On Not Branding Yourself
Don't let strengths become a liability
This is an observation that runs counter to advice that’s often given when thinking about careers. We’re often told to “build our brand”. There’s value in this, particularly in large organizations and industries. Having a personal brand means you’ve cultivated a specific expertise that’s been neatly packaged and marketed. This means when people think about you, they know exactly what you’re good at and what you stand for, and, on the flip side, when there’s a particular type of challenge that comes up, they know that you have the skills or perspective needed to solve the challenge. The advantages to this are considerable. Trying to build influence in a large organization is hard. By codifying who you are and what you’re good at, your reputation can exceed you. This is a huge advantage.
However, there are downsides to this as well. One is that you end up only seeing nails (hammers be hammering). To use two tech sales examples, if “your thing” is being data-driven, you risk seeing everything as a data or analytics problem. Similarly, if your claim to fame is building client relationships, then you may miss that a specific opportunity called for making a data-driven argument.
Another risk is it may become harder to accept counter arguments. If your identity gets wrapped up in a particular skill or point of view, when that skill or point of view is no the answer to a problem, it becomes hard to unwind and try something different. It becomes hard to be “dispassionate to the truth” when you can’t take in new information and re-evaluate your perspective.
So does that mean it’s not worth building an expertise or being “known” for something? Of course not. There’s immense value in expertise and having a deep set of skills. There’s value in having conviction and strong opinions which is a prerequisite to building deep expertise and skills. And there’s value in sharing your expertise and perspective with others - I mean, geez, I’m doing it right now.
But holding our convictions loosely is important. When you hold a perspective on how to approach the business, there should be an articulated set of circumstances where you would change your mind. I.E. “What would have to be true for me to no longer think this is a good idea?”
On skills, again, expertise is good, and I’m not saying be a generalist. But, instead, think of yourself as a generalist that can specialize, quickly1.
Okay, so now for the TLDR. Is it bad to have a “brand” for yourself? No. But be careful to not have it become a persistent part of who you are. You may miss opportunities to learn and build new skills and experiences.
I believe I first heard this from Naval Ravikant, but I can’t find the source of the quote.