Imran Khan - Extremist Politician or Moderate Cricketer?

The United Nations General Assembly week is over, and the theatrics of the selected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Imran Khan can now be analysed. So much desperation, so much bluster and open Nuclear threat in the speech from Imran Khan at the United Nations General Assembly is unprecedented and deserves condemnation from everyone.

What was Imran Khan's real agenda and what was he trying to talk about? Who was he addressing in his rambling speech littered with so much abuse so much rhetoric and so much frustration and anger? Someone summarised that in Mr Khan’s speech he used Narendra Modi 12 times, Kashmir 25 times, Terrorism 28 times and Islam 71 times! Using terms like bloodbath is unacceptable.

Leaders of Pakistan and the Congress party have realised that when nothing works, blame the RSS. Raising the matter of the RSS at the United Nations was ridiculous since Mr Khan and his band of merry men have absolutely no understanding of the work being done by the RSS. They are simply parroting what they hear from the leaders of the Congress party in India.

Talking about Hitler and Mussolini and comparing them to the RSS and warning the international community from the most haloed podium of the United Nations General Assembly went down very poorly with most world leaders. Everyone was surprised to see the Prime Minister of a country raving and ranting well beyond his allotted time, trying to plead for help while threatening the World!

Khan has openly encouraged the terrorists being supported by his Army in Pakistan to indulge in Jihad and has therefore justified and given permission and encouragement to the terrorist organisations and the Pakistan Army to start sending terrorists into India. At the same time, he is also making an impartial appeal about how Islam is a religion of peace and how Pakistan has been the biggest sufferer of the war against terrorism.

When did Jihad, an Arabic word which literally means striving or struggling, especially with a praiseworthy aim become a term synonymous with terrorism, destruction, revenge and death?

What is interesting is the way Mr Khan tried to take the position of a leader of Islam in the World when he tried to explain, in a desperate tone, how people who follow Islam get offended when the world says anything against their religion. It is another thing that everyone who is not a believer is a kafir. Not once did he say that it is necessary for people who follow the religion to make any changes to themselves. He has conveniently put the entire blame of all the problems of 9/11 and thereafter on the rest of the World. He strongly condemned the use of the words radical Islamic terrorism but did not even once suggest that the responsibility for reining in the jihadists lies with leaders like himself.

His speech the previous day at the Asiatic Society was the same as the one he made in the General Assembly and to be fair to him, he did say that the Asiatic Society speech was a practice speech. He had nothing new to talk about except Kashmir, Islam and how the World need to so much more for the religion.

Earlier, Imran Khan, sitting with his tasbih while talking to President Trump is a picture worth thinking about. His body language gave away his nervousness. He was appealing to the most powerful man in the World while praying to Almighty God hoping that there would be a miracle. He was desperate for a positive comment that he could take back home like “winning the World Cup” after his first meeting with President Trump that was apparently set up at the request of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

Not once did he talk about the incredible poverty of Pakistan, the major shortage of power, water, fuel and food supplies. He chose not to speak about the illiteracy and the very poor health record of his country. He ignored the impassioned pleas of Baluchistan and the other suppressed minorities in Pakistan. He did not speak about the bankruptcy his nation is facing because of corruption and mismanagement and conveniently laid the blame for Pakistan likely to be blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on India.

Imran Khan has returned to Pakistan empty handed. His supporters and that large number of journalists were expecting a miracle from his trip to India. He had assured them that nothing short of a revocation of Article 370 would be acceptable to him! Not only did he not get anything from the world leaders who did not believe a word that he spoke with but also his borrowed plane from Saudi Arabia refused to take him back owing to a technical error and he had to fly home on a commercial plane.

While lending a plane to Mr Khan, Saudi Arabia also assured India that they will ensure that India will not face a shortfall of a single drop of oil. To add insult to injury Saudi Arabia has just announced a US$ 100 billion investment package in India (Mr Khan would have happily sold the entire Pakistan for 25% of this amount Tu Saudi Arabia).

Imran Khan needs to stop terrorism once and for all which will be tough now that he has unleashed these forces. He needs a buy in from his Army which still seems to be motivated by Bhutto’s threat of hurting India with a “thousand cuts.” If the Army is on his side, he needs to shut down his factories of terrorism. Not only will the World heave a sigh of relief but also his own people, who by his own admission have been the biggest sufferers.

