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Opportunity and crisis management

The business world is in flux, to put it mildly, and while this is going on we all need to harnass our coping skills to the maximum, and that’s not the half of it. Dr Hubert K Rampersad shows us how to turn financial crisis into opportunity through an effective personal crisis management models.

by Dr Hubert K Rampersad

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Rampersad is president of TPS International Inc. and the author of  Authentic Personal Branding: A new blueprint for building and aligning a powerful leadership brand (Knowledge Resources, South Africa, 2008). He can be reached atmailto:h.rampersad1@chello.nl, or visit http://www.total-performance-scorecard.com/ or http://www.rampersad.wordpress.com/ .

The current financial crisis is driving the world into a global recession where there is no job security. Especially in these times of financial crisis you need to be independent, become the CEO of your life and redefine yourself in order to create and attract innovative opportunities. This can be done successfully according to an innovative four-stage authentic personal branding model. You can get yourself out of this crisis by re-branding and managing yourself effectively and by building, implementing and cultivating your authentic personal brand according to this model. Becoming well branded through this approach means that you will:

• Master the financial crisis successfully;
• Save costs;
• Generate new revenues;
• Find it easier to convince others; and
• Attract the people and opportunities that are a perfect fit for you.

This new system helps you to grow and distinguish yourself as a professional. Albert Einstein said, ‘In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity’, so the best time to engage in a meaningful dialogue with yourself, build your personal brand and master the financial crisis, is now. The innovative personal branding approach provides you with a roadmap to translate your genius, dreams and aspirations into manageable improvement actions and helps you adjust your market offerings to the different crisis needs of each customer segment. A crisis is the best time to reposition yourself in relation to your competitors. Now is the time to build a strong reputation, become more creative and develop an effective image of yourself that you want to project in everything you do [which manifests in everything you do]. While some individuals fight for survival in a financial crisis, for visionary people this becomes an opportunity for setting themselves apart from others, creating unforgettable identities and becoming known as professionals who continuously strive for improvement. Instead of following the standard responses of individuals during a recession you can learn to develop your own creative responses to this crisis. You will be able to master your personal financial crisis because you have:

• Identified and leveraged your authentic dream;
• Responded to it with passion;
• Recognised what makes you unique and outstanding;
• Identified your genius and expanded your limits based on this;
• Cultivated faith in yourself; and
• Had the courage to pursue your dream and personal brand.

Figure 1: Authentic Personal Branding Model (Rampersad, 2009)

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