I have over the course of the last few months had the opportunity to meet with and network with a lot of people, most of whom; as a result of the recession are currently in transition. The funny thing about working as a consultant, every day you wake up and you DON’T have an active engagement, you are in transition.

Most of the people I have met with have also learned that in today’s economy the old rules about landing your next job, or as a consultant your next engagement have changed. It’s a whole new job market out there, and in order to succeed you need to think of yourself as a company or a brand. You need to develop that brand, and then market that brand to find your next job or engagement.

I listened to an excellent webinar today presented by Neal Schaffer of Windmill Networking (http://www,windmillnetworking.com) in which he talked about the concept of inbound marketing vs. outbound marketing. Simply put outbound marketing is the traditional method where you broadcast yourself to your target audience through resumes, email blasts, contacting your network, etc; in essence saying here I am what can you do for me? The inbound marketing approach leverages all aspects on the new “social media” to allow you to find a way to add value to your network, prospective employers or clients. These tools; LinkedIn, blogs, Twitter accounts, YouTube, Facebook, etc should be used in a way to add value to the people you are trying to reach or market to. Drawing them to you rather than broadcast yourself out to them.

OK, sounds simple enough if you can master all those new tools, but then most people ask the question….how can I add value to this huge amount of information and network of social media? For me that answer is simple…..the same way you can get people to believe in you and follow you as a leader….you need to be passionate about what you do.

Anyone who is in transition or seeking new clients simply needs to focus on what they are passionate about, what gives them drive and energy, then harness that in a form that allows you to share information, thoughts and ideas with your network, and target audience in a way that allows them to recognize your passion and therefore your value.

As a Operations / Supply Chain expert I am NOT passionate about how to  implement huge systems and procedures within the Supply Chain of huge billion dollar companies, and maneuver through that muti-layered large corporation structure. Besides there are countless large consulting firms with an entire staff of people and a dozen Powerpoint presentation templates that those corporations are better served by.  

What I am passionate about is helping people; on a one to one basis learn how to improve themselves, their operations and their leadership skills. So I focus my efforts on small to mid size companies, THAT’s where I can add value. When I blog it is primarily about leadership and team building concepts because THAT is what I am passionate about.

I’m sure over the course of time this blog and all of my marketing efforts will grow and evolve because I have more than one passion. But regardless of what direction those efforts take, my focus will only be on those topics, those companies, those prospective clients who will gain value from the passion, knowledge and assistance I can offer.

As you approach leading your team or organization it should be from this same perspective of passion. Intrinsically people can sense if you are truly passionate about what you say and do, if you not only walk the walk but talk the talk. Whether you are developing a personal branding strategy using social media or developing and growing a team, department or organization, make sure you do it from a perspective of passion and then success won’t be by rote or chance it will be inevitable, because when you are passionate and believe in what you are doing there is no failure.

Larry Firth

LGF Consulting