Imran Khan, if he truly wants to attain the stature as a World Leader must work for the people of Pakistan. He must focus on building his country and bring back the credibility his country used to enjoy in the World three decades back.

He must work towards normalising relations with India rather than keep competing with and threatening India. A supportive India can do a lot for his broken and impoverished country. Trade must be resumed, and people-to-people interaction must be improved. A safe Pakistan can open the doors to millions of tourists who would love to visit Pakistan. The economy of Pakistan must be revived.

Only an economically self-reliant Pakistan can hope to find a respectable place amongst the comity of nations.

Is Imran Khan the selected Prime Minister being propped up by the Army? Or the leader of the Muslim World? Or the leader of the Radical Islamist movement? Or the playboy who won the cricket World Cup and built a cancer hospital? Or the leader of Tehreek-e-Insaaf who Pakistan had thought would deliver them from all the challenges of the previous leaders? Or is he simply "Imm the Dim" as he is popularly called by some political commentators?

Will the real Imran Khan please stand up to be counted?

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The author is a Business and Executive Coach, a Storyteller and an Angel Investor. He hosts the highly successful podcast titled The Brand Called You. A keen political observer and commentator, he is also the founder Chairman of Guardian Pharmacies. He is the author of 6 best-selling books and writes for several online newspapers.

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"हाउडी मोदी" का पुनर्निर्माण

भारत के कतिपय विपक्षी नेताओं और पाकिस्तान के अमूमन सारे राजनेताओं और पत्रकारों को छोड़ दे तो हर कोई इस तथ्य को स्वीकार रहा है कि ह्यूस्टन टेक्सास में प्रधानमंत्री मोदी का भाषण, भारत के संदर्भ में बाजी पलटकर रख देने वाला है।

लगभग हर किसी ने प्रधानमंत्री मोदी के भाषण के बाद हुए डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के भाषण के बारे में लिखा लेकिन लगता है किसी ने भी प्रधानमंत्री मोदी के प्रारंभिक भाषण पर कोई टिप्पणी नहीं दी, जिसके ज़रिए उन्होंने राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प का आह्वान किया था। आइए इन दो नेताओं ने जिन कई मुद्दों पर बात की उसके पुनर्पाठ से पहले श्री मोदी ने जो परिचय दिया, उससे शुरुआत करते हैं।

दो नेताओं ने मंच पर प्रवेश किया तब श्री ट्रम्प का हाथ श्री मोदी के कंधे पर था। यह तीसरा अवसर था जब वर्ष 2019 में थोड़े अंतराल के बाद वे मिल रहे थे और दोनों की ख़ुशमिज़ाजी उनके हाव-भाव से साफ़ झलक रही थी।

प्रधानमंत्री मोदी आगंतुक थे, न कि ह्यूस्टन, टेक्सास में मेजबान। राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प के आगमन से पहले कई अमेरिकी नेताओं ने उनका परिचय दिया और उनका सम्मान किया। जैसे ही राष्ट्रपति का आगमन हुआ, श्री मोदी ने राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प का परिचय देने की जिम्मेदारी अपने हाथों में ली, गोकि श्री मोदी ही उस कार्यक्रम के मेजबान हो। उनके द्वारा पूरी तैयारी के साथ दिया गया परिचय, राष्ट्रपति के चेहरे पर मुस्कान ले आया और जिन विभिन्न मुद्दों के बारे में श्री मोदी ने कहा उस पर राष्ट्रपति ने सहमति दर्शाई।

श्री मोदी ने वर्णन किया कि कैसे राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प के साथ उनकी पहली मुलाकात में उनका परिचय ट्रम्प परिवार से करवाया गया था और उन्होंने कहा कि अब उनकी बारी थी कि वे राष्ट्रपति का परिचय अपने परिवार से कराए और ऐसा कहकर वे स्टेडियम के सभी श्रोताओं से मुखातिब हुए और उन श्रोताओं को अपना परिवार बताया जिस पर सभी ने जोश-ख़रोश में जयकारे लगाए-"मोदी मोदी"। यह वास्तव में उसी बात का प्रतिनिधित्व कर रहा था जिसका जिक्र वे हमेशा भारतीय दर्शन के ‘वसुधैव कुटुंबकम्’ (विश्व एक परिवार है) के रूप में करते हैं।

