Rocco Mediate, Tiger Woods, an 18 hole playoff for the US Open Championship. No hope for Rocco, right? Wrong! It took Tiger Woods 19 holes to beat Rocco Mediate yesterday. Rocco lost, but he established his brand over the weekend at Torrey Pines. He did this so well, he’s headed for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight.
Did you watch The Open over the weekend? Did you get a chance to see any of the playoff yesterday? What did you think?
Rocco’s story is pretty well known by now. He was the 147th ranked player in the world before The Open. He had to qualify to get in. But he played well, and became a crowd favorite. He is a nice guy who keeps things in perspective and doesn’t take himself too seriously.
Tiger Woods, who spent about five hours competing against him head to head yesterday, said, “Rocco was loose all day. Just talking and enjoying it and smiling and having a great time with it. But when it comes down to it, when it's time to hit the shot, he goes into his own little world. People don't realize that. After he does hit the shot he comes out and goes, blah, blah, blah, having a good time. But right before each shot he gets into his own little zone. And it's pretty cool to see.”
Rocco Mediate built his brand at the 2008 US Open. He is the smiling, talkative, relaxed golfer. This brand is Rocco. It is authentic -- and it will be on display on the Tonight Show tonight. What do you think of Rocco Mediate’s brand?
By the way, Tiger’s brand as a mentally tough winner stays intact – especially after those two birdie putts on 18 on Sunday and Monday. But that’s another story and this post is about Rocco Mediate.
What’s your brand? How did you put it together? What do you do to develop and promote it? Please leave a comment on this.
The common sense point here is simple. A strong personal brand is essential to creating positive personal impact. Positive personal impact is one the five keys to success that I discuss in “Straight Talk for Success.” Your personal brand must be uniquely you. More important, it must be authentic. People can spot a phony a mile away. Take a lesson from Rocco Mediate on this one. Build a brand that is authentically and uniquely you.
As always, I’m interested in your perspective on these thoughts. I welcome and appreciate your comments. Thanks for reading.
Bud
Bud,
I did watch, along with a group of guys, and Rocco turned the rooting section in his favor along the way. It was all about who he was and that he never tried to be anything else. The dynamic was interesting to watch.
There was something else that he did, too. At the end of regulation play when asked if he was happy just to be there, Rocco said "I'm here to win it." In addition to being fun and laid back, he put his stake in the ground instead of just doing an "Aw,shucks, I can't believe I'm playing with Tiger."
There's something to learn here. You may start off being labeled as #147, but you don't have to end up that way.
Posted by: Steve Roesler | June 18, 2008 5:41 AM | Permalink to Comment