Adam Grant & Debbie Millman , ReThinking

The case against personal branding

13 May 2025 • 24 min • EN
24 min
00:00
24:58
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In the age of social media and influencers, we’re constantly pushed to think of ourselves as brands—shiny packages containing all of our best traits to market to employers and followers. But striving to build a “personal brand” may actually hinder your ability to make genuine connections and maintain a strong reputation. In this episode, Adam explores the science on alternatives to personal branding and explains why contribution, collaboration, and humility are better self-promotional tools than a carefully crafted image. Guests: management professor Mark Bolino; military leader Chevy Cook; writer and brand consultant Debbie Millman, host of the podcast Design Matters. Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Mark Bolino (Instagram: | Website: ou.edu/price/bios/mark-bolino) Chevy Cook (LinkedIn: @chaveso-chevy-cook | Website: ausa.org/people/ltc-chaveso-cook) Debbie Millman (Instagram: @debbiemillman | LinkedIn: @deborahmillman | Website: https://debbiemillman.com/)  Links https://www.centerformentoring.com/about-us/meet-chevy-cook-phd Subscribe to TED  Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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