It is important for CEOs to have a personal brand that supports their organizational brand.   That's why smart CEOs build their personal thought leadership early on, and maintain it throughout their careers.  Today we are joined by Raoul Davis, the Founder, and CEO of Ascendant Group Branding one of the first and most integrated CEO branding firms.  In addition Raoul is the author of Firestarters: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire You to Ignite Your Own Life which is based on interviews with entrepreneurs and leaders in many walks of life, this self-help book gives readers the tools for finding success in their careers, businesses, organizations, and private lives. Raoul starts by laying out the various types of branding you can build, such as personal and organizational. We learn how a CEO with a strong personal brand can create a sense of connection and commonality with customers, making them trust and want to interact with the company as an extension of the CEO. Building such a strong trusted brand can be accomplished best with thought leadership, which can be institutionalized across the organization as a way of demonstrating leadership in an organic way that is more powerful than traditional marketing. Raoul explains how thought leadership can be evergreen lasting far after you’ve finished paying for traditional marketing. It’s never too early to start building your thought leadership and your brand. Raoul shares advice for those early in their career on where they can start, such as by finding a niche within a larger area of expertise to drill down on and become an expert in. By sharing your thoughts and ideas on the subject on social and within your organization you can become the go-to person for that subject, which can open new doors of opportunity. This conversation provides excellent advice for starting or sharpening a personal and organizational brand that is useful to professionals at any stage of their career. Three Key Takeaways: ·         It is important for a CEO to have a brand that supports the brand of their organization. ·         Talk in terms of the interests of the audience, this allows you to communicate in a way that will provide value to them. ·         There is an authenticity to thought leadership when you are sharing what you know simply so others can benefit from it.