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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of image group international, an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies and hacks for the new tech world. Here you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image and reputation.

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Hello, everybody. And welcome back to another episode of my podcast. I want to thank you again today for joining the show. And of course, before I started, I kindly ask you to connect with me on social media, by Twitter, x is John underlined, Michael, my LinkedIn is John Michael, and you could find me as image Group International on Facebook. Okay, let's get the show on the road. Today's subject is going to be about building a network that reflects your brand values. And what I want to share with you is I recently co organised and spoke in an entrepreneurs forum. And one of the speakers was Australian BNA, business leader, philanthropist though Lindsey Fox from the Linfox group, and he shared that at his recent 87 year, young birthday, all attendees were his friends that had a relationship with him, including the Prime Minister to CEOs, and of course leading figures from the community. It also validated my own experiences over the decades in the industry, you know what I've seen firsthand the transformative power of real relationships that become part of you know, what I would call his your connected network, bit like your inner circle. But it's not just about the quantity of connections, it's the quality and alignment, of course, with your core values, and relationships, per se. And what I want to share them with and give it a bit of an explanation is your network is more than just the list of contacts, that you create a database in your soul to store white. And it's definitely not what we hear around social media, just from the perspective of Facebook friends, that's not the type of networks we're talking about. Although you can certainly use social media and digital to create good friendships. But that's another conversation, your net worth is more like a reflection of who you are and what you stand for, or certainly, that's a big part of it. Now, of course, not everyone's gonna be like that, especially if you get a big group. But let's get started with this, of course, with some of the things I've just already noted. So what we would say is, you know, by surrounding yourself, and this is my experience, again, by surrounding yourself with people you know, who share your values and vision, you can amplify your impact and of course, attract opportunities that align with your goals. And even better if they align together. Now, of course, that's easier said than done, it takes a lot of perseverance, a lot of energy. And what I would say is a system to get that to what you see, you will meet a lot of people in life that are only interested, or their intentions are all transactional, as long as you can give them something, they pretend they are your best friends. And of course, that's fine. You need transactional people in your life as well, because you're not going to have the time or energy to build good relational type of networks with everybody. But the intention here is to be really clear what the relationship expectations are. And certainly what they are not, this will save you a lot of headaches. So usually, it's short term, when it comes to transactional relationships, even if something goes on longer. Like for instance, let's call it a legal case that like per large law firm, I go for years, overall, at each transaction off because the only relational element there is would be the lawyers and the relationships they have with the client that keeps everything, you know, close and trusted. So the differences in a relational type of network, it's different, more long term and trust is normally higher. Again, it's about your expectations as we need both to thrive in this relationship. Now. This is especially so for SMEs entrepreneurial type of relationships, businesses, et cetera. Community Trust plays a big part for a lot of the big companies including government and so on all that trust is very important than dynamics and the whole system of networks at times works differently. And what that means is sometimes and we know this, the deals you know in the networks have done behind The front door meaning the back door, as opposed to the front door. So this is very, very important. It's a different form of networks and relationships. That of course, is not commonly understood or even mentioned. So you just gotta be really clear on these distinctions are certainly smaller business, entrepreneurial businesses, anything that, you know, depends on people being connected at that level, really close is a different style, of course, the big and what I would call his transactional pretending to be relational. So how do you go about building a connected network that truly reflects your brand values? Well, it starts with clarity. 

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First of all, take the time to define your brand values. We've already mentioned that those core principles that sort of guide your actions and decisions, whether it's innovation or collaboration as, as a key value, of course, they should all be underpinned by Integrity, you know, and serve as the foundation of your intentions, represented by of course, your personal brand, because your personal brand, ie your reputation, is what people are getting connected with. And that's what actually you're going to be judged on and measured. So once you've identified your brand values, it's time to seek out like minded individuals who embody those same principles. Now, as I mentioned earlier, it takes a lot of effort, and energy and time and all that sort of stuff to get to the bottom of this. But if you look at this as a long game, as opposed to just quick, short results, then long term, you can go wrong. And I'm gonna give you examples of how we've done that. So I look for opportunities to connect with professionals, we share your passions, your beliefs, whether you know, through referrals, vents, or of course, online communities. So if you're serious about what we're talking about here, you must take the time to cultivate the relationship, investing a part of you is essential for long term trust. And that also means investing part of you could also mean at times vulnerability, you got to be vulnerable for people to open up to you don't expect people to keep on opening up if you stay closed, that's not going to happen. So remember, as I noted earlier, building a network isn't just about making connections, it's about nurturing relationships. So take the time to engage with your relationships authentically, whether through meaningful conversations, shared experiences, or acts of generosity. So by investing in your relationships, you'll create a network that's not only robust, but also deeply align with your brand values. So the wisdom tip I want to give you, as I'm showing all of this is this In life, there are givers. And guess what takers, so do an audit in your own world. And you will discover who these people are. I promise you this. The givers will come from a big heart and perspective. The takers will have an energy around them that it's like, you know, sponging what that means is you got to be really clear about this because the Tigers at times if they want to take play this COVID game of the niceties but their agendas, at times motives are totally different. So you got to be really clear about this and especially if you're an empath, okay, you can get really burned to it. So just something for you to be aware. Keep it very simple. Don't go into psychobabble. We don't have to go into personalities, I don't care what personality you are. You're or you're either giving or you're taking that's a good start certainly to start analysing. So why is this important? Because the takers will drain your energy. Because they are what I call Emotional Vampires. The givers know that experience well. And of course it's associated. You know, the whole take mindset is really an entitlement approach. They feel entitled to take take take. 

