My 17 Rules For CEO Profile Development

Why CEO And Founder Profile Development Needs Rules To Make Them Successful

Here are my 17 rules to help CEOs and founders to know if we would be a good fit to work together on their profile development. And yes, it’s far more than the normal approach which is spray and pray LinkedIn updates and one video sliced and diced across social media to be successful.

1. Take profile development seriously 
   - it’s more than just a trial or testing if you will get any traction

2. It takes time and personality
   - if you lack either you have to do the work and there will be homework

3. You’ve been the boss so long you can’t boss it 
   - CEOs and founders have been the boss for so long that they try and boss every situation, in profile development you cannot control (aka boss) it, it’s a collaboration and an evolution.

4. Know when media training is wrong
   - and the training is going to mislead you often in this modern web-driven world

5. You’re not going to be a success overnight 
   - it will take time, effort and development to become any success. And if you go viral expect it to work against you as much as it goes for you

6. Do you have the time (and money) to invest in you?
   - You will need to crave out dedicated time, to be proactive and reactive to news stories and industry stories, you will have to be fluid with requests and with your time

7. Are you the star or is the company? 
   - you are representing the company, and remember being the star yourself should lead to company success

8. Have 5 important statements to say. You stand behind and will be able to answer with the harshest critics
   - if you do not have statements to say you won’t cut through, if you cannot back up these 5 things with your biggest critics or have solid answers when pushed you will struggle with audiences. Being controversial is a recipe for disaster for 99% of CEOs and Founders

9. Own your old mistakes 
   - these will be surfaced and you will have to answer to them

10. Know you’re going to make new mistakes and likely big mistakes  
    - mistakes happen and you will make big mistakes moving forward, these will be brought up frequently and you will have to be confident in having an answer and sincere apologises

11. Know what’s on the record, ‘on background’ and off the record 
    - where there is a camera, a mic or any size audience knows you will be on record unless you clearly state it. Anything that’s private or confidential will be used

12. You will be “hate-watched” (have thick skin)
    - not everyone watching you will appreciate you and will watch everything you do and will have something to say about it in comments, on social media and they will find your inbox

13. Your team will love or hate it 
    - not all of your internal team will love what you have to say and won’t agree with it, expect questions and hard points challenged, in person, on email and your company chat app(s) and in public

14. Who are you speaking to and what do you have to say to them? 
    - if you don’t know your audience, why you are talking to them and what you have to say, don’t start

15. Influencer vs KOL
    - know the difference and understand what you want to be. If it’s not a KOL (Key opinion leader) you’re looking for fame and that game is very different. Industry experts and leaders are rare

16. Platforms owe you nothing 
    - every social media platform and email platform(s) does not owe you an audience (followers, subscribers), doesn’t reward you with an audience and ultimately wants a cut of your budget, remember this when your reach is cut or your engagement drops

17. This is not a fair game
    - understand the profile development game is as such reputation management and business development as your profile and ego, you will be systematically taken apart by competitors you know, those you don’t know (yet) and those who make it their mission to take someone or someone’s business down

Lastly, it should go without saying you will need to invest in yourself, your image and importantly good equipment, a mic (for interviews and podcasts), a decent smartphone for videos and clips, your office or background for interviews and consider your look.

Get in touch with me directly to find out how to work together.