Happy 4th of July!

Thank you to those who serve our country, and to all who have served.

You are appreciated!

Cooking Wild and Wonderful with Executive Chef Adam Stevenson

Adam demonstrates browning butter

When Adam Stevenson teaches a cooking class, his charming, down-to-earth personality and passion for local, organic and artisan foods engage you right from the start.

Adam began cooking as a young boy with his grandmother and mother, and would stick his finger into a batter, sample a soup or sneak bites of the roasted meats that were cooking. Adam grew up loving food, and continued to cook in local restaurants in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, attended Western Culinary Institute in Portland, then came to work at Tulio in Seattle. Now he is executive chef for W Seattle, and has developed his own style influenced by the favorite dishes that he lived with for so many years and an affinity for the foods and cultures he loves.

Delightfully, I assisted him in a cooking class at PCC Cooks, where he shared his secrets to getting the most flavor into homemade dishes. He demonstrated a simple, quick supper using in-season, local and sustainable ingredients:

•    Salad of Local Asparagus, Arugula and Parmesan Cheese
•    Morel and English Pea Risotto
•    Wild Pacific Black Cod with Balsamic Brown Butter French Lentils
•    Easy-bake Chocolate Cream Pie

Wild Pacific Black Cod with Balsamic Brown Butter French Lentils

A few take-away tips:

•    When you’re preparing the asparagus, trim them and peel the last 2 – 3 inches of the skin to smooth them out. Impress your guests!
•    If you make ice cream, try Balsamic Brown Butter ice cream.
•    After tasting Guittard chips, I’ll never use another chip!

If you’d like to try some of Adam’s unique culinary specialties, you can find him at Earth & Ocean, W Hotel, in Seattle.

Adam’s story and YOUR personal brand: Discover your passion, as Adam did, and find a way to follow it. Your work and life will blend together instead of being fighting entities against each other, you will be fulfilled, and you will rise to the top.  How can you start to combine your passion with your work life?

CA Execs are truly “on brand”!

Mollie Nelson, Melody Rebbeck, Dale Smith, Maren FInzer

Energetic, inspiring, fun, engaging . . . the California association executives were those things and so much more!

What a great week we had spending it at the CalSAE annual conference. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and a total breath of fresh air. (The fabulous Squaw Resort was a total breath of fresh air as well – check out the view!)

Two brands you’ve gotta meet:

Melody Rebbeck, Northstar at Tahoe: Bubbly, energetic, adventuresome. Melody is definitley the Tahoe ambassador, and exudes her passion through her spirited personality. There wasn’t a question she couldn’t answer, and she captivated us the moment we met her. We wanted everything Tahoe has to offer when we were done talking with her; how do we choose? Her dinner recommendation at Moody’s was so outstanding, we ate there two nights in a row in total delight. She had our curiosity up, and we couldn’t leave the airport without checking out Northstar on our drive back to the airport. Wow! The charm, the village, everything at your feet. And it totally aligned with Melody – we actually thought the signage would have been more appropriate having “Melody” in it somewhere. We’ll have to work on that.

Dale Smith, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts: Elegant, high standards, caring. We grabbed Dale as he was walking by to take the picture above – he picked the spot, and suggested they needed to have a plaque there noting “picture point.” Dale doesn’t miss a detail, and that must be why he is a Manager in Worldwide Sales for the Four Seasons in San Francisco. Dale seemed so humble about his position, and just as the Four Seasons focuses on implementing anything they can do to improve themselves for all of us, Dale seems like he does the same. He’s eager to learn how he can better serve and make a difference – that also happens to be a corporate value of the Four Seasons. If you’re looking for luxury, pampering, and having your every need met, next time you’re in San Francisco you better contact Dale.

Inspiring the CalSAE annual conference this week at Lake Tahoe with my Personal Branding Keynote

I’m putting the final icing on my presentation for the Cal SAE conference at Squaw Creek Resort this coming week, Elevate! I’ve been given the opportunity to speak and share my keynote, “3 Proven Steps to a Winning Personal Brand,” and was told I’ll have a fabulous audience of professional association executive/upper level managers. Excited and enthused, the question in the forefront has been, “what can I offer that will fully delight them and exceed their expectations”? 

It happened on such short notice, so I called in the troops for collaboration and brainstorming with the very best. Really! I can’t give it away here, but I’ve put it all together I am now ready to go!  And looking forward to a week of connecting, collaborating, and energizing, and knowing I’ll leave having met a great group of new friends. 

Now it’s just the last minute details and the packing. Sunny, fresh, and bright blue skies are in the forecast.  I was just sent this video, to help with the decisions  . . . decisions . . . what to wear, what to wear. . .

If You Don’t Show Up in Google, Do you Exist?

Have you ever googled yourself? Of course you have. And you’ve googled somebody else, and they’ve in turn, googled you. So what do they find when they google you? Today, if you don’t show up on Google, do you don’t exist. 

In today’s world, you need to take control and deliberately manage your online identity. It’s one of the fastest ways you can most effectively build your personal brand, and is critical to success. When somebody googles you, they use two measures to decide what they think about you. One is volume. If there’s tons of stuff about you, it makes them believe that you must have something to say. And the second thing they look at is relevance, which is how clearly the results communicate your personal brand and what you want to say.

Are you Digitally Disastrous or Digitally Distinct? Find out where your online identity stands right now. Take the first step, and assess yourself using the free REACH Online ID Calculator to evaluate your Google results. You’ll answer a few questions, then your identity will be placed and measured on the digital scale. You will fall into one of the following profiles:

Digitally Disguised

If you fall into this category, there is absolutely nothing about you on the Web. It doesn’t really mean you don’t exist, but it means that you remain hidden from those who are researching you. This is easy to change.

