Timothy Maurice Webster

We need you to Publish a Book

Fri, 28 May 2010 09:05:20 GMT

Far less than one percent of the 6.7billion people in the world have published a book. I feel blessed to be apart of this small community, a lone minority who've had the discipline to collect their thoughts, transfer them to computer or paper and then weather the publishing process. I meet people all the time who are either thinking of writing a book or are in the process but can’t seem to get past what I term, ‘the critical hump’. This hump is more imaginary than real. I believe because there are so few authors in the average person’s network, the lack of exposure to the process causes the processes to appear larger than the reality. There are two fundamental ways to publish: Self or with a Publisher. There are substantial benefits either way. Self-Publishing can be a rewarding journey where you have ownership and freedom to market and leverage your work as you please. On the other hand, having a reputable publisher backing you offers extraordinary benefits, including brand-alignment and immediate equity for your work. Irrespective of how you publish; just publish. There are too many good ideas and stories floating around which ensuing generations will never be privy unless you get those words out your head and onto paper. In the meantime, I recommend you do two things. Start a blog to practice your writing (register at blogger.com or wordpress.com) and secondly, research the publishing industry to determine the best publishing route for you… a good start is to check out (howtopublishabook.org). My new book ‘Personovation’ is out July, 2010 and I feel blessed to be apart of a 3rd publishing and while this one will be the best yet, the most important thing is that the ideas made it over that hump, across my brain’s bridge to paper. And finally, with e-publishing beginning to become more commonplace, no one has an excuse. I look forward to reading your ideas; not only will this help your personal brand, it might just be what the world has been waiting for!

The 'Brand Gay'

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:11:13 GMT

Is being Gay a product of nature or nurture or both? This debate will rage on between liberals and conservatives for many moons to come. However, one indisputable fact will remain, how we relate to Gay members of our society is 100% nurturing. Once we see someone we’ve labeled ‘Gay’, our conditioning kicks in and a reaction ensues. This is the case with all brands whose values challenge the norm. I often have readers from this community who contact me in fear of losing their job, being ostracized by their families and many in fear of their life. Therefore, I thought it necessary to tackle this subject from a personal branding angle. Labels are instruction manuals from which we use to build our lives. Despite the range of labels- from material (ie- clothing, cars, jewelry…) to socialized (ie- smart, disadvantaged, class, sexual orientation…) to race (black, white, coloured…) they are all fundamentally constructed to assist mankind in navigating her/his spaces with more efficiency. Unpack any label and you’ll quickly discover your values and ultimately, your likes and dislikes. Our brains are wired to observe patterns, associate these observations with labels and draw conclusions about where we see ourselves fitting in. Our mental software’s ability to develop these sophisticated associations is why we’re able to march right into our favorite shop knowing which food and organic t-shirt to purchase in order to support our new found interest in the green-movement. But this process is also why we judge unfairly, go to war and alienate members of society. Labels trigger an orchestrated dance between our brains and emotions. Many avoid other people simply because they are labeled poor or diseased. Others are willing to kiss asses because they deem the label “famous” worthy of self-degradation. We fill our social networking platforms (facebook, twitter, etc…) with the best of us, ultimately trying to add value to our perceived labels. The true power of labels comes from our desire to group them in categories. Certain labels live in certain neighborhoods, shop at specific malls, go to these clubs, date these types of people and even go to certain Churches. This virtual instruction manual is so influential; ill labels impact our health in immeasurable ways. If our labels are accepted by the groups we admire, our existence is justified and our purpose affirmed. The moment we are labeled in an unfavorable way, social friction ensues and we are forced to develop a posture, which defends, avoids/ignores or rebels. Few labels inspire more controversy than ‘The Brand GAY’. Growing up poor, I developed a creative side which allowed me to escape some of the frustrations that come with not having the same social conveniences as the friends with disposable cash. Therefore I began to express my value in artistic impressions from clothing I designed. Because most of the male friends I grew up with weren’t artistically inclined, my creative predisposition was associated with femininity. As I studied the effects of labels and socialization, it occurred to me that my peers feared what they didn’t understand and therefore it was easier to label me rather than be interested and curious about my creative capacity. Different regions of the world have different social norms. The more conservative societies tend to be more aggressive at alienating those labels they don’t understand, particularly those who justify their beliefs with religion. And the brand gay happens to be one of those labels, similar to the women’s and civil rights movement, which causes discomfort due to its lack of information in the instruction manual. When labels restrict and prohibit basic movements in society, the easy thing to do (if its an option) is to remove the label and place it in a closet and bring it out when convenient. Many members of the Gay community find it easier to wear the label like a hat, putting it on and off as the environment dictates and some go as far as constructing pseudo family in order to be accepted and get on with life. And of course there are other’s who feel the enormous pressure society places on this label and become distraught and confused and simply bounce between worlds. Society will always have what I term ‘Median Labels’ or those that define its neutral position and become the fulcrum by which it swings and all those that lie on its extremes will present reason for a second glance. I envision living in a society where we develop an appreciation for diverse labels and allow space for each of us to learn from our various values. I have colleagues and readers who choose to wear their label proudly despite adverse social reactions and many others who hide because they aren’t strong enough to handle the onslaught of judgments and the resulting implications. The Brand Gay is associated with excellence, style and many other attributes that challenge and sharpen. The measure of our maturity as a society will be in our ability to probe our convictions towards various labels and ask ourselves are we operating on belief systems that are ours, or are we robots sent from the past. Whenever I hear that someone has labeled me Gay or any other label constructed out of fear, I smile and think- my ability to create and innovate must be awesome!