उनकी टिप्पणियों "मेक अमेरिका ग्रेट अगेन (अमेरिका को फिर महान् बनाया जाए)" और "अबकी बार ट्रम्प सरकार" को भारत के विपक्षी नेताओं ने ग़लत तरीके से समझा और ग़लत तरीके से प्रस्तुत किया, ये वे ही लोग हैं जो बिना सोचे-समझे किसी भी बात को अपने पक्ष में करवा लेने की कोशिश करते हैं। इन लोगों ने अपनी सहुलियत से इस बात को पूरी तरह अनसुना कर दिया कि श्री मोदी राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प के वर्ष 2016 के चुनाव अभियान के संदर्भ में यह जिक्र कर रहे थे। श्री मोदी ने बड़ी सावधानी से इन शब्दों को " उम्मीदवार (कैंडिडेट) ट्रम्प" के साथ रखा था। इस परिचय के समय श्री ट्रम्प और श्री मोदी साथ-साथ खड़े थे और इन शब्दों से उनका श्री ट्रम्प के साथ सुर एकदम जुड़ गया।

प्रधानमंत्री मोदी को साफ़-साफ़ पता था कि वे किस बारे में बोलने वाले हैं और जिस लाजवाब तरीके से उन्होंने तैयारी की थी और जो उनकी सोच थी, जिसे लेकर उन्होंने संवाद साधा था उसकी प्रशंसा हर कोई करेगा। एक ही भाषण में वे कई मतदाता वर्ग को संबोधित करते लग रहे थे:

1. बड़ी तादाद में भारतीय अमेरिकियों ने उन्हें सुनने के लिए पाँच घंटे से अधिक समय तक इंतज़ार किया, उन 4 मिलियन भारतीय अमेरिकियों के साथ, जिन्होंने जबसे श्री मोदी को कद्दावर नेता के रूप में देखा है तब से उन्हें पूरा समर्थन दिया है, जो उनके देश, उनकी भूमि को लेकर उन्हें गौरवान्वित अनुभव कराता है।
2. उनके पूरे भाषण के दौरान अमेरिका के राष्ट्रपति वहाँ उपस्थित थे।
3. स्टेडियम में रिपब्लिकन और डेमोक्रेटिक दोनों दलों के कई प्रतिनिधि और नेता मौजूद थे।
4. लाखों भारतीय उनका भाषण सुनने के लिए वहाँ रुके थे, जबकि बहुत रात हो गई थी। उनमें से निश्चित रूप से कई विपक्षी दलों के नेता थे, जिन्होंने एक वक्तव्य से दूसरे वक्तव्य के बीच के अंतर के विस्तार को पहचाना होगा।
5. पाकिस्तान के दर्शकों के लिए श्री मोदी ने अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति की उपस्थिति में कुछ सख्त टिप्पणियाँ भी की थीं।

ट्रम्प का परिचय दिए जाने के बाद श्री ट्रम्प ख़ुद उन्हें मंच के छोर तक ले गए ताकि वे स्थानापन्न हो राष्ट्रपति को सुन सकें।

श्री ट्रम्प ने बड़े उदार मन से प्रशस्त टिप्पणियाँ कीं और उन्होंने दो-तीन बार कहा कि व्हाइट हाउस में भारत सच्चा मित्र है। अमेरिका के लगभग 4 मिलियन भारतीयों से श्री मोदी ने जो अतुलनीय अपील की, राष्ट्रपति ने उसे पहचाना। कहीं न कहीं श्री ट्रम्प के मानस पटल में चल रहा होगा कि पिछले चुनावों में 77% भारतीय अमेरिकियों ने डेमोक्रेटिक की प्रत्याशी हिलेरी क्लिंटन को मतदान किया था। यदि वे यह विश्वास दिला सकें कि वे भारत का समर्थन करेंगे और इस तरह वे इतनी बड़ी संख्या में इन मतदाताओं को अपनी ओर कर पाने में सफल हो पाएँ तो, उनके लिए निश्चित ही मददगार होगा।

