Tom Peters (me) and Alan Webber, co-founder of Fast Company, congratulate Time and welcome Time's "Person of the Year" ... "You." As co-inventors of the "Brand You" notion, over a decade ago, we are delighted to see the world catching up and, more important, waking up!
The "Brand You life" is damned hard work ... and so, so, so satisfying compared to "your father's world" as, likely, a Dilbertian "cubicle slave." Talk about liberating! As Time says, it's all about self-control. Nothing cooler! And nothing more daunting, because, of course, self-control only works, on the Web or off, age 19 or 69, with its disciplined mate, self-responsibility, at its side.
(To be sure, Time's "You,"circa 2006, is a bit less restrictive than our "Brand You." While we were celebrating, as does Time, the newfound possibilities of self-control/self-management ... we were also erecting defenses for your or my "career" against the incursion of microprocessors and lower-wage offshore substitutes. Nonetheless, "You" or "Brand You" ... we, too, salute you and your year and your potential.)
[Tom's photo above: Amsterdam canal. See more at Flickr.]