How an affair changed my brand

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:30:45 GMT

Timothy Maurice Webster writes... an affair with running, changed my identity. Going from 0-800km(500miles) in 7months has literally changed my life and moreover, changed how I see my personal brand. Prior to embarking on this journey, I hated running... after spending 10minutes on the treadmill my knees would begin to burn and my back would start speaking clear curse words. And of course, I would then politely acknowledge my knees' frustration, remove myself from the boring machine and allow someone else to run in place. Fortunately, my lower back and legs where in agreement with my mind... 10mins was sufficient and those who ran the gym’s max of 20mins where simply missing out on other more exciting ways of becoming fit. Deep down, I not only hated the treadmill, but gym had become a forced habit in which I half-heartedly participated. On the backdrop of this attitude towards the exercise, purchasing expensive shoes with a chip inside which measured your runs, didn’t make a lot of sense. Which is why telling my friend NOT to buy me a sneaker whose sole purpose was to link to an ipod to track runs was an easy decision. However, she persisted by saying I had inspired her so much, I must allow her to buy these shoes for me. Her case for purchasing these shoes grew when she said we could compete against each other and keep track of the runs on the Nike site- www.nike.com Ahhh! Now that intrigued me. Competition is my thing. So, I allowed her to oblige me with the gift thinking when I get home, I am going to run 7days straight, 10mins each time and prove I could beat her. I unpacked my gift, took out the instruction manual and begin to calibrate the shoes with the ipod. I logged onto the Nike site and it allowed us to create the first ‘runner challenge’, which we called the ‘Inaugural Challenge’(to see who can run the the most kms in 3months) and we agreed, whoever lost the challenge would have to cook a four-course mea for the other. The calibration process was easy. You start walking, the shoe and Ipod blue tooth sensor connect, choose your playlist and begin running. I became so excited, I ran 20minutes on the first run and in the back of my mind, I was well on my way to winning. So with my first 20min run over and done, I felt good. However, lurking in the back of my mind was the knowledge that she had trained for a marathon and her fitness levels were much better than mine, but also nudging in my head was another thought… she, was busy and wouldn't be able to run as much. After a week, I logged on to the Nike site to see her progress and she had run once for 55mins a total of a whopping 8kms! I felt defeated because 20mins only landed me just over 3kms. So, to beat her, I would have to run 3times for each of her single runs. I was determined not to cook and especially because she was a great cook and I wanted that four-course meal! I knew she would only be able to run approx 3times a week, which would mea, at best, she would run 8 X 3=24kms a week. And if I ran 1km better than my usual 3kms, I would run 6times at 4km each and we would be tied. This was becoming exciting! Wow, the challenge was now in full swing. The first few weeks we were neck and neck. After the first month, I was running 6days a week and sometimes 7days. I began pushing way past my expectations and now averaging 20mins... 10mins was a distant, lazy memory. My legs still felt funny around 20mins, but after the 2nd month, my legs and back became my friends…. Upon entering the 3rd month, I was 15kms ahead. The finish line was in sight and no one was going to keep me from my moment. I started averaging 25-30mins/per run. At the end of the 3rd month, I was a champion, but not because I beat my friend and received an amazing four-course meal, but because I had fallen in Love with running and literally changed my life! The great lesson here is that we don’t always know who we are and what we love until technology comes along and ushers past who we thought we were. When I here people say, I’m not a runner or I’m not a writer or I’m not this or that, I smile and think- Perhaps, not yet! Open your mind to who you could be and find technology and others to explore the journey with and you may find your personal brand becomes more than you ever thought possible. I have 9days before I hit my 7th month of running, I began on Sept 6th 2009 and I’ve now run 773kms, the remaining 27kms should be a cinch…. (note- 15kms of my runs were logged without the ipod, so it doesn’t reflect) You can copy the following link into your browser and follow my runs and hopefully join in with me! Nike Link: http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_EMEA/plus/#//runs/history/1209174873/ I can confidently say, I'm now a runner a new personal brand dimension!

