Gordon Gecko and Information as a Commodity

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I absolutely love the movie Wall Street. There are plenty of reasons why I love the movie but it is not because of the awesome acting, the dull color fade of the 1980’s, or the slicked back hair styles of Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas. It is one line that makes the movie… one line that defines my concept of personal branding.

“The most valuable commodity in the world is information (content).” -Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko.

Oliver Stone understood the value of content and information while writing the movie Wall Street in 1987. In the movie, the concept of information is a little skewed because of the nature of the film but the idea still reigns true. To put it plainly… Gordon Gecko is a complete d-bag.

However, Gordon Gecko used information to learn about competition and his future hires. Information was king in the world of Wall Street and the same goes for business professionals across the globe. The global competitive landscape is demanding more from you as an individual. We (as a society) are demanding more research, more content distribution, and more NEW ideas. Your personal brand is built off of new ideas!

While I do not condone using information unethically… I am speaking more on developing thought leadership and trust behind your personal brand. It is important to create content that is valuable to your consumer… your demographic target… your niche as a company.

Picture of Kyle Lacy

Kyle Lacy

Kyle Lacy writes a regular blog at KyleLacy.com and is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media strategy and training company. His blog has been featured on Wall Street Journal’s website and Read Write Web’s daily blog journal. Recently, Kyle was voted as one of the top 150 social media blogs in the world (on two websites), and produces regular keynote speeches across the Midwest. He also just finished writing Twitter Marketing for Dummies by Wiley Publishing.

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