The Road to Recognition: The A-to-Z Guide to Personal Branding for Accelerating Your Professional Success in The Age of Digital Media Hardcover – May 9, 2017

I have hesitated to write this review in full only in that of the so many wonderful and actionable insights packed into this fantastic book, I’m only just beginning a systematic implementation process. But the the book is good and so meaningful that I figured I’d go ahead and share some thoughts.The first thing that’s readily apparent about The Road to Recognition is the extent to which the authors have poured their hearts and souls into it. They will be the first to admit that the topic of personal branding is, well, quite personal to them. Each feels that they started late in the game in building their personal brands and there’s just a tremendous sincerity in their making the case that others shouldn’t make that mistake.I suppose I would describe myself as someone who has always cared about my reputation and for being perceived according to the traits that I hope I possess and that I’m proud of. But I’d never given the notion of systematically building a personal brand much thought. I might have even been called a skeptic on the topic. That remained the case as my career progressed – in an extraordinarily lucky and blessed fashion – from corporate law to banking to strategic communications.It took about ten pages for me to be fully persuaded of the importance and it’s something that, as someone who has made career changes, I should have been much more cognizant of. I don’t know if I have any more jumps in me, but if so, I plan to be much better positioned and it’ll be thanks to the Road to Recognition.The book itself is a beautifully written blueprint and process (literally, from A-Z) on building and optimizing your personal brand. 26 topics are selected for in depth treatment. Without question, the production of outstanding and shareable content is a recurring theme throughout – as is being a generally decent human being, which I actually think is something well worth acknowledging. In any event, most of the chapters are magnificently written and organized “how to” guides in respect of the nuts and bolts of building a personal brand – content, design, website, Google, LinkedIn, etc.But another special aspect of this book is that it doesn’t shy away from delving into the psychological underpinnings of our own behavior and how it impacts the way we’re perceived. The discussion in the chapter “H is for Helping” is a prime example. One can either help out of a genuine generosity – or in a calculated manner in which the goal is really to help oneself. The irony, as the authors show, is that taking the first approach works infinitely better in terms of benefits redounding back to you. People have tremendous desires to reciprocate and to say thank you for genuine offers of assistance.Related is the chapter “R is for Recognition.” I love this chapter – perhaps because it is one of the few that I have performed intuitively over my life – but it focuses on how having the decency and the appreciation and the gratitude to continually cite and recognize those who have helped make you better turns out to redound quite well in respect of our personal brands.Next, the prescriptions in the book are reasonable and achievable. The authors don’t come at you with the expectation that you’ll implement everything at once. Rather, their message really is: “Start. Start now. And do it the right way.”Finally, the authors practice what they preach. They cite relevant influencers throughout, giving those folks all due credit; and they speak highly in the text of more folks who have been influencers on their own personal lives.And in terms of helping: I’ll end where I began. I’m not sure I’ve read a book recently that felt so sincere in wanting to help folks. In my eyes anyway, this is a book that will stand the test of time and that I expect and hope is deservedly further elevating the personal brands of each of Barry and Seth.Thanks to you both.

Yes, I said buy it three times. Once on Kindle, so it's available on any device with your annotations and highlights. Once on paper, because you'll want to flip through, mark it up, and remind yourself of what to try next. And an extra copy, to give to that colleague you want to see succeed.There are a ton of personal branding resources out there. Why did I buy one more? I bought The Road to Recognition because I've been a follower of Barry Feldman's work for years, and he's the real deal. His content marketing savvy is unquestionable, his copy writing ability proven again and again. It's not hype when I can see it working on myself -- the stuff I click on because of how he says it, the stuff I learn because he doesn't just rehash what everyone else is saying.I've been in online marketing myself for over 20 years, and it's not everybody that impresses me with fresh insights. Knowing Barry in a professional capacity, I knew this resource was going to be above and beyond. It did not disappoint.(Sorry, Seth. I don't know you, so I don't feel equipped to sing your praises. But if you're part of the reason this book got written, then thank you, thank you, thank you!)Reasons to add this book to your shelf:- It doesn't waste your time. It's concise.- It doesn't miss anything important. You follow this roadmap, you'll see success.- Because of the above, it's a handy quick reference. Read through this baby once a year and keep yourself on track and moving forward.The only thing that detracts from the execution of the content, if you could really call it detracting, is the A-Z arrangement of the topics. Personally, I'd group things so that related items are together. But it's a good thing they didn't consult me, because using the alphabet for an "A to Z" approach is super catchy, and shares really well on social media. Besides, books are more fun when you can highlight them, annotate the margins to refer to other sections, and put sticky flags in the corners.Oh, I should mention one other thing: This book covers "everything you need to know" to succeed, but it's not designed to give you step by step instructions for each item. Trust me, this is a good thing. The latest and greatest how-to on the tactics in this book are to be found online, and that's where you should go for that hands-on, step-by-step detail. This book is your golden guide to what's vital for success and why.