Two summers ago, I was working construction. One day, my boss asked me to carry a lot of stuff from his van to the site; I could hardly see where I was going and sure enough I bumped into a stranger. The man helped me pick my stuff up, clapped me on the shoulder and smiled while I was embarrassed and apologized profusely. When I got back to the site my boss looked at me in amazement as he said, “Salim, that was Trevor Linden.”
I tell that story to anyone and everyone I can. I love watching people’s reactions. Almost certainly I get looks of amazement while people say “NO WAY!” If someone told me that story my reaction would be similar: utter disbelief that the person I am talking to bumped into Trevor Linden, the greatest leader to ever lace up skates for the Canucks, and didn’t ask for an autograph or at minimum a handshake.
Understandably, when I read this article yesterday, I did so with a giant smile on my face. It goes on to talk about Trevor’s personal “brand” and how by being an honest, caring, genuine person, both on and off the ice, Trevor has created a legacy that is second to none in Vancouver.
It is this level of personal branding that Sauder has tried to teach us, one which everyone dreams of achieving. By pushing students academically and personally, it gives them the opportunity to discover who they are at heart; and thereby develop their personal “brand”.
Trevor is the prototypical case that proves building a personal brand is not about what you can or can’t do, it’s about who you are.
