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Loy Machedo's Book Review - The Personal Branding Phenomenon by Peter Montoya

278 views · Published 6 March 2013 · 7:45 · Indexed 8 October 2026

Channel: Loy Machedo · 2013 · Education

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A book that looks Visually Appealing, has a Fantastic Cover sprinkled with Amazing Recommendations must be good -- at least that is what you think. However, Peter Montoya's contribution The Personal Branding Phenomenon fails to qualify in this regard.

Let's get down to the bare necessities -- The Review.

About the Book:
a) 233 pages divided into 3 parts and expressed in 16 chapters.
b) Part 1 -- Personal Branding 101
c) Part 2 -- The 8 Unbreakable Laws of Personal Branding
d) Part 3 -- how to Build Your Personal Brand.

What are the so called '8 Unbreakable Laws of Personal Branding'
1. Specialization
2. Leadership
3. Personality
4. Distinctiveness
5. Visibility
6. Unity
7. Persistence
8. Goodwill

What I didn't like about the book:

Outdated Examples.
For someone who is just immersing their feet into the new waters of Personal Branding may find this book amazing, but for someone like me who keeps reading books day in and out, this was like outdated material. Martha Stewart, Jack Welch, Walt Disney, Charles Schwab, Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Buffett, Madonna, Albert Einstein, Larry King, Mother Teresa, Carl Sagan, Tom Hanks, Tiger Woods, John F. Kennedy and Jesus Christ were the detailed examples used to cite Personal Branding -- out of which I loved Carl Sagan story the most and the rest either boring or over-used material. And by the way -- Jesus Christ is a Myth, not a real person.

Prose Structure
The method used by the author to drive home the point was a total put off. He kept repeating and regurgitating the same points over and over again to emphasize the so called 8 Unbreakable laws to the point where you would just turn the page to avoid the waste of time and space.

Content
The book could have been reduced to one third the size and would have the same effect. There was too much of fluff and the last few pages were dedicated to advertising his services and seminars (wonder what impact does that have when the book sucks?)

One-Size-Fits-All?
I have kind of developed an aversion towards books / authors who create a bunch of rules, find out examples that give legs to these examples & try to convince the readers on their thesis. What the author has done is follow this approach. For instance in the department of Persistence -- Can you think of a few examples to support this trait? I am sure you can. So then think of all 8 so called Unbreakable Rules of Branding and now find examples to fit them in -- and that becomes your Personal Branding Phenomenon Version 2.0

Overall Verdict
I was frankly bored and disappointed with this book. Given its flamboyant cover and recommendations, one would think this is another landmark contribution. However, it seriously falls short of expected standards. So the next time you get high praises from authors like Brain Tracy (Eat that Frog, Maximum Achievement), Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul Series), Robert G. Allen (Nothing Down) and David Bach (Smart Women Finish Rich) -- keep in mind they are a support group to promote each other's books -- even if they are absolute rubbish.

Overall Rating
3 out of 10

Loy Machedo
loymachedo.com | loymachedo.tv

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