Gordon Brown’s Downfall: 6 Career Lessons For Us All
May 12, 2010 Authenticity, Candidate Management, Personal Branding, Popular Culture, Redundancy, Social Media No Comments
Within the last 24 hours, we’ve seen the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown step down from office. After losing last week’s general election, he will be replaced by the first coalition government in the UK for over 30 years.
Just 18 months ago Brown was playing an impressive role in leading global efforts to manage the financial crisis. Yet when it came to the election, he failed to impress the public.
While there were many policy and political factors that led to his downfall, a key part of his defeat and his exit from politics was due to Gordon Brown himself – his style and approach.
Here are 6 career lessons you can learn from Brown’s election campaign and subsequent downfall:
1. You need both style AND substance
Throughout the election campaign, Brown kept reiterating: “if this campaign is about style over substance – then count me out. I’m a man of substance, not a PR or marketing man.” Tough luck Gordon – like it or not, you’re in the marketing business. We all are. Brown, like many people, failed to actively manage his personal brand.
