LinkedIn has become one of the most important professional network platforms on the planet. It has grown phenomenally in the last 5 years, with over 200 million members worldwide and 7 million in Canada alone.

We can all think of excuses for postponing work on our personal brands. Students are overwhelmed with university work, and just want a few tips on how to sound credible to a recruiter. Thinking about the brand you are developing in a self-reflecting and strategic way is the antidote to finding yourself left behind.

A personal branding strategy is built around success. Knowing what you're good at, articulating the value you can deliver, and getting recognized for that value are the three key elements in creating a brand. But we all fail from time to time. The project is delivered late, the client selects a different supplier, the product launch flops. How do you, and your personal brand, recover? Here are some suggestions.

Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada, probably has the best personal brand of anyone in Canada right now. Carney has created a spotlight for himself by taking some risks, all of which could have blown up in his face. I think he managed to avoid disaster by focussing on some key principles about personal branding.

My dream client? Conrad Black-- the good Lord Black My ultimate professional challenge would be to be part of the LB Reputation Recovery dream team. Your personal brand has taken a bit of a beating lately, your Lordship, but I want you to know that there is hope for recovery, if you really want it badly.

I had grown so tired and so very bored of my corporate life, glamorous as it looked on the outside, that I wanted to scream and not stop. It was truly a case of "it's not you, it's me" and I wanted to break up with my job in the very worst way. But, I couldn't, even though I knew it was for the best.