'The Madiba Brand'

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:39:00 GMT

20years ago, Nelson Mandela walked free. Since that momentous day, February 11th 1990, he’s inspired the world to reconsider their personal contribution to the world. While he admits he’s not perfect, his example provides us specific lessons for our own personal brand journeys. Here are seven lessons from the iconic brand- Branding Madiba Style: 1. Know your purpose and mission in life. It’s important to have talent but its more important to have a sense of direction and purpose. When your business starts to falter and all looks lost, a true sense of purpose will sustain you. 2. Be prepared to go to the prison of life and pay the ultimate price for your purpose. Any business idea worth its weight in Gold will require you pay a high price and sacrifice will also be necessary if you really want to obtain long-term success. 3. Forgive even when it's not popular to do so. Knowing when to let go of hurt and pain so that you don’t carry the baggage of your past around is essential in the new multi-racial society we live in. 4. Know when it's your time to step down. By developing a succession plan and mentoring the right people to run your organization when you are gone, you’ll be able to sleep at night knowing you’re the vision you worked so hard to build will not crash upon your retirement. 5. Be willing to undergo an image makeover. Madiba knew when it was necessary to put down his gun and pick up his pen to begin negotiations… some of you need to put down your golf shirts and pick up your neck ties and prepare yourself for serious business. 6. Learn the art of networking. Madiba is smart enough to leverage his extraordinary brand to rally leaders, celebrities and politicians to champion the causes he cares so deeply for. As a business leader, use your golfing partners to champion you’re the matters of your heart. 7. Remain humble and connected with the poor! As our father we call Tata settles into being a Grandfather and passes the leadership baton to the current generation of business leaders, I hope and pray that the temptations of BEE and Capitalism don’t distract us from our obligation to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots. Thanks Madiba for not being perfect, this gives us a greater inspiration to peer inside and learn from your humanity! Let's continue the conversation on twitter.com/timothymaurice

