Why are personal brands, personal attributes and personal goals so important?

I recently had the privilege of experiencing one of the most powerful (if not most powerful) personal brand moments imaginable, a moment that not many of you would have had the opportunity to experience which makes this a truly, deeply, compelling blog to post – amongst 150 other guests I was lucky enough to share first hand in the incredible story of Nando Parrado, one of the most determined, pragmatic and gentle human beings, Nando Parrado is a survivor of the Andes plane crash. Many of you will remember the story and may have seen the movie Alive or read the book Miracle in the Andes which is based on these remarkable events.

For those of you who don’t know what occurred, on Friday October 13, 1972, Nando Parrado along with 45 other passengers (including his Uruguayan old boys rugby union teammates and some family members of the team) was on a flight that lost its bearings en route to Chile and crashed into the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 4,500 meters (18,000 ft). At the moment of impact the broken fusilage came to rest in the Cordillera de los Andes and Nando’s leadership skills and survival instincts (his personal brand attributes if you like) were immediately called to the fore. Without suitable clothing, training, equipment or supplies he began the long and arduous task of trying to save the survivors of this disastrous crash – he took responsibility both in a physical and mental way. After enduring temperatures of below 30º C, an avalanche that killed many of the survivors of the initial crash, raging blizzards, pitch black nights and the news that the search had been called off (via an old radio they managed to hook up), Nando, along with his teammate Roberto Canessa decided enough was enough and embarked on a seemingly impossible 10 day walk across the Andes to find help and ultimately to rescue the remaining 14 survivors. On December 22 1972 after being isolated for 72 days (fair to say that some brands don’t even last this long) they were rescued.

And why is this story worth telling? Nando’s candid presentation of pure personal brand strength was so emotional and so inspirational that it has made me take a step back (if not a few), reassess my own personal brand and think about what really is important in life . What a truly, deeply personal brand experience.

Dominic Guthrie
Senior Account Director