A few years back (1997? 9 years ago?!?), Fast Company magazine had an issue devoted to The Brand Called You. In it, Tom Peters (yes, the THE Tom Peters) said:

"We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You. ... Starting today, you are a brand. You're every bit as much of a brand as Nike, Coke, Pepsi and The Body Shop. ... What is it that my product or service does that makes it different? ... What do I want to be famous for?"

I recommend you read that article. Here, I'll link to it again just in case.

Basically, Peters is saying that everyone who is a consultant today (and this applies even to employees who want to get ahead in business) should look at themselves as the client/employer looks at them. What image do you want to project? What image are you currently projecting?

Yes, images are superficial. And yes, people who are more concerned with their image than their reality can sometimes be compared to a sailor rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. But don't fool yourself: image is important, so having a good image gives you a head start on the less organized competition. Having a good image gets you the job, and then the image goes away and you have to deliver the goods! But being able to deliver the goods is useless without getting the job!

So I need to sit down sometime soon and examine my own professional image. That includes this web site, other web sites I am associated with, my books, business cards, the emails I send out, and anything else public that can be said to represent me.