WorkLife: The case against personal branding
ReThinking
TED
4.7 • 626 Ratings
🗓️ 13 May 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the age of social media and influencers, we’re constantly pushed to think of ourselves as brands—shiny packages containing all of our best traits to market to employers and followers. But striving to build a “personal brand” may actually hinder your ability to make genuine connections and maintain a strong reputation. In this episode, Adam explores the science on alternatives to personal branding and explains why contribution, collaboration, and humility are better self-promotional tools than a carefully crafted image. Guests: management professor Mark Bolino; military leader Chevy Cook; writer and brand consultant Debbie Millman, host of the podcast Design Matters.
Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)
Guest:
Mark Bolino (Instagram: | Website: ou.edu/price/bios/mark-bolino)
Chevy Cook (LinkedIn: @chaveso-chevy-cook | Website: ausa.org/people/ltc-chaveso-cook)
Debbie Millman (Instagram: @debbiemillman | LinkedIn: @deborahmillman | Website: https://debbiemillman.com/)
Links
https://www.centerformentoring.com/about-us/meet-chevy-cook-phd
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is sponsored by London Business School. You know that feeling of racing between meetings, |
| 0:06.1 | trying to stay ahead of the market shifts, all while managing a never-ending stream of virtual calls? |
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| 0:45.5 | Claire worked in the marketing department for an up-and-coming artisan bakery. Unfortunately, |
| 0:52.1 | the artisan bakery in question was so up and coming. |
| 0:55.8 | Nobody actually knew it existed. |
| 0:58.5 | But then she had the really good idea to use Canva to create a business plan. |
| 1:03.5 | It looked good, really, really good. |
| 1:06.8 | Their investors thought so too. |
| 1:09.1 | And now their hotcakes are selling like, well, exactly. |
| 1:13.8 | Thanks, Canber. |
| 1:15.6 | Cooking sounds great. |
| 1:17.2 | Until you're juggling pans, the smoke alarms going off, |
| 1:21.1 | and cereal feels like the safest option. |
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| 1:41.3 | So you can enjoy the tastier parts of life. |
... |
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