Zuma's 'Pants on the Ground' Brand

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:31:01 GMT

A column I wrote prior to President Zuma taking the highest office caused a major uproar in an editorial boardroom of a major business publication. The column was designed to inspire all to look at Msholozi’s brand critically and learn from his ability to conquer in the face of adversity and connect to his followers. Nearly two years later I DO NOT regret writing that piece. On a separate occasion just after he became President, I wrote an open letter in the same paper congratulating him for his triumphant win. In that letter, I made a plea to the great man to accept the burden of the very people who remained by his side during his darkest hours. In the same spirit as I wrote those previous articles, I can’t help but to hear the 65year old American Idol hopeful who this year became an overnight sensation when he stepped in front of the Idol judges and sang his self-titled ‘Pants on the Ground’. The retired lieutenant knew he didn’t have a chance due to his age, but he felt he needed to share a message. His message was that young people who wear their pants low are a disgrace and in his words- “Look like a fool, with your pants on the ground”. The Brand Zuma has been tarnished and while I believe his loyal followers and many reluctant ones will accept his apology; every time he gets caught with his pants down, he not only looks like a fool, he makes South Africa look like one as well. His Personal Brand is directly linked to Brand South Africa’s success. Former President Nelson Mandela’s brand was and is so well regarded that globally people are inspired to invest, participate in philanthropic activity and some visit just to set foot in the same Country as the icon. Therefore the Brand Zuma has major implications to SA’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Due to Zuma’s cultural significance, he serves two very distinct roles- Head of State and Father to the nation. Unlike Heads of State in most regions of the world, Zuma’s Father role gifts him a greater responsibility in that the masses refer to him in their ‘Identity Mirror’. In developing self-worth, the brain looks to its greatest stakeholders (mothers, fathers, elders) for ‘an example’ and then ascribes a price or a value to itself and ultimately the worth of one’s identity is developed. When Zuma is caught with his Pants on the Ground, many of his less fortunate constituents find their identity somewhere near the ground and South Africa is left trying to find a belt appropriate enough to keep its hopes up. We will all need to join in and help hold his pants up to rebuild brand South Africa. To continue this and other conversations, follow me at twitter.com/timothymaurice or visit my website at www.timothymaruice.com

Is Personal Branding Dead?

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:47:09 GMT

Timothy Maurice Webster asks… Is Personal Branding Dead? The movement that formally began in the late 90’s with great thinkers like Tom Peters amplifying the potential of individual market campaigning has taken a knock. Arguably one of the greatest beneficiaries of this philosophy was Tiger Woods. Tiger not only ignited a fire in the belly of the golfing world by attracting millions globally to take interest in an otherwise sleepy sport but he leveraged his career along the way to become a billion dollar brand. Woods embodied everything it meant to be a personal brand. His values were articulate. He manifested those values on a public stage for all to see and with a fierceness rarely witnessed, he attracted partners to tag along while giving us the best show golf has ever witnessed. For Gillette, American Express, Nike, and the remaining companies lucky enough to piggy back off Tiger’s success; a partnership was a no brainer and not so much because Tiger is great, but because his values appeared solid. Winning with his trademark proficiency and with his freakishly charismatic posture made branding alliance members right to believe everything in his personal life was as together. Think about it. Someone with his unprecedented practice schedule and intense professional scrutiny, all on top of the media breathing down your neck, couldn’t possibly be conflicted privately. Most of us were taught, what you do in the dark will come out in the light and what we saw in the light around Tiger was pure. His smile was sure and transparent. Prior to Tiger, the personal branding formula was measurable and reliable. A Disciplined Self + Potent Public Awareness deduces itself to a Succinct Private Life, right? Tiger’s certainly not the first hugely successful person to screw up, however what makes his story so threatening to the branding world is how he defied the formula. Most other brands that imploded weren’t so visible or if they were, we could see it coming. We must now question the unquestionable and everything we ever thought about internal and external value congruency has been thrown under a microscope. Those seeking multi-million dollar relationships where a person’s brand equity is leveraged must expect a furiously frustrating process of investigation into private affairs. And after all this, a piercing and discomforting feeling will persist, because, if Tiger can blow it, so could…........ let's continue chat on twitter.com/timothymaurice or visit my website www.timothymaurice.com