जब राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प ने इस्लामिक आतंकवाद का मुकाबला करने की बात की, तो विशेष रूप से दिलचस्प था कि उन्होंने अमेरिका और भारत इन दोनों देशों के बीच पहली बार हुए त्रिकोणीय रक्षा अभ्यास का उल्लेख किया।

उसके बाद श्री मोदी को राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प द्वारा मंच पर आमंत्रित किया गया। यह देखना भी बड़ा दिलचस्प था कि इन दो विश्व नेताओं के बीच कोई तीसरा पक्ष नहीं था। श्री मोदी ने अमेरिकी निवेश आमंत्रित करने के लिए अपनी सरकार की उपलब्धियों के बारे में विस्तार से बात की, लेकिन उनका मुख्य संवाद पाकिस्तान और कश्मीर के बारे में था।

श्री मोदी उत्कृष्ट वक्ता हैं और शत्रु पर वार करने की उनकी अपनी ख़ास शैली है, वे लगातार 9-11 और 26-11 के बारे में इन हमलों के पीछे किसी देश या नेता का नाम लिए बिना सवाल पूछ रहे थे और लोगों की बढ़-चढ़कर प्रतिक्रियाएँ मिल रही थीं। इसका राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प पर निश्चित ही गहरा प्रभाव पड़ा होगा क्योंकि इससे पहले वे इमरान ख़ान के साथ की पत्रकार वार्ता में भारी भीड़ की प्रतिक्रियाओं का अनुभव ले चुके थे। उस समय प्रधानमंत्री मोदी आतंकवाद पर लगातार तीखा हमला और कटाक्ष कर रहे थे और अब वे दोषियों के ख़िलाफ़ निर्णायक कार्रवाई के मुद्दे पर आ गए थे, जो वहाँ की भारी भीड़ में बैठे हर श्रोता तक गुंजायमान हो गया था और उनके सम्मान में वहाँ उपस्थित विशाल जनसमुदाय ने खड़े होकर तालियाँ बजाकर उनका अभिवादन किया।

जब बात धारा 370 के विषय में आई तो प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने बहुत स्पष्ट रूप से कहा कि लोकतांत्रिक सिद्धांतों के अनुसार संसद में दोनों सदनों द्वारा इस पर विस्तार से टेलीविजित बहस हुई थी और जिसे दुनिया भर के लोगों ने देखा था और इन बहसों के बाद ही दो-तिहाई बहुमत से यह कानून पारित किया गया था। श्री मोदी ने वास्तव में इस तथ्य की पुष्टि के लिए विभिन्न भाषाओं में श्री ट्रम्प और अन्य नेताओं को सूचित किया कि भारत में "सब ठीक है"। यह बात वास्तव में उन चंद नेताओं तक भी पहुँचानी थी जो पाकिस्तानी सोच पर “तोता रटंत” करते आ रहे हैं।

अपने भाषण के अंत में, श्री मोदी ट्रम्प के पास गए और उनका हाथ अपने हाथ में लेकर राष्ट्रपति के साथ पूरे स्टेडियम की विजयी परिक्रमा लगाई।

यह श्री मोदी का विश्व के सबसे शक्तिशाली व्यक्ति के सामने भारत की नरम शक्ति का प्रदर्शन करने का तरीका था और जिन मुद्दों को प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने अपने भाषण में उठाया था उन पर निहित सहमति प्राप्त करना था। बहुत आश्चर्य नहीं होगा यदि हम 26 जनवरी 2020 के गणतंत्र दिवस पर मुख्य अतिथि के रूप में राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प और प्रथम महिला को देखें।  

स्पष्ट रूप से श्री मोदी ने अमेरिका और श्री ट्रम्प के साथ इतने मजबूत संबंध बनाने के लिए बहुत श्रम किया है। यदि यह मानकर चले कि श्री ट्रम्प फिर से चुने जाते हैं, तो वे भारत के लिए ऐसे बन सकते हैं जैसे निक्सन, चीन के लिए थे। अगर ऐसा होता है, तो भारत 10 बिलियन अमेरिकी डॉलर की अर्थव्यवस्था बनने की एकदम सही राह पर होगा और हम सभी को इसके लिए श्री मोदी को धन्यवाद देना होगा।

