take cues from Dave’s reaction to his accidental fall and subsequent broken leg. He wrote a heartfelt open letter explaining the fall, the extent of the injury and his regret at being forced to cancel five European shows. Here’s how they let fans know of the letter (via Twitter):
It’s at times like this where your personal brand is put to the test…and the audience is always watching.
1. Always Make Good on Your Promises
Things happen. Foo Fighters had an agreement with their fans that night to play a show. Dave more than lived up to his promise and delivered something incredible. By making his way back to the stage to finish, he not only solidified his brand with fans but enhanced it with newcomers.
The promises we make to ourselves, our loved ones and our customers are contracts we sign using our personal brand as collateral. What you say should always be what you follow through on. Anything less can break the trust you’ve worked so hard to build.
2. Keep Smiling, No Matter What
Dave’s ability to keep smiling through what I can only imagine was some gnarly pain, is a tribute to his core values. In Dave’s letter to fans, he explains what happened:
“Two songs into our set, I made a mad dash to the right of the stage during ‘Monkey Wrench’ to shred some tasty licks for the kids up front. It was a beautiful night, beautiful stadium, 52,000 screaming people….dream gig! Well….wait for it….I definitely shredded something (ZING!).”
“Wound up feet first over the Edge (pun intended), dropping about 12 feet, dislocating my ankle and snapping my fibula like an old pair of take out chopsticks. Whoopsie daisy. Not good. Without realizing the extent of my injuries, I stood up to get back onstage and crumbled like a sack of Joe Theismanns (look it up, kiddies). That shit was B-R-O-K-E.”
In the face of adversity, always keep smiling. When positivity is infused within your personal brand attributes, it’s infectious.
3. Never Let Your Team Down
Dave said he “couldn’t stand the thought of such a perfect night going to waste” and asked to go back onstage after the injury. “They said I needed a cast (which was 20 minutes away at the hospital) to hold my ankle in place. So I looked my EMT, Johan, in the eyes and said, ‘Well, then you’re coming up there with me right now and holding it in place until they can bring the cast here. Ready?’ He stared at me wide-eyed for a second and said, “OK, let’s go…”
Perseverance is a crucial component of a solid personal brand. Whether you’re a manager or a salesperson, you belong to a team and great teams consistently build trust within and without. The consequence of letting your team down is erosion of trust.
4. Be Authentic, Be Transparent and Tell People What’s Up
Dave breaks the bad news, “It kills me to say it…..the doctors have told us to cancel shows. I’m really so sorry, guys. You know I hate to do it, but I’m afraid it’s just not physically possible for me at the moment. We’re doing our best right now to work out a plan, so bear with us. You know we’re good for our word. But for now, I need to make sure we have YEARS of gigs ahead of us….”
Those words of Dave’s, “You know we’re good for our word.” sum up the immense amount of personal brand capital and trust he and the band have accumulated over the years. He tells it like it is, in his own words, from the heart – all the bad and all the good – keeping fans informed as if they were family.
Here’s an example of the fans’ reaction:
When your customers can take bad news and good news equally and still be raving fans, you know you’re doing everything right with your personal branding.
5. Never Give Up
Dave closes by saying, “You have always stood by our band, and we will always stand by you. Like I say at every show, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you guys. And I mean that. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I will do everything I can to come back and give you a night to remember for the rest of your lives AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.”
Knowing you’ll never give up on them makes customers want to buy from you again and again. Never give up on yourself, your brand or your customers. Your personal brand is a living, breathing entity that should constantly reinforce value. It rolls with the punches (and falls off stages) to withstand the test of time and grows a legion of raving fans.