As every good performer knows, you have to distinguish yourself from the competition. Directors see hundreds of performers, and it’s important that you stand out and make a lasting impression. Nobody knows this better than Glee’s Rachel Berry, future diva and co-captain of William McKinley High’s glee club, New Directions.
While auditioning for Broadway might not appeal to you, Rachel’s methods are actually applicable for sound business practices.
Pick a simple logo that's easy to distinguish from others.
Create a simple, recognizable logo. As a star on the rise, Rachel Berry signs her name and places a gold star sticker after her signature. This is not only for her to remember her goals, but it is also to distinguish her from other performers. The same goes for your company. Pick a logo that is simple, but easy to distinguish from others.
Surround yourself with like-minded individuals. New Directions contains many people with dreams like Rachel’s; they also want to be actors, singers, or dancers. By surrounding herself with students with similar mindsets, Rachel finds (a touch) less resistance at reaching her goals. A company needs to have employees with similar goals. While every employee will have a slightly different personal or professional goal, they should all be invested in your company’s success.
Make good use of social media.
Make use of social media. Every day, Rachel posts a video of her singing a new song on MySpace. Not only does she want to challenge herself to improve her voice, but she also hopes to find new fans. She also has an active Twitter account. After all, Justin Bieber became big because of his YouTube channel. Your company also needs to use social media: Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. Regular updates on these tell potential customers that you are working hard instead of hardly working. In an age when lots of consumers spend hours surfing the Internet, it’s worth it to throw your digital hat into the cyber ring.
Praise and empower your fellow employees. Even though Rachel believes herself to be the star of the glee club, she does take the time to praise her fellow members. And as long as they aren’t in direct competition with her, Rachel empowers her friends to try out for solos and find confidence. The other students appreciate it, and so will your employees. Every employee enjoys hearing that they did a good job, which will motivate them to perform better.
Set multiple goals for yourself. Rachel has a solid plan for herself: own the Broadway stage. However, since she is still in high school, she recognizes the need to accomplish smaller goals like excelling at glee club and winning Nationals to keep herself motivated and on the right track. Always keep your main goal in your mind, but also set smaller goals for yourself, company, and employees. Meeting a goal always creates a sense of accomplishment and renews your motivation.
Never lose sight of your main goal. Still, Rachel doesn’t let winning at Sectionals distract her from Broadway. Everyone she knows is aware of her terminal goal and she constantly reminds herself on a day-to-day basis. Don’t let those small goals overwhelm you to the point that you’ve forgotten your core goal. Make sure that you coherently explain your goal to others and state it in your company’s mission statement.
Following these guidelines will help your business distinguish itself from the multitude of fierce competition. Who knew that following the practices of a controlling, intense diva could be so helpful to driving success?
Are there any other key steps to the foundation of successful personal branding? Is there more that we can learn from Rachel and the New Directions? Do you follow any of these suggestions already?
Post image is from Rachel Berry’s official Facebook page.
Article by Mandy Kilinskis
Mandy is proud to be a part of QLP’s content team. A self-professed nerd, her interests include video games, sitcoms, superhero movies, iPods and iPhones but never Macs, and shockingly, writing. Her claims to fame are: owning over forty pairs of Chuck Taylor All Stars, offering spot-on coffee advice, and knowing an unbelievable amount of Disney Princess facts. You can also connect with Mandy on Google+ or Twitter.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome post, Mandy. Wear to break down the Rachel Berry Business Model strategy by strategy. I especially like the one about setting smaller goals on the way to your main objective. Meeting the small goals fuels motivation and makes you feel like you’re chipping away at a larger accomplishment.
EXCELLENT analysis!
Creating smaller goals is about all that I share with Rachel Berry, but it really does work. Having a visual or mental check off always makes me feel better. Like I can accomplish anything!
Strong work, Mandy! What a fantastic article. Glee is on my “to watch” list but as of right now I’ve never seen an episode. It seems like Rachel is a real go-getter! She may not be the easiest person to get along with, but she knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to go for it (even if she has to make a couple of enemies in the process).
Your second-to-last point resonates the most with me: Set multiple goals for yourself. I struggle with this a lot! I’m a list maker and a goal setter, and I tend to get extreme with some of my expectations. Aiming high is one thing, but setting impossible goals is another. I could take a page out of Rachel’s book and work my way up to those towering accomplishments instead of kicking myself because I couldn’t attain them right away.
Definitely! Even if you have to create 100 sub-goals to meet your main goal, you’ll feel better KNOWING you’ve done 1 or 2 out of the 100 instead of floundering around hoping that you’re making progress.
My daugther and I approve of this post.
Does this make me a Gleek?
You’re only a Gleek if you want to be. It seems to be a self-imposed title.
Awesome tips, Mandy! Setting multiple goals is my favorite on your list. I’ve usually got at least 4 or 5 mini-goals that I try to meet on a daily basis, and each time I complete one, I feel a little bit better about the day.
I totally agree with you. I deployed this strategy in college when there were days when presentations and papers and homework seemed never ending. Just being able to check something off of my list motivated me to keep going.
I wish setting multiple goals worked for me. Unfortunately most goals I set get derailed by around noon in lieu of more pressing “These weren’t your goals before, but they are NOW” goals…
1. Triple points for using ‘in lieu.’
2. Flexibility is something we all have to live with. But yay for goal setting regardless!
Oh Glee, I watched one episode and my significant other banned me from watching it ever again. These are actually really awesome tips though, Great job!
Which just proves that even TV your significant other bans you from watching can teach us something.
Great post! I’m a big fan of the TV to real life business comparisons.
I haven’t watched Glee, but it is in my Netflix queue of TV shows to watch!
I’ve been trying to think of what business lessons we can learn from Pretty Little Liars. So far, I’m coming up empty. :/
Oh.. we’ll think of something!!!