Meet Eddie Francis

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eddie Francis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eddie, really appreciate you joining us to talk about a really relevant, albeit unfortunate topic – layoffs and getting fired. Can you talk to us about your experience and how you overcame being let go?

I have experienced involuntary separations at least three times in my career. All of them were hard for me to take, because I had invested so much of my identity into those places. That being said, I invested heavily in one of my personal core values–intellectual flexibility. After giving myself 24 hours to lick my wounds, I re-evaluated my skills, knowledge, and talent. The most recent separation, however, I went deeper. With great intention, I put myself through a personal brand refresh. With the support of my wife as well as my therapist, I revisited my personal mission, my personal vision, and my personal core values. While I was, and still am, very disappointed about my last separation, I have viewed my next steps as looking at a wide open opportunity road. This has been great for my sense of purpose and how I view myself.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m a brand strategist with a background in marketing and communications, radio broadcasting, and talent acquisition. I leverage this experience to work with organizations and individuals on their brand voice. Brand strategy is some of the coolest work that I’ve done, because I enjoy the process of getting to what we call the fourth P in marketing–promotion. I love the process of finding out what makes what the business offers so valuable or what make the individual tick.

The overarching theme of my work, however, is bringing ethical leadership to the forefront. So, the brand story has to be authentic–no hiding behind slick logos, catchy tag lines, a viral social media presence, or “lipstick on a pig” stuff.

My passion about ethical leadership and brand strategy really comes out on my podcast, “I Wanna Work There!” It focuses on how colleges and universities can build their employer brands. I also approach this intersection of ethical leadership and brand strategy with my personal branding clients, especially those who take my public speaking courses. You can fool an audience for a few minutes, but you can’t fool them for the entire speech.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three qualities that have been most impactful on my journey have been resilience, intellectual flexibility, and humor. I’ve mastered the art of bouncing back, I pivot very quickly, and I find the humor in every situation, especially when I laugh at myself. Interestingly, a lot of these internal conversations seem to end with, “What exactly were you thinking?”

I have a heart for those who are early in their journeys, especially early career professionals. My advice is to develop a personal mission statement, a personal visions statement, and personal core values. Think of yourself as a one-person company; invest in your personal leadership. But, also, know that these elements are going to shift in your life as you find true purpose in your growth and development. Bounce this stuff off of a mentor or people you trust and know that you’ll have to course correct at some point. Know that you will make mistakes. Atone for them, forgive yourself, and keep it moving.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

Without a doubt, it’s been my wife, Halima. Before meeting her, I viewed my dreams as frivolous and fantastical. I was also focused on who I thought was out to get me. You have to understand that my career started in a pretty toxic environment. But Halima has taught me to create the boundaries necessary for me to be at my best. At the same time, she asked me a very important question one day, “I keep hearing what you don’t like or want. What DO you like, and what DO you want?” And she has done all of this my communicating with me in an empathetic way while holding me accountable for my mindset. Because of her, I’ve adopted a growth mindset and an attitude of gratitude.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eddiefrancis.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddiefrancis06/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EddieFrancisUnscripted/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddiefrancis/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/augustus06

Image Credits

#1 – Cfreedom Photography
#2 – Self
#3 – American Marketing Association
#4 – Kali Rhe Creative
#5 – Element 451
#6 – Self
#7 – Element 451
#8 – American Marketing Association