अपने दूसरे कार्यकाल में प्रधानमंत्री मोदी अपने कार्यकाल के शुरुआती दौर से ही सभी कठोर फैसले लेने की जल्दी में हैं। चाहे हम उन्हें चाहें या उनसे नफरत करें, उनके पास 56 महीने से अधिक का समय है जब वे तीसरे कार्यकाल की चाह में फिर से चुनाव में खड़े होते हैं।

यह ‘मेक इंडिया ग्रेट अगेन’ (भारत को पुन: श्रेष्ठ) बनाने के लिए वर्ष 2014 से अब तक किए गए सभी परिवर्तनों को लागू करने और उनके परिणामों को देखने के लिए पर्याप्त समय है।

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लेखक कार्यकारी कोच, कथा वाचक (स्टोरी टेलर) और एंजेल निवेशक हैं। वे अत्यधिक सफल पॉडकास्ट के मेजबान हैं जिसका शीर्षक है - द ब्रांड कॉल्ड यू- The Brand Called You, राजनीतिक समीक्षक और टीकाकार के साथ वे गार्डियन फार्मेसीज के संस्थापक अध्यक्ष भी हैं। वे 6 बेस्ट सेलर पुस्तकों के लेखक हैं और कई ऑनलाइन समाचार पत्रों के लिए लिखते हैं।

हमारे पॉडकास्ट देखें यहाँ www.tbcy.in | www.equationcoaching.com                                                 

• ट्विटर : @gargashutosh                                                          
• इंस्टाग्राम : ashutoshgarg56                                                     
• ब्लॉग : ashutoshgargin.wordpress.com | ashutoshgarg56.blogspot.com

• अनुवादक- स्वरांगी साने – अनुवादक होने के साथ कवि, पत्रकार, कथक नृत्यांगना, साहित्य-संस्कृति-कला समीक्षक, भारतीय भाषाओं के काव्य के ऑनलाइन विश्वकोष-कविता कोश में रचनाएँ शामिल। दो काव्य संग्रह- काव्य संग्रह “शहर की छोटी-सी छत पर” मध्य प्रदेश साहित्य परिषद, भोपाल द्वारा स्वीकृत अनुदान से प्रकाशित और काव्य संग्रह “वह हँसती बहुत है” महाराष्ट्र राज्य हिंदी साहित्य अकादमी, मुंबई द्वारा द्वारा स्वीकृत अनुदान से प्रकाशित।

Deconstructing “Howdy Modi”

Everyone, barring a few opposition politicians in India and most politicians and journalists in Pakistan, is acknowledging the fact that speech by Prime Minister Modi at Houston Texas is a game changer for India.

Almost everybody seems to have written about the speech of Donald Trump followed by the speech of Prime Minister Modi, but no one seems to have commented on the opening speech given by Prime Minister Modi to introduce President Trump. Let us start with the introduction made by Mr Modi before we start to deconstruct the many points that were made by the two leaders.

The two leaders arrived on the stage with Mr Trump’s arm around the shoulder of Mr Modi. This was the third time these leaders had met in a short period of time in 2019 and their bonhomie was evident from their body language.

Prime Minister Modi was the visitor and not the host at the Houston, Texas event. He was introduced and felicitated by various US leaders before the arrival of President Trump. Once the President arrived, Mr Modi took on the responsibility of introducing President Trump as if Mr Modi was the host at this event. His well-prepared introduction had the President smiling and acknowledging the various points Mr Modi spoke about.

Mr Modi recounted that during his first meeting with President Trump he had been introduced to the Trump family and he said it was now his turn to introduce the President to his family as he reached out to the entire audience in the stadium introducing them as his family to loud cheers of “Modi Modi.” This truly represented what he has always spoken about Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam (the World is one family) as the philosophy of India.

His comments of “Make America Great Again” and “Abki Baar Trump Sarkar” may have been misunderstood and misinterpreted by the opposition leaders in India who are always looking to score a point without thinking. What they chose not to hear was that Mr Modi was referring to President Trump’s election campaign in 2016. Mr Modi also carefully prefaced these words with “Candidate Trump.” These words struck the right chord with Mr Trump who was standing next to Mr Modi during this introduction.

