Extension: Personal Branding

“Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.” - Austin Kleon

Why This Extension?

Your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. In today’s connected world, actively cultivating your professional reputation isn’t optional - it’s essential for career growth, opportunities, and impact.

Prerequisites: Phase 3C (Communication) recommended

Week 1: The Philosophy of Sharing

Core Concepts

You Don’t Have to Be a Genius: You don’t need to be an expert to share. Share your learning journey, your process, your enthusiasm.

Show Your Work: Instead of just showing finished products, show the messy process behind them. People connect with work-in-progress.

Think Process, Not Product: The journey is more interesting than the destination. Document what you’re doing and share as you go.

This Week’s Reading

📖 Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon (Full book - 2 hours!)

• 10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered
• Why you don’t need to be famous to start
• Building an audience through consistent sharing

Austin Kleon’s 10 Principles

The Scenius Concept

Scenius (vs. Genius): Great work doesn’t come from lone geniuses but from creative communities (“scenes”). Find your scene and contribute to it.

• Be a connector, not just a creator
• Celebrate others’ work
• Build in public with others

Reflection Questions

1. What are you learning that others might benefit from?
2. What process do you use that others find mysterious?
3. What’s stopping you from sharing more publicly?

Week 2: Finding Your Creative Voice

Core Concepts

Steal Like an Artist: All creative work builds on what came before. “Steal” ideas, combine them uniquely, and transform them into something new.

Nothing Is Original: Accept that everything is a remix. Your job is to collect good influences and synthesize them in your unique way.

The Artist’s Genealogy: Study your creative heroes, then study their heroes. Build a family tree of influences.

This Week’s Reading

📖 Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon (Full book - 2 hours!)

• How to find your creative voice
• Embracing influence without plagiarism
• The importance of side projects

Austin Kleon’s Creative Principles

Building Your Influence Map

Create a visual map of your creative influences:

1. Who do you admire in your field?
2. Who influenced them?
3. What do they all have in common?
4. What’s unique about your combination?

Week 3: Building Your Platform

Core Concepts

Known: Being known for something valuable in your field. Not fame for its own sake, but reputation that opens doors.

Sustainable Audience Growth: Building an audience takes time. Focus on providing value to a small group, and let it grow organically.

Platform vs. Presence: A platform is where you create and own content. A presence is where you engage on others’ platforms. You need both.

This Week’s Reading

📖 Known by Mark Schaefer (Selected chapters)

• The four steps to becoming known
• Finding your sustainable interest
• Creating your content “space”
• Building an audience
• Becoming known in your field

The Four Steps to Becoming Known

Personal Branding Audit

Capstone: Personal Brand Strategy

Create your personal branding plan:

1. Personal Brand Statement: One sentence capturing what you want to be known for
2. Content Pillars: 3-5 topics you’ll consistently share about
3. Platform Plan: Where you’ll create (blog, newsletter, podcast?) and where you’ll engage (LinkedIn, Twitter?)
4. 30-Day Challenge: Commit to sharing something every day for 30 days

Key Frameworks

Resources

Books

• ⭐⭐⭐ Show Your Work! (Essential - 2h)
• ⭐⭐⭐ Steal Like an Artist (Essential - 2h)
• ⭐⭐ Known (Recommended - 6h)

Free Resources

• Austin Kleon’s blog and newsletter - austinkleon.com
• LinkedIn’s Creator resources
• Seth Godin’s blog - daily inspiration

TED Talks

• Austin Kleon: “Steal Like an Artist”
• Adam Grant: “The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers”

AI Learning Integration

Personal Brand Development Prompt

Help me develop my personal brand.

Ask me about:
1. My professional background and skills
2. What I'm most passionate about
3. What problems I can solve for others
4. Who I want to reach
5. What makes me different from others in my field

Then help me craft:
- A personal brand statement (1 sentence)
- 3-5 content pillars
- A "who I help and how" statement
- Ideas for my first 10 pieces of content

Influence Map Prompt

Help me create an influence map for my creative/professional work.

Ask me about:
1. 5-10 people I admire in my field
2. What specifically I admire about each
3. Who influenced those people
4. What themes or patterns I notice

Then help me identify:
- My unique combination of influences
- Gaps in my influences I should fill
- How my synthesis differs from others

Content Audit Prompt

Help me audit my current online presence.

Walk me through:
1. What does a Google search of my name reveal?
2. What does my LinkedIn profile communicate?
3. What content have I shared recently?
4. What would a stranger conclude about me?

Then help me identify:
- Gaps between current and desired brand
- Quick wins to improve my presence
- Long-term content opportunities

Phase Assessment

Complete the following to demonstrate personal branding competency:

1. Quiz: Personal Branding Concepts (30%)
2. Reflection: Personal Brand Plan (70%)
   • Develop your personal brand statement
   • Create a 90-day content plan
   • Document your influence map and unique positioning

I'm studying Personal Branding (Phase EXT-BRANDING of my MBA program).

Act as a Socratic tutor - don't give me direct answers. Instead, ask me questions to help me discover insights about these concepts: Personal Branding, Professional Visibility.

Start by asking what I already know about one of these topics, then guide me deeper with follow-up questions. Challenge my assumptions when appropriate.

After each of my responses, either:
1. Ask a deeper follow-up question
2. Point out a gap in my reasoning
3. Connect my answer to another concept

Let's begin.

Quiz me on Personal Branding. Ask 10 questions covering: Personal Branding, Professional Visibility.

Rules:
- Mix question types (multiple choice, short answer, scenario-based)
- Start easier, get progressively harder
- After each answer, tell me if I'm right or wrong and explain why
- Keep a running score
- At the end, summarize what I know well vs. need to review

Ask the first question now.

Help me apply the main frameworks from this phase to a real situation in my life or work.

First, ask me to describe a recent challenge or decision I faced.

Then guide me through analyzing it using these frameworks:
- Which framework applies best?
- What would each framework reveal about the situation?
- What would I do differently knowing this?

Don't lecture - ask questions that help me discover the insights myself.

I want to practice case analysis for Personal Branding.

Give me a short business scenario (2-3 paragraphs) involving Personal Branding, Professional Visibility.

Then ask me:
1. What's the core problem?
2. Which frameworks from Personal Branding apply?
3. What biases might cloud judgment here?
4. What would you recommend?

After each answer, push back on my reasoning before moving to the next question.

I'm studying Personal Branding and need to understand these concepts deeply: Personal Branding, Professional Visibility.

For each concept, ask me to explain it in simple terms (as if to a child).

If my explanation is unclear or wrong, don't correct me directly. Instead:
1. Ask clarifying questions
2. Give me a scenario that tests my understanding
3. Help me refine my explanation

The Feynman technique says if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.