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Now let me share a story about a client who builds a connected networking community that reflected his brand values. Guess what, that client is not really a client. It's myself. And what I'd like to share with you is this. Now I grew up in a migrant family that was steeped in a culture of hard work and close knit relationships. My world was smallish, but sturdy, constructed from the bonds, family, friends, and of course many, many acquaintances who shared a similar journey from my parents. So I inherited a work ethic that never wavered and a sense of loyalty and community that felt birth what I would say comforting and confident. As I stepped into the broader world, the base of perseverance, resilience and loyalty remain my guiding stars. My you know, my North Stars are definitely say, you know, in the concept of perseverance, resilience and loyalty, yet there was more than a whisper of curiosity, I'd say, in a gentle nudge pushing me towards unknown territories, because the familiar faces and places in my upbringing that included much international travel, I should say, he might teenage come out on ears, you know, gave me an opportunity to explore beyond, of course, my local reservoirs. So it was this curiosity that sparked a daring thought, what is that and the strength of my small community could be a model for something greater. What I felt could create a network as supportive as my family, but as expansive and interconnected. As the world requires. inspired, I ventured out determined to build relationships outside my traditional circle, and making numerous mistakes along the way, but at least never given up and having a go, my journey was not a bad growth, it was a batch transformation. It was about extending trust and integrity, because I cherish that in my personal life. And I wanted to sort of expand that into my professional endeavours. This was the beginning of what I finally came to call the octopus system. Like the Nimble octopus, slow yet incredibly agile, you know, I develop a business model by some flexibility and far reaching capabilities. Now, each of my enterprise was crafted to function independently and yet was intricately connected to the core of who I am. And where I came from this approach, of course, for people that know me, allowed me to, and they would have experienced that with me to adapt quickly to new environments. And that could be business, political, personal, etc. Including leading numerous businesses and community organisations along the way. 

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Now, we met, obviously, various plied needs, we navigated challenges with a unique blend of spade, grace and essential try, these are all essential traits. Of course, if you're any entrepreneurial Well, clients often remarked that working with us example, my board or team was like engaged with an octopus. Each project was handled with multiple arms, each solution title with position, and all of it held together by a central, trusted body further, you know, the feedback we've had is they appreciate the security that came from this model, knowing that somebody was looking after a bit like a conductor of an orchestra, none that wall, the families, we all came from similar backgrounds, although it was beyond just our own ethnic roots. The most important bit about all of this was like a lot of sturdy backgrounds is our word and promise was reliable. And every effort, synchronised, and that's very important, because it was very solid from that point perspective, but yet you knew what you were getting. So this system wasn't just about business. It was also about creating a community in the marketplace, one word trust was paramount relationships genuine. And success was shared. And this is very important. What I mean by success was shared ease. In your relationships, especially the high trust and relationships, the ones that you sort of, will die for, if I can use that term, you don't want competition with each other. You won't competition with the outside world, not within because if you've got competition within no different to a family, you're gonna have serious, serious issues, short term and long term. So you want to bring that out that positive energy that you know that that's great, but put it out in the outside world, not internally. So 30 years later, you want to really grasp this, these original sort of organisations and the roots that we sort of, placed in these organisations by this whole concept called the octopus system, have matured and again, strong to this day. So by branching out at the end and just expand my network, I broaden the very concept of what our community could be. The journey from a tight knit migrant family to community leadership and business and multiple businesses to add with reach and impact was full of lessons. It taught me that values instil in me from a young age, I would trust community could be translated in on a much larger scale. Yes, you can leverage a lot of the great things you pick up early, and just like the octopus will is far more powerful than its size might suggest. The influence of a well rooted, well intentioned network is immense. In the end, the octopus approach is more than a business model. It's a testament to the idea that no matter where you come from, the principles would care in the relationships we cultivate can lead to monumental achievements, with of course, a lot of learning lessons along the way. That's a fact of life. So it's about playing the long game as I mentioned, making an impact. What I would say is one connection at a time. Such a conclude always remember that building a connected network is an ongoing process. It's a human relationship exercise. So continue to cultivate and expand your relationships over time always staying true to your brand values and seeking out opportunities for mutual growth and collaboration. So as usual, you know, I want to thank you again for listening. I trust you found this episode valuable. Remember to rate us on Apple podcasts and subscribe for more valuable content. For expert helping your personal and business goals please contact patricia.bosa@imagegroup.com.au  - Thanks again for tuning in until next time, cheerio!

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence and authority in the business world. To learn more and apply for your personal coaching, seminars and group workshops, please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.