Friday, March 29, 2013

ExecLink St. Louis, Fearless Brand

“Be a fearless brand,” says Bill Ellis in his address to 30 members and guests of ExecLink at Washington University Knight Center on Thursday night (March 28, 2013). His message seems especially relevant as the organization itself is repositioning its brand, upgrading its website and fine-tuning its operations. ExecLink aspires to be a premiere membership networking organization offering executives an opportunity to meet and share with peers – executives helping executives. Bill’s message resonates and the buzz is optimistic and enthusiastic. All things considered this is a great turn out. A myriad of conflicts: Spring break, the NCAA March Madness, the stubborn winter weather and construction obstacles on campus could not keep this group of engaged participants from this gathering.

ExecLink President, Casey Scheibal, kicked off the proceedings and Wes Morgan introduced the speaker. "It is my honor to present Bill Ellis of Branding for Results. Bill is speaker, coach and expert on branding having invested 25 years of his career with that brewery in town. so without further ado, I give you Bill Ellis." A smattering of applause from then audience follows. The audience includes ExecLink board members Kathy Kinkeade, Terry McHugh, Farrell Browne, Vicky Wors and Kathryn Ruth. The classroom setting is ideal for Bill’s powerful graphics which are projected on the surface behind him stage right and stage left. His message resonates. Mark Brackin has take-aways he can use right away as he follows up on a great job opportunity. Chuck Lee is launching a new venture in specialty contracting. Mike Hoffey looks to leverage his two decades of experience as a sales and marketing leader.  John Spitznagel is an energetic and strategic IT leader looking for his next opportunity. Cynthia (Cyndi) Bowman is ready to apply her business acumen and education (she’s got a Rolla degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Webster). Perry Drake, a digital marketing professor from UMSL is excited to be making connections. Mike Fisher is happy to pitch the sales and marketing ExecLink sub group he leads in regular meetings as he himself is enjoying professional success in his franchise around business performance training and executive development.  

Clearly everyone in the room has a story to tell. Mark Palermo L'Boe coaches real estate professionals how to start their own businesses. In the EMBA bar upstairs after the presentation he shares his own branding evolution. “I sometimes say my program is chasing Gordon. By that I simply mean I am inspired by the real estate success of Gundaker Realty.”  Tara, Bill’s significant other is in town from Dubai (halfway around the world). She’s stunning and you don’t have to talk to her very long to uncover the fact that she is a talented public relations executive. Becka Clark is familiar to some as she was former presenter on organizational change. Joe Fernandez manged to join the group late (after a class he’s taking at Wash U). A show of hands indicates maybe a third of those assembled are experiencing ExecLink for the first time. Connections were made and brands will be managed. Time marches on.    

In retrospect Bill was an ideal speaker for this event. Having “Clarity” and recognizing what we can and cannot “Control” about our personal and professional brands and finding ways to be “Consistant” about how we “Communicate” those authentic attributes is something that resonates with these seasoned executives. Another stellar performance Bill!

To learn more about Bill Ellis of Branding for Results visit www.brandingforresults.com

 

No comments: