What's your brand? What do you want to represent?

During my first thoughts about the topics I want to write about in my blog was very sure to focus on my passion, UC environments. But during the last days I had the possibility to join an internal workshop with lots of different topics. One of the topics "What's your brand? What do you want to represent?"

They showed us lots of different examples like Apple, Coca Cola, Daimler or Samsung and asked us which attributes we link to these companies. Like innovative, luxery, etc.. At the end they ask us to chose a company which describes us the best.

We all chose some of the well known companies to show that we are innovative, powerful or globally known. Yesterday on may way home it get session back in mind and also heard some news how disruptive the business of today is and how established companies have to change to survive the new challengers the digitalization is creating.

During the several traffic jams I really thought about which attributes will help me really in my working life. Are attributes like nice design, innovation, lots of cash in foreign countries a good base to be also on the top in about 10 years when everything changed?

Can I change fastly my personal attributes if I'm to much self-complacent?

How are reacting companies like Coca Cola to the new healthy life style of todays generation? Will anybody buy also in the future a BMW or Daimler? Will Apple still create products which are changing complete industries or will they disappear like Nortel, Netscape etc. when new challengers join the game?

So I started thinking what do I want to represent  and what is important to me. How often I had to change my behavior, dress style or just my openess to new topics to reach my goal? How often told me everybody "you will never reach that" and how often were they wrong? Who is not trying to behave in the way others expect just to suits to them?

Today in the morning, I get the final idea what brand I want to be.... FDNY. (Ok, maybe I also to change a little to achieve....)

The fire fighters from the New York City Fire Department (and all other firefighters globally) are representing what everybody should aim to in his job and also his private life. They improved over the years their techniques very fast to react on new challenges, without teamwork the best person cannot be successful and you can always trust in them.
In addition, they risk regularly their life for helping others.

For me is that passion for their job and values very inspiring. I hope I can act in my personal life in job or private situations with the same passion for the thing like these guys. In how many situations do first think about the impact on us and kill sometimes good ideas because we have fear to lose something. How often do we first think about the reaction of our boss instead of staying for our blief.

I'm not sure if also can change so fast to react on new situations in life to be successful over that long time and always fight with full power for my ideas..... but the goal should be to try it every day a little bit more. If I don't believe in my ideas, why should anybody else?

For me it was just important to bring these thoughts down to "paper". What are you standing for? What's your brand.