Prime Minister Modi clearly knew what he was going to be speaking about and one must appreciate the incredible amount of preparation and thinking that must have gone into preparing his communication. In one speech, he was addressing multiple constituencies:

1. The large number of Indian Americans who had waited to hear him for over five hours along with the 4 million Indian Americans who have been giving him a lot of support since they see in Mr Modi a strong leader who will make them proud of the country of their origin.
2. The President of America who stayed throughout his speech.
3. The multiple representatives and leaders of both Republican and Democratic parties present in the stadium.
4. The millions of Indians who stayed up to listen to his speech even though it was very late at night. Among them were certainly leaders of the opposition parties who must have recognised the gap widening with each passing comment.
5. The audience in Pakistan for whom Mr Modi had some tough comments in the presence of the US President.

After making the introduction of President Trump, Prime Minister Modi was escorted to the edge of the stage by Mr Trump so that Mr Modi could take his chair to hear the President.

Mr Trump was very expansive and generous in his comments and he more than once talked about the true friend India had in the White House. The President recognised the incredible appeal Prime Minister Modi has amongst 4 million Indians in America. At the back of his mind Mr Trump must have remembered that 77% of the Indian Americans voted for Hilary Clinton, the Democratic aspirant in the last election. It would certainly help if he could swing the large number of these voters to his side if he was able to convince them that he would support India.

While President Trump spoke about combating Radical Islamic terrorism what was particularly interesting was his mention of the tri-force defence exercises between America and India, a first for these two nations. His second announcement of establishing a Space Force and asking India to collaborate with America was a milestone announcement which seems to have gone unnoticed.

Mr Modi was then invited to the stage by President Trump. It was interesting to see that there was no third party between these two World leaders. Mr Modi spoke about the accomplishments of his Government at length, understandably to invite investments from American business, but his key communication was about Pakistan and Kashmir.

Mr Modi is an outstanding orator and in his own inimical style he kept asking questions about 9-11 and 26-11 and the people behind these attacks without naming the country or its leader, getting an overwhelming response from the crowd.. This certainly made a strong impression on President Trump because he repeated the response of the large crowd in his press conference with Imran Khan. Prime Minister Modi was scathing in his attack on terrorism and his comment that time had now come to take decisive action against the perpetrators reverberated with everyone in the large audience and received a standing ovation.

When it came to the subject of section 370 Prime Minister Modi very clearly stated that in accordance with democratic principles this was debated at length by both houses of parliament in televised debates that who watched around the world and it was only after these debates that the law was passed with the two third majority. In multiple languages, in a matter of fact way, Mr Modi communicated to Mr Trump and other leaders that “all is well” in India. This was also a communication to the few leaders who have been “parroting” the Pakistan line of thinking.

At the end his speech, Mr Modi walked across to Mr Trump and holding his hand, took the President for a victory lap around the stadium.

This was Mr Modi’s way of demonstrating the soft power of India with the most powerful man in the universe and getting his implied assent on the various points that Prime Minister Modi raised in his speech. It would not be surprising if we see President Trump and the First Lady as the Chief Guests at India’s Republic Day on 26^th January 2020.

Clearly Mr Modi has staked a lot on building very strong bonds with America and Mr Trump. Assuming that Mr Trump will be elected again, he can become for India what Nixon was to China. If that happens, India will be well on its way to becoming a US$ 10 trillion economy and all of us will have Mr Modi to thank for.

In his second term Prime Minister Modi is a man in a hurry to take all the tough decisions early in his term. Whether we love him or hate him, he has more than 56 months before he seeks election again for a third term.

This is enough time to implement and see the results of all the changes he has made since 2014 to Make India Great Again.

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The author is a Business and Executive Coach, a Storyteller and an Angel Investor. He hosts the highly successful podcast titled The Brand Called You. A keen political observer and commentator, he is also the founder Chairman of Guardian Pharmacies. He is the author of 6 best-selling books and writes for several online newspapers.

Watch our podcasts at www.tbcy.in | www.equationcoaching.com 

• Twitter: @gargashutosh
• Instagram: ashutoshgarg56
• Blog: ashutoshgargin.wordpress.com | ashutoshgarg56.blogspot.com

Attributes of your Personal Brand

Your personal brand is composed of many attributes that help to define you. These attributes are partially how you see yourself and partially how you think others see you. Your thoughts and perceptions are ratified through the people you interact with or the consumers who come in contact with Brand You.

