Welcome to Rob Brown Council!

Behind almost every corporate and organisational reputation comes a personal one. In a recent UK political poll, as well as asking which party the public would vote for, the poll showed people trusted Prime Minister Gordon Brown more to handle the current crisis than his opponent, David Cameron. You might think this points to Brown having a strong personal reputation. You'd be wrong. And here's why...

First, let's be clear that Brown has done his party some good with his handling of the financial crisis. The Prime Minister has played to his strengths and reinforced his personal position. However, the poll showed that Mr Brown's personal reputation among voters remains weak.

Remember that your reputation is what people think, do, feel and say when they come into contact with you or your name. It's how they perceive your personal brand and what you stand for. In Brown's case, only 37% agreed that he was someone who had the experience needed to steer Britain's economy through this crisis. Almost half agreed that he had 'mismanaged Britain's public finances when he was Chancellor, and he will use the crisis as an excuse for raising taxes.' Less than a third think he is handling the crisis 'well'. 37% say he is doing badly.

Whilst plenty can be read into polls and statistics, the fact remains that many people do not like him or trust him. You could argue that they trust his opponent Cameron less, but now is not the time to be unpopular. Here's what you can learn from this for your own personal reputation, your personal brand and making yourself the number one choice for what you do:

1. Confidence builds trust builds reputation. When people have faith in you, they will begin to trust you. That builds your personal reputation.
   
2. It's not about leading your current competition. Just because you're more trusted than your opponent, doesn't mean you win. People could choose not to go for either of you.
3. Poll your own customers and clients. They are the ones that vote for you. When you ask them how you're doing, you want to hear good answers, or bad ones you can work on!