White Skin is Formal, Brown is Semi-Formal and Black is Casual

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:11:41 GMT

Timothy Maurice Webster writes...White skin is formal, Brown skin semi-formal and Black skin casual. In the complex world of identity, race and class, your DNA sets you up early in life by wrapping your vital organs with an external layer called skin, which speaks volumes about who you are and what your background might entail and nowhere is this more telling than in the New South African movie 'Skin'. Skin, our largest organ, is made up of multiple layers of mesodermal tissue and is primarily designed to be of practical usage; like ensuring dirt, pesky bugs and germs don’t feast on your heart and liver. However, every since evolution gifted us with the integration of race and class, our ancestors decided it was a good idea to assign value to various skin complexions and textures. It seemed innocent enough. Light would mate with light and dark with dark. Once our social systems hit turbo and daily activities began to include mixing with neighbors, school, Church, partying, it was only natural that your skin would be a good indicator of which group you would navigate towards. As various groups acquired or loss assets leading to wealth and poverty, our mental software or what’s commonly known as the brain… then programmed itself to assume certain skin housed certain capacity. Thus giving birth to racism. While language and other forms of the human dynamic play a major role, it is that major league organ called skin, which seems to cause the biggest fuss. Once your brain programs a value to a color or a series of actions and behaviors with a value, the nervous system and the brain communicate like clock work churning out printouts second by second, telling you who, what, how and what you should do next and the vast majority of these actions happen unconsciously. These unconscious reactions to your mental computer’s output are a good thing and evolution decided this would be necessary if we were to live an efficient, healthy and safe lifestyle. Your sophisticated programming is the reason you know what danger looks like, how ‘handsome’ is packaged and ultimately which groups you are better off sitting with (think lunch at the office). As the recent western empires (American & British) acquired major fortune and exported the likes of CNN & BBC across the globe, they did a brilliant job programming the world to think White equals success, fine wine, aspiration and safety. Brown skin became associated with needing peace in the Middle East and akin to being a mixed bag of confusion- able to be semi-reliable (trusted in Japan but not China) but not universally formal enough to be Formal. In the same breath Black was projected as dark and evil and the primary reason for poverty, void of intellect and innovation. I champion Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream where he envisaged his kids living in a world where they will be judged by the content of their character rather the complexion of their skin, but until messages from the dominant media project Brown & Black to be as formal as White- Until we become bolder and more willing to re-assign value to cultures and filter western media content and prop up Asian and African content, Dr. King’s kids and grand kids will walk around casual, whether they are dressed up or not. The media and those who engineer and control it dress us up and dress us down… US President Obama, gave Black people the world over a slicker dressier image but Browns and Blacks will need more than one or two Formal ambassadors to rid a casual friday brand. The Movie Skin is based on a true story of a woman named Sandra Laing who struggles to makes sense of being semi-relevant, its a must see.

DO NOT Give Up!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:08:10 GMT

Timothy Maurice Webster writes... We need your gifts and talents... DO NOT give up! A little over a year ago three of my clients went belly up without prior notice. Despite their inability to pay out their commitments, the more difficult challenge was the timing. The closings were on the backdrop of having my laptop stolen and the imminent release of a new book. I’d like to think I’m a strong bloke, but this chapter in my life nearly tore through the very fabric of my character. I'd like to share three very important lessons I learned in this complicated space. Firstly, Embrace crisis as a fundamental part of the cycle of life. Psychologist and feminist theorist William Moulton Marston said, “Every crisis offers you extra desired power”. While stress is not a desired ideal, when the pressures of life compound and you feel overwhelmed it’s important to search internally for growth opportunities. In life, like coffee beans, the flavor only reveals itself when the steam consumes and penetrates the bean. Secondly, Leverage the best in your network. When the chips are down, identify people in your life who can offer strategic advice. When the clouds of disappointment cover your horizon, you’ll often find your vision stymied. The right network of associates and friends can offer valuable and objective insight into your challenges. When you identify trustworthy advisors, be honest about your contribution to the messiness rather than blaming others. Thirdly, Personal Brand Equity is necessary. We all have something we do really well and excel beyond the average. Personal equity is the area of influence where you have greater exposure than the majority of your peers who operate in the same space. When you build equity you can purchase favors against this strength until you are able to regain your position. This is the space where people tend to trust you, offer you the benefit of the doubt and believe in you the most. Caution- Use your equity wisely, for once its exhausted, it’s difficult to rekindle. The world needs your skills, your ideas, your heart, your mind, your courage, don't give up, see you at the top!