Digitally Dissed 

In this category, there is only a little on the Web about you, and what is there is inconsistent with who you are. Or, the little that comes up could be something that negatively impacts your reputation. This is easy to improve also.

Digitally Disastrous

This means that there is a lot of information about you on the Web, but it has little or no relevance to what you want to say about yourself. It also might include someone else who shares your name, which can create great confusion. Although this can be challenging, it can be managed and improved to move you up to become digitally distinct.

Digitally Dabbling

To fall into this category means there is already some on-brand information about you on the Web that is relevant and consistent with your personal brand. The volume isn’t high, but it’s a great foundation to start building your online identity. 

Digitally Distinct

This is truly where you want to be! In this category, there are lots and lots of results about you and most of them reinforce your extraordinary personal brand. Congratulations, and keep being proactive in your commitment to manage and maintain your identity, as your results can change quickly! 

Remember, wherever you are on the scale, you can always improve. And if you make a committed effort to expand your visibility and relevance, you’ll be on the right track to becoming Digitally Distinct. 

Photo credit, Bisous Darling  

My Top Seattle Picks for the Weekend

The weekend is here, and that means you can do the things you love to do when you’re not working! What will it be? The weather forecast for the first weekend of spring in Seattle is rain, so my top picks for this weekend are indoors.

Take in the arts

Java Jazz at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, Friday, March 20 at 7:00pm. Support your local music students while enjoying undiscovered talents from groups at King’s Junior High and High School. Tickets are only $10/Students and Seniors $5. For more information call (206) 289-7909 or email kburch@crista.net

Is there anything better than local public theater? Step back, with a timeless performance: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, at the Greenlake Bathhouse. Friday and Saturday nights @7:30, or Sunday matinee@2:00pm. http://tinyurl.com/cpjuv5

Learn some new recipes from local chefs

If you’ve never indulged in one of PCC’s cooking classes, you’re missing out! There are several this weekend at a number of locations, and as of this morning there’s still room for you. Tonight (3/20) you can learn how to cook a romantic Paris spring dinner from Lynne Vea, or tomorrow (3/21) you can switch to a hearty Portugal dinner with Roxanne Vierra. http://tinyurl.com/cec9bw

Pamper yourself

If you’re overdue for a day that’s all about you, there’s still time to register for Realize Your Radiance at UW Center for Urban Horticulture. Just for gals, you get to pick your breakout sessions, including topics such as “Food and Mood,” “ Create Your Perfect Retreat,” and “Getting that Nutritional Glow.” http://tinyurl.com/cec9bw

Stay home, and get lost in a book

But who says you have to go anywhere? What’s wrong with getting up, having your morning coffee, enjoying a leisurely workout at the club, then coming home and curling up with your favorite book for an hour or two!  And don’t forget to turn your cell phone off for a few hours. . .

Your personal brand is talking. What is it saying?

Seth Godin shares a great story on his blog, about a friend that advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper.

Three interesting resumes rose to the top, and all three were googled.

The first search turned up a MySpace page showing a picture of the applicant drinking beer from a funnel. Even better, the first entry under hobbies was “binge drinking.”

The second applicant was googled, and a personal blog turned up. In a recent post, the applicant shared something like, “ ”I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I’m annoyed by it. I’ll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings.”

The third search has got to be my favorite. There were only six matches, and the sixth was from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier.

All three were found. Google never fails. Seth reminds us, everything you do now ends up in your permanent record.

What can you do? Know that your every move is being watched, and overload Google with a big list of all the great things you’re doing.  It’s time to take charge of your online identity.

What comes up when you google your name?

photo credit: Hans van Reenen

Happy Valentines Day!

Click on the link, for your valentines wish from me!

After opening, put your curser on the red bar and move it all the way over to the right for the full effects.

http://www.adobecards.com/

Brand: Smarty pants

What happens in Vegas, stays on Google

Google knows everything. It’s there for somebody to find when they’re looking for you. Every personal, casual comment you innocently make on Facebook, or any other site, is there for the world to read. Forever. You’ve made history.

What does that really mean?

Here’s just one scenario.  You get invited to a dinner party , and enthusiastically accept as you think it will be a great opportunity to make new friends and share ideas with like-minded people. You enjoy the company, and even smile and pose while pictures are being snapped throughout the evening.  Almost as fast as the pictures are being taken, they’re being posted to Flickr. “Isn’t this fun,” you’re thinking, but there’s just one problem. The guy who takes your picture doesn’t know your name, so your photo is simply posted as “party girl.” Have you done an image google search for “party girl?”  Try it, and imagine your picture there. And that’s not all; somebody will tag you so now the party girl is named.

Now ask yourself this. Do you even need the upcoming interview? Potential employers can learn everything about you by going online. By the time you are sitting across the table from them, they already know you. 

Scott Monty shares great insight from the 2008 Brand Camp University Personal Branding 2.0 Conference. When researching potential candidates  online, Career Builder found:

• 41% are associated with drinking or drugs
• 40% have provocative photos
• 29% exhibited poor communication skills
• 28% badmouth previous employers
• 27% lied about qualifications
• 22% have an unprofessional screen name

Enough said? You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. It’s the here and now. Let’s think about what we’re really telling the world before we press the “post” button.

Would love to hear your thoughts. . .