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| Illustration: Uday Deb |
The cost of fame is $18.95. If you want it second hand, you can get it cheaper at $12.89. It’s not the real thing, of course. What’s going for the price of an upmarket haircut is the book Fame 101.
Written by Jay and Maggie Jessup, Fame 101 is “the sexiest non-fiction book for 2010”. It tells you all about “powerful personal branding for amazing success”. What does it take to become an Oprah Winfrey? Why is John Travolta, a late-middle-aged, overweight guy, one of America’s sexiest men, in the same class as our own Shashi Tharoor?
Says Maggie Jessup: “If there were a Fame School, where professionals learn to package, market, and roll out their expertise, Fame 101 would be the textbook for every course. As authors we try to give the readers a complete education in personal branding, thus the college-course sounding title.”
Fame 101 is not all about actors and stand-up comics. It is targeted at politicians and professionals too. Everyone wants his 15 minutes of glory; this book tells you how to make it last longer. Many CEOs make it to the top because of management skills or sheer nepotism. But they then find it’s charisma that counts. The book has lessons for women: don’t try to look too young or too fashionable and your hair is where it really matters. A bad hair day can be ruinous for your career if it becomes a bad hair week. It may even be better to be bald than bizarre. Bald men, meanwhile, can get by; some even look sexy. But beware of the toupee. It’s trouble, particularly if it falls off during a meeting.
Does all this have any implications for the regular office-goer, the man or woman who has no particular ambition of becoming the rage of the age? Fame doesn’t mean the world has to know you. In fact, it is often more important to be an icon of your environment. These are the people who are well adjusted. The folks who make it to top-of-mind status without having the necessary skills and abilities are actually sick men. How often have you heard that the advertising industry is made up of frauds? People there think you have to differentiate yourself in a myriad of weird ways to be thought creative and stand out from the herd. Why do most politicians seem to lack brains?
Can you acquire “fame” in the workplace ?
There is a word of warning, however. “Stay in line with office rules and policies to ensure you don’t get your 15 minutes of fame for the wrong reasons. Wearing provocative clothing to the office may make you popular around the water cooler, for example, but can have a negative impact on your professional reputation.
“True fame is when your colleagues in a different city know about you and react positively when you are heading there,” says Mumbai-based HR consultant D. Singh. “Notoriety is when they expect you to bring not a new work culture but humour in the workplace. Would you rather be change agent or clown?”
HOW TO ACQUIRE FAME
• Spearhead or manage a campaign that will earn revenue, boost your company’s brand recognition or save the company money
• Go out of your way to help colleagues when you can. Arrive early and stay late to offer assistance during busy periods or when the team is busy with an important project
• Provide excellent customer service if you work with the public
• Stand out for your mediation skills
• Participate in an after-hours activity that will also earn you some positive press.