What is your Personal Brand's Stock Worth?

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:44:09 GMT

Timothy Maurice Webster writes...How much is your personal stock worth? If your personal brand was placed on a stock exchange, who would be interested in investing in you? Warren Buffet, arguably the greatest investor in History and also one of the world’s wealthiest people with an estimated net worth of R500Billion adheres to a simple “values investing” philosophy- Seeking securities with prices that are unjustifiably low based on their intrinsic worth. In other words, Buffett looks to invest in companies with potential greater than their assigned value. Most of you would agree that the value assigned to you is less than the value you see in yourself. If I were to ask each of you about your pay, the majority of respondents would say they were unjustifiably underpaid. In fact, there are many books written to assist the undervalued workforce in asking for their desired increase. The fundamental question you should be asking yourself is how much are you capable of delivering and how willing are you to guarantee your ability to walk the talk. Buffet says when he invests in a company, he isn't concerned with whether the market will eventually recognize its worth; he is concerned with how well that company can make money as a business. Many of you are far too concerned with your perceived value and not concerned enough with your ability to deliver results. If the Dot-Com bubble-bursting period of the late nineties taught us anything it would be the need to focus on the capacity to produce profits. The workplace is in trouble. Despite the tough times we face, greed and excess have many employees favoring big bonuses and fancy remuneration packages over the long-term stability of the company. Many of us go out of our way to increase our stock value with Bling, fancy clothing, cars etc... Perhaps its time to look past materialism to philosophies like Ubuntu to increase our value! To continue conversation, contact me at info@timothymaurice.com or via twitter or facebook.

Kroes Kop or Nappy Hair

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:03:05 GMT

Timothy Maurice Webster ask... what is the definition of good hair? Chris Rock's latest movie, "Good Hair" was inspired by his daughter who approached him enquiring about the quality and texture of her hair... she asked her Dad why was she born with bad or nappy hair. Rock was so inspired by his daughter's struggle that he made a documentary about women's relationship with their hair. Since the beginning of time, hair from both genders has played a pivotal role in class and identity. But, as Rock points out in his documentary, its women's hair that has raised the most intense conversation. During Apartheid, straight hair could become a virtual pass to success. If authorities had doubt about a person's race, they would resort to a "pencil in hair test". A pencil was pushed in the hair, and if it remained in the persons hair without dropping, it signified frizzy hair, the person would then be classified as colored. If the pencil dropped out the person would be classified as white. When the pencil dropped, you gained immediate access to opportunities the frizzier haired sister was denied. Anyone who thought such preconceptions were outdated would have been reminded otherwise by some negative reactions to US President Obama's 11-year-old daughter, Malia Obama, who wore her hair in twists while in Rome this summer. Commenters on the conservative blog Free Republic attacked her as unfit to represent America for stepping out unstraightened. While the media plays an integral role in how we see hair because of their tendency to align straighter textured hair with successful positive images and thicker coarser hair with negative stereotypes. However, many men and women alike argue that silkier hair is more desired due to the practical implications such as ease of style etc... In the same breath the opposition argues their is NO definition for 'Good Hair'... its all in the eye of the beholder and if thicker coarser hair had a history of being projected in a positive light, this would be the masses preference. The harsh reality is, there are millions of people of color and some frizzier haired whites who have major self-esteem issues due to the awful juxtaposition of what they see in the mirror and what the media projects. As long as you are involved in social intercourse, the mirror that society props in front of you must be reckoned with... and as long as the 4billion plus people in the world who are not represented in the mirror of success fail to confront these questions of Kroes Kop, Nappy or Good Hair, personal brands around the world will suffer an unfair crowning! p.s. To read more about Rock's new film, copy the following link into your browser-http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com/index.php/2009/08/07/chris-rocks-good-hair-trailer/