A brand is an identity-and it is certainly not restricted to products. Allow Ambi, Shankar, Rita, Kunal and Joe, who are back in college for their silver reunion, to bring alive for you the notion of people as brands. As they walk through the campus, rediscovering old haunts, the friends enter into an animated discussion. Their conversation offers keen insights into how each individual has a unique brand, which must be as thoughtfully cultivated as product brands are.

Personal brands can be both a factor and a marker of success. As businesses compete, the personal branding of a company's leadership can influence how well it performs. Similarly, how a new hire brands herself could alter the opportunities that open up for her, and so also her career path. In short, individuals-and how others perceive them-matter.

Defining a personal brand, crafting a presence, developing a unique voice, building a network, using social media creatively and more: in All the World's a Stage, Ambi Parameswaran offers a concrete road map towards brand building that will give you an unmatched strategic advantage. This book is a concise, crucial guide to our frenetic times.