In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet famously asks, “What’s in a name?” She argues that it is the person who matters, not an arbitrary label (like Romeo). That’s love.
And yet, over 400 years later, I’ve discovered the opposite: that for online networking, your preferred name is not arbitrary – it’s critical to your brand.
I know this because I failed LinkedIn Profile 101. Networking sites thrive on specificity, and on a whim, I naively switched from Larry, my nickname, to Lawrence, my birth name.
And so began the rolling disaster. As a marketer with branding experience, I should have seen it coming. Bad on me.
Immediately, all references to “Larry” disappeared. Not so bad, I thought, even though that’s how I refer to myself.
Then, I noticed that acquaintances – both new and old – began to address me as Lawrence. More than one person asked if I’d changed my name. It was awkward.
To compound the issue, the messaging autofill suggestions, now rife with Lawrence references (“Thanks, Lawrence!”, “A pleasure to meet you, Lawrence”), reinforced the new standard. It all felt overly formal.
And worst of all, without intention, I had erected a barrier for friends and recruiters who were searching to find Larry Goldman. “It’s still me!” I shouted into the ether.
Flailing but stubborn, I tried the preferred name feature that put Larry in parenthesis in the middle of my profile name. No one noticed and nothing changed.
Last week, I admitted defeat and switched the profile back to Larry. I’ve never felt more myself. As someone who is regularly confused with his identical twin, that’s saying something.
What I should have remembered is the power of brand consistency. In marketing, your product name is shorthand for the entire customer experience – your brand. Done right, it’s all you need to evoke an emotional connection. Modifying a product name is always risky and complicated.
The same apparently goes for networking. Unwittingly, I had undermined my established human brand and “caused confusion and delay,” to quote the venerable Sir Topham Hatt.
I appreciate the lesson. When people work with you, link with you, or meet you at events, they know only your social name. If they like you, then that positive sentiment accrues under that name, not a variant of it.
But I still wonder: what to do when you like both your formal and preferred names? If you have found a viable solution, let me know.
For now, I remain your friend, Larry.
There are very few moments in my life that have completely changed my perspective. This ride was one of them. Waymo did everything right:
A few weeks ago, I started noticing a small, grayish blob positioned around the center of my left eye. Panicked, I went to my ophthalmologist, who took a look and explained that it was my first “eye floater,” essentially a clump of cells that had come loose within the vitreous jelly of my eye.
In the past, colleagues have approached me asking for help to become better writers. Why do they think I’m qualified? Aside from writing dozens of papers, scripts, sales sheets, articles, ads and brochures for my employers, I cannot resist editing whatever is put in front of me. It’s my catnip – and they know it.
Happy 2025! This year let’s resolve to NOT take shortcuts.
I recently came upon this sight in a nearby alley: detached chunks of wood hanging from power lines. I can’t stop thinking about it, because it’s the perfect metaphor for the danger of shortcuts.
As you can see, whoever removed the tree decided not to take on the full challenge, likely for safety concerns. However, I was informed that professional arborists have several options depending on the complexity of the job and whether the lines are high or low voltage. Working with the impacted utility company, you can usually find an effective way to free or replace the wires.
But that’s not what happened here. Maybe they didn’t perform a pre-work inspection. Maybe the tree service lacked the requisite experience. Or perhaps the homeowner was cheap and didn’t want to involve the utility or wait until the job could be properly finished.
Will these trunks eventually rot away or pull down the lines on a windy day? No one knows. But whoever owns this home and lives on the block will face an extended game of Russian (tree) roulette. The problem persists, with the risks multiplied.
I often see the equivalent in business, especially after joining a new organization. While not dangling overhead, the signs are there. Poorly designed CRM flows or fields, hastily constructed and forgotten web pages, and marketing campaigns launched quickly but without proper tracking (feel free to add your own examples below).
These all represent short-term thinking that places the burden upon those who follow. Your team will eventually pay the productivity costs of hastily devised solutions. As a leader, or someone who aspires to be one, it’s critical to show that you can think several steps ahead like a chess master. Resolve to solve the issues in the moment rather than leave them for the next project, quarter, or employee.
If you feel hurried to produce a short-term outcome, recognize it and then take a beat to think about the long-term consequences. Instead of a one-off approach, can you create a reusable template from your work? Can you build in aspects that are scalable and flexible rather than fixed?
Also be aware that some shortcuts can cheat you of personal and professional growth. An overreliance on AI for creating messaging and communications can deprive you of the opportunity to become a better writer and strategic thinker. Or if you’re reusing competitive marketing materials to save time, you may also be propagating outdated information that can make you look uninformed. Train yourself to slowly and carefully reread and question the accuracy of your content.
So in 2025, I say yes, work quickly and effectively, even if it’s not 100% perfect. But when you recognize a challenging entanglement that could put you at future risk, don’t sidestep it just because it’s hard. Address it now, involve others who can help, and complete the job like the pro you are.
Just say no to shortcuts.