Michael Goldhaber, writing in Wired, said, "If there is nothing very special about your work, no matter how hard you apply yourself you won't get noticed and that increasingly means you won't get paid much either. In times past you could be obscure yet secure -- now that's much harder."

Again: the white collar job as now configured is doomed. Soon. ("Downsizing" in the nineties will look like small change.) So what's the trick? There's only one: distinction. Or as we call it, turning yourself into a brand . . . Brand You.

A brand is nothing more than a sign of distinction. Right? Nike. Starbucks. Martha Stewart. The point (again): that's not the way we've thought about white collar workers--ourselves--over the past century. The "bureaucrat" on the finance staff is de facto faceless, plugging away, passing papers.

But now, in our view, she is born again, transformed from bureaucrat to the new star. She works in a professional service firm and works on projects that she'll be able to brag about years from now.

I call her/him the New American Professional, CEO of Me Inc. (even if Me Inc. is currently on someone's payroll) and, of course, of Brand You.

Step #1 in the model was the organization . . .a department turned into PSF 1.0.  Step #2 is the individual . . .reborn as Brand You.

In 50 essential points, Tom Peters shows how to be committed to your craft, choose the right projects, how to improve networking, why you need to think fun is cool, and why it's important to piss some people off. He will enable you to turn yourself into an important and distinctive commodity. In short, he will show you how to turn yourself into . . . Brand You.


See also the other 50List titles in the Reinventing Work series by Tom Peters -- The Project50 and The Professional Service Firm50 -- for additional information on how to make an impact in the professional world.

Average Customer Review: ( 71 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

Which brings us to Mr. Peters. If you're looking for some interesting and useful advice on how to market yourself and your career, this book is quite good. Peters does drive me up the wall a bit with his relentlessly energetic and optimistic tone, but he does give good advice. I don't think Tom takes into account how resistant some workplaces are to people who behave like he tells us to, and his irritating call to make everything you work on a "WOW" project makes me wonder if he knows what it's like to man the front-line trenches of corporate America. But again, what he writes is worth reading.

What I find fault with is the how Peters says it. He can't write a sentence without words in ALL CAPITALS and italics (which, alas, I can't show you in an Amazon review). And, of course, Peters loves exclamation points!!!! In fact the logo of his company is an exclamation point!!! He uses enough exclamation points that there is NO WAY to tell what is just ROUTINE INFORMATION and what is VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. See how INCREDIBLY IRRITATION this is??!!! Read "The Brand You 50" and you find all sorts of good info, but you'll have to hack through an ENTIRE BOOK that is written LIKE THIS!!!!!!!

37 of 40 found the following review helpful:

This is a dangerous book...Jan 23, 2000
By David E. Rogers
...if you're serious about personal and professional growth. In his typically no-holds-barred style, Tom Peters scores with 50 (plus) strategies for breaking the shackles of faceless employee-dom and turning you into a rock 'em, sock 'em mini-firm --complete with personal "brand" and a passion for constant renewal.

...if you feel discouraged in today's business culture. With down-to-earth, "I can do that" tactical suggestions, Peters relentlessy lifts your hopes and revives the dreams long suppressed by "corporate." Like his "live" lectures, you'll feel like you just attended a revival meeting.

...if you're looking for more than your job offers. The 50 strategies get your juices flowing, help you diagnose your current position, and plan for the future. The chapters may be bite-sized, but they provide more than enough food for thought and reflection. Read it with savor.

...because it can change your life! This book played a key role helping me decide to quit my job and reach for what I really want to do. Read at your own risk!

16 of 16 found the following review helpful:

Just read itNov 06, 1999

Ever since he first blew my mind with "in Search of Excellence", Tom Peters has been on my "must read" list. He combines the utterly brilliant with the utterly obvious, fusing the two into the most powerful, most compelling vision of the possibilities of business I have ever encountered. I want to live in Tom's world, a world where work has meaning, purpose, passion and joy. "The brand you 50", is the latest chapter in this ongoing quest. If you have read his previous books, you will find no surprises, if you haven't, then read this book drunk, because he is going to scare the hell out of you. (and -maybe- set you free). In the book, Mr. Peters gives a list of things that an individual can do to thrive in the new economy. This is the Tom Peters vision of the world boiled down to its most pragmatic form. The author's views on what it takes to succeed has changed radically since "In Search of Excellence", but his absolute love for the topic burns hotter than ever. The only thing he could have done better would have been to combine "The Brand You 50", "The Project 50", and the "Professional Service Firm 50" into one book, instead of making me make three (expensive) trips to the bookstore.

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Fight Club with out losing your teethDec 10, 1999
By Kieran Lal
Tom beats you up. He knocks you down and points out where you are weak. But when he is done you definately don't ever want to wear that mediocre suit to work again. His chapters are short and his homework is frightenly creative and challenging. I think it takes about a minute to read a chapter and a day(at least) to tackle his to do lists. Each to do is a groaning soul searching question that drags you down and lifts you up with a euphoric (and addictive)self-realization.

I decided to buy Tom's book after reading about a fifth of it in the book store. I described it to a new member of my Brand Me inner circle as a book I had to buy after I wrote down two quotes and laughed out loud three times.

The part I like the most about !'s book is the reaction I get from my inner circle when I share my things to do. "That is very very cool", "Storms, hurricanes, fires, natural disaster are churning in my belly after talking to you about it", "This is really exciting I am so eager to get started" are a few comments I have gotten since I started working on my brand.

Tom's book reads like he wrote it after 6 cups of coffee on a trans-atlantic flight and it probably was. So it doesn't flow as well it could. Also, if he really wanted people to take action as quickly as he says he does it would have helped to have some room to write right there in the book. I definitely recommend a workbook edition.

With a shortage of a million IT workers in the world it only makes sense that everybody start asking why they aren't doing what they absolutely love doing. Tom's book is a guide to start doing it.

Cheers, Kieran

15 of 16 found the following review helpful:

Peters - Love Him or Hate HimDec 09, 1999

For more than a decade, Tom Peters has come to represent a push against the envelope of normal boring white collar work - so why should he change direction now? The Brand You 50 is the first volume in a number of of books that Peters plans to write over the next while under the umbrella moniker of 'Reinventing the Work'.

Again employing his trademark in-your-face style, Peters takes his 'Circle of Innovation' one step further by providing the reader with some great, whacky, and often off-the-wall ideas about how to thrive in the work world of tomorrow today.

While not quite worthy of a five star rating, I found this book to be entertaining, if not engrossing. It was easy to pick up and read tidbits over and over agian. I found the 'Todo' ideas at the end of every chapter (& I use this term loosely) to be the most valuable part of the book.

The mechanics where a little disoriented, and the presentation was real and meaningful, if not a little raw at times. If you have never read TP before, you might find this volume a little offensive and strong, but once past the rough exterior, I imagine most readers will not only learn something, but also come away with lots of ideas for personal use.

With this being an indicator of the flavor of the remaining '50' books, I suspect that we're in for a roller coaster ride in the world as TP sees it.

See all 71 customer reviews on Amazon.com