Brand Thyself

When meeting people I have not seen in years, including in professional situations, one of the questions they are most likely to ask me is: "So, are you still rowing? How's it going?" I was first surprised, maybe even disconcerted ("is that the first thing they can think about, what about my work?!?") especially when this occurred meeting professional contacts. Then I realized that it is in fact an advantage to have something distinctive about me that helps people remember me after years.

My passion for rowing had likely appeared as quite unique to them; maybe some people secretly think it's crazy for a mature professional woman to row. However, I chose to believe that the question is mostly rooted into a genuine curiosity and maybe respect for the effort and dedication needed to maintain this extracurricular activity. It is good when people associate you with passion, perseverance, stamina, competitiveness, interest in healthy living. It is also a great ice-breaker (i.e., "what could I safely ask about after all these years?!?") and many times it helped me connect with people I might otherwise have not connected with.

Here is how my passion for the sport primed a new business connection for me. I was working in a large corporation and I had just been introduced to someone fairly new to the company, working in a rather distant department. Upon hearing my name, the guy immediately smiled and said: "your fame has preceded you", and he added he had already heard of my… rowing! This came as a total surprise to me, I am an amateur rower, not a widely known athlete, what was he talking about? However this guy said he had heard of me while on his first business trip with other people from our company. The group was driving along the Potomac in Washington DC, when they spotted and followed the performance of a single skinny rowing boat taking on the mighty river. Someone from the group proudly announced that there was this woman from the corporation who was "able to do THAT" and she announced my name. Here I was, branded as the praiseworthy athlete back-home, making them proud to know of me! My new business acquaintance went on to say that he was so intrigued by the idea of rowing that once back into town he decided to check into the local opportunities. He had meanwhile become a member of the rowing community and was absolutely loving it, "Thanks to you!" he added. Feeling we were connected already through our passion for the sport, he then expressed interest in working together on a professional project.