Peter Sterlacci | Believe. Become. Be Your Brand
Personal branding for on-the-move professionals in global companies in Japan
I have been searching for models of personal branding in Japan for the past two years. No easy task in a culture educated to fit in. After all, my personal mission is to pioneer a culture shift in Japan by empowering Japanese to embrace their personal brands and stand out. Turns out I’ve been looking in the wrong places. [Read more...]
Personal branding in Japan is still a very new concept. People are interested in the idea of branding themselves, but are cautious about standing out. After all, Japanese are educated that “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
My personal mission is to pioneer a mindset shift in a country where fitting in is the cultural norm. In this interview with videoBIO, I answer the following questions:
DESHAKALYAN CHOWDHURY/AFP/Getty Images
I am really excited to share a preview of my new eBook coming out in early 2013 coauthored with Dr. Amit Nagpal – Personal Branding Views from India and Japan.
My partnership with Amit started back in June 2011 when he interviewed me for his blog and dubbed me ‘the pioneer of personal branding in Japan’. We both truly are pioneers in our respective cultures and this eBook captures how personal branding is taking root in two cultures typically not known for standing out.
I was pleased to recently be a guest on Rasheryl McCreary’s VoiceAmerica radio show, The Leader & The Muse – Ignite Your Brand. Increase Your Influence.
In this 1 hour interview Rasheryl and I explore the changing world of work that is requiring Japanese to shift into the concept and value of personal branding as a career builder. In this episode, I “bust” common cultural myths about personal branding in Japan and outline how on‐the‐move professionals in Japan can embrace personal branding and still honor the “we” while standing out and being “me.”
When I was first introduced to personal branding I learned two things. First, everyone has a personal brand whether we realize it or not. Second, our brands are based on how others perceive us, or as William Arruda says, they are “held in the hearts and minds of others.” I also discovered that strong brands are based in authenticity and only by being true and genuine can we truly differentiate ourselves and deliver on our unique promise of value.
Authentic, true, and genuine.
While these words are at the core of any personal branding process they present a very interesting challenge in accurately understanding personal brands in Japan.
For the Japanese, there are two mindsets called ‘tatemae‘ (建前) and ‘honne‘ (本音).
Tatemae, literally meaning ‘facade,’ is the public or outer self. It is essentially what is expected by society and is based on position and circumstance. Tatemae, therefore, generally does not match one’s honne, meaning one’s true and genuine private or inner self. Honne is typically shown only around family and very close friends, or in neutral and informal circumstances. [Read more...]
I had the pleasure and honor of being a guest on World Talk Radio, Marketing Matters, hosted by Yasmin Anderson-Smith.
Even though it was 1:00am Japan time for my interview, I was eager to be on the program and answer Yasmin’s questions about how you can strategically communicate and manage your personal brand across cultures so that you can stand out, yet still fit in.
Personal branding is about authenticity and being yourself. Yet, to maintain successful business relationships across cultures, you may need to ‘dial-up’ or ‘dial-down’ your brand depending on the cultural context.
Using my experience in Japan as a backdrop, I offered advice on how to express a personal brand that overcomes cultural barriers and builds up powerful relationships for international success.
The Ins & Outs of Branding Yourself Internationally
30x30x30 Blogathon Post #9: June 9th – Gabby Wallace
Day 9 of the Personal Branding Blogathon is all about redefining your personal brand in a second language and culture. Gabby Wallace is an expert language teaching professional who firmly believes in learning and using natural English in natural settings. She founded Go Natural English and frequently posts free video lessons. Gabby empowers her learners to use a new language to multiply their potential.
See Gabby’s special offer below and enjoy her post! [Read more...]
I am so pleased to have Yumi Fujino as my very first Japanese Personal Brand ‘Mechanic.’ Yumi is a perfect example of a Japanese woman who has used her personal brand to become very successful. A business owner, published author, and
sought after speaker, Yumi proves that even in a culture that values fitting in you can stand out and get noticed. After a successful corporate career, Yumi created her own consulting company Y’s Order and has helped other woman succeed in a very male-dominated corporate culture in Japan. Yumi’s two books are currently available only in Japanese but as she mentions in her interview, the English translations are coming soon along with an English version of her website.
Yumi gives some excellent advice and tips on how Japanese can embrace the power of personal branding to be more successful. Enjoy the interview!
For our May joint-post Dr. Amit and I chose to discuss the blogging culture in India and Japan and how blogging plays a role in personal branding.
While the Japanese may have been slower at embracing social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, they quickly jumped on board to blogging when it became popular in the country from 2002. Since then, Japanese have slightly edged out English in becoming the dominant 
language of the blogosphere. Pretty amazing considering that English speakers worldwide outnumber Japanese speakers by over 5 to 1. Here are some interesting factoids about blogging in the Land of the Rising Sun.
These facts are interesting for sure, but another cultural behavior ingrained in Japanese from a young age has had a more direct impact on their blogging culture. [Read more...]
For our February post Dr. Amit and I chose to discuss the role of Twitter in India and Japan as well as tips on how to successfully manage your brand using Twitter.
Last year I read an article calling Japan “The Twitter Nation”. Recent data clearly supports this. The number of Japanese internet users who tweet is close to 17% surpassing Americans at about 10%. Twitter also estimates that Japanese write nearly 8 million tweets a day, which is close to 14% of the global total! Twitter really gained credibility in the country after the massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the Tohoku region on 3/11/11. New users flocked to the network for real-time information about the nuclear crisis, blackouts, and aftershocks. Now with the huge number of users in Japan, workshops are cropping up helping individuals to learn the tricks of the tweet as well as companies to use the platform to reach consumers and get feedback.Clearly the personal and corporate branding potential for Twitter is huge in Japan. Here are 5 quick Twitter tips I share with my clients in Japan. [Read more...]
Connect with Peter
Peter Sterlacci
ピーター ステラチー