Following up on last week’s interview with personal branding expert Dan Schawbel, I’d like to share a short and sweet review of Tom Peters’ The BrandYou50, a book that changed my life! The value add here is the BrandYou50 cheat sheet that I put together for you, since I know you’re all so very busy and don’t have the time to read these books chock-full of objectives and goals.

I LOVE Peters’ writing style. Very motivational, awesome design…. The book is what he calls a “50 List” of actionable steps you can take to build your personal brand. Your personal brand is your “packaging,” your “product” you offer…your reputation, what you are known for.

Peters speaks powerfully to the “Dilbert nation” of cubicle slaves and employees about establishing themselves as Free Agents, with a more vendor-like approach to your jobs and projects. He talks about the loss of job security, the monotony of office work, etc. Tom believes we will see a transformation within the next ten years–the “INESCAPABLE WHITE COLLAR REVOLUTION” as he calls it–and we have to be ready to adapt. This is an INVALUABLE read if you are interested in entrepreneurship, a side business, or just being damned excellent at what you do. It is geared mostly toward a business crowd, and those in management, but he is fond of lists and bullet points and BrandYou50 is a non-traditional book full of actionable items that are applicable for almost anyone who wants to stand out.

Brand You is about breaking bonds and creating unmistakable value-added “products” (projects!) for identifiable “customers.” The products/projects become “braggables.” The customers become Clients/Co-conspirators-for-Cool/Raving Fans/Word-of-Mouth Cheerleading References.

It took me some time, but I wanted to go through the book a second time to put together my own “take-aways.” It’s a shortened version, but what I came up with is basically a cheat sheet that boils it down from 200 pages to eleven. You’re welcome to take a look at the BrandYou50 cheat sheet if you think you might be interested in the book.

Let me know if you guys get any value out of this, or what changes Peters’ work has inspired you to make in your life. Please share in the comments…