If you think of yourself as a brand, you are no different from anyone else who believes in leaving their name as a legacy in this world. A strong personal brand must have several attributes. The combination of physical form, your qualifications and your achievements are the skeleton, the flesh, blood and muscles of Brand You. These attributes coupled with your skills, intelligence and wisdom, is your persona.

Your persona, Brand You, will define how you will be perceived by your audience and in the rest of your world.

You need to consider the following eight attributes to understand and evaluate your personal brand and to understand how Brand You measures up against each. These attributes are as applicable to the brand of your company, your product, your service as they are to your personal brand.

1. Relevance.

A strong brand must be relevant in the context of bridging customer expectations and supplier deliverables.

You need to be relevant for others if you expect them to give you a share of their already cluttered mind. How can you be relevant to someone?

Within a family or your circle of friends you could be relevant as the head of the family, the primary bread winner or a trusted member of the community. In an organisation, you could be a person who others can trust.

2. Consistency.

Consistency in a brand is seen when you communicate your message in a way that does not deviate from the core brand proposition.

While our personal brand must always be seen to convey a consistent message, we are human beings and we will bring in our personal biases in our interactions. It is important to remember that what is consistent for someone could be completely inconsistent for someone else.

Do you change dramatically between times when you are happy and stressed? Think about whether your behaviour consistent in times of stress and whether you can be relied upon especially in times of stress?

The consistency of your persona is what others look for in you.

3. Proper Positioning.

A strong brand should be positioned so that it makes a place in the mind of the target audience.

Each one of us believes we understand how we are being seen or perceived by others. We are always looking for a reinforcement of these beliefs in our interactions with others. Think of all the times you have looked at your friends and family for a tacit or express approval of your actions. You need to understand why your consumers should prefer Brand You over others.

Understanding and accepting where our perceptions differ from what we see, hear and experience is necessary for us to work on making changes in the perception of our brand.

4. Sustainable.

A sustainable brand drives an organization towards innovation and success. A sustainable personal brand will survive in the long run.

Your personal brand has to be sustainable and ensure the consumer remains attracted to it over time, resulting in repeat purchase or repeat contact. 

You, knowingly or unknowingly, keep sending out signals and impressions about yourself to the people and the World around you. These signals are both positive and negative.

5. Credibility.

A strong brand must be credible. It needs to deliver all the attributes that it has promised.  

The way you communicate your brand to your audience and your customers should be realistic. It should not fail or appear to fail to deliver what it promises. Do not exaggerate the attributes of Brand You or overstate the performance you can deliver. Your customers want to believe in the promises you make to them and do not want to be disappointed.

It is better to under promise and over deliver rather than the other way around.

6. Inspirational.

A strong inspirational brand should transcend the category it is famous for.

When inspirational people speak, the audience listens with rapt attention. Their communication skills are outstanding. Many corporate leaders and political leaders are very inspirational speakers and have a very large following not just among their employees or their political parties but across boundaries of companies, parties and possibly across several countries.

The challenge most of them face on a regular basis is how to keep saying inspirational things to keep their brand value consistently high.

7. Uniqueness.

A strong personal brand should be unique and different from competition. It should set you apart in a clear and unambiguous manner.

It is important for you to understand all the areas where you believe you are unique before you are able to leverage your uniqueness.

8. Appealing.

A strong brand should be attractive and appealing.

Your appeal will have rational and emotional elements. There are people who talk down to you and make it known that they are superior to you. Do you find such people appealing to you in any way and would you make any effort to communicate with them?

How you choose to present your attributes will determine how your audience perceives you. Perception is what will drive the value of your brand leading to your acceptance or rejection from the community you choose to live in or be a part of.

The appealing characteristics of Brand You will always attract your audience as you work towards leaving your legacy.

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The author is a Business and Executive Coach, a Storyteller and an Angel Investor. He hosts the highly successful podcast titled The Brand Called You. A keen political observer and commentator, he is also the founder Chairman of Guardian Pharmacies. He is the author of 6 best-selling books and writes for several online newspapers. 

Watch our podcasts at www.tbcy.in | www.equationcoaching.com 

• Twitter: @gargashutosh
• Instagram: ashutoshgarg56
• Blog: ashutoshgargin.wordpress.com | ashutoshgarg56.blogspot.com