Comments on: LeBron James – The Man with the Billion Dollar Personal Branding Plan

By: jackson

jackson — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:45:31 +0000

great article. LeBron is a truly amazing basketball player, but I’m surprised the 60 minutes segment didn’t mention his feature film, or rather, the documentary about his rise to basketball superstar.

By: Joel Libava

Joel Libava — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:44:26 +0000

Vickie,
My thoughts on this have nothing to do with being a conservative. {I’m not}

I think it all boils down to doing the right thing, especially while being looked upon as not only a great star, but more importantly as a role model.

As a parent, I would certainly want my adult child to marry, if he or she was the father or a mother of a child. I’ll bet you would to.

David,
Just how do you know that Lebron is a stand up father? {How do i know that he isn’t?}

I am not saying he is or he isn’t. I don’t hang with him.

He seems to be going down a pretty good path, and had a lot of support from some caring adults as he was growing up.

As for not getting in trouble with the law, i’m not nit-picking here, but there was the 100+ MPH speeding ticket he got. His reply, when asked about it, I believe went something like “No big deal.”

No big deal, unless he had rammed someone from behind, because at 100+ MPH, no one can react fast enough to stop.

By: David Heiser

David Heiser — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:24:03 +0000

It doesn’t seem like a lot of you are informed enough about LeBron’s actual situation to be discussing it.

LeBron IS still together with the mother of his girlfriend. They have been together since high school and they live together in his giant mansion in the Akron suburbs.

The guy is only 24 years old. As long as he is serving as a loving father and providing for his family, I don’t see any reason why he should feel pressured to get married when he’s barely entered his mid-20s. LeBron IS serving as a role model by being a good father. The fact that they aren’t YET married doesn’t mean that he’s going to run out on his responsibilities.

We should applaud LeBron, not only for his tremendous, team first attitude on the court, but for his behavior off it. LeBron has never got into trouble with the law and is a caring, attentive (as much as he can be as a professional athlete) father and boyfriend.

By: Vickie Smith

Vickie Smith — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:27:19 +0000

Thank you for this thought-provoking post and discussion.

I agree that Lebron is a man with a plan, and feel he is someone who kids can be proud to look up to, as he approaches the MVP title, alongside Kobe Bryant.

I don’t feel that he needs to marry the mother of his children for the sake of pleasing his more conservative fans, but that he be a standup father to his child. Who knows for what reasons they are not together – it might be better off that they are not.

He is taking responsibility for his actions and roles as both an athlete and father, and feel is has a long successful career ahead of him.

Unlike Kobe, who chooses to correct his actions in carats!

By: kessler

kessler — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:15:31 +0000

Have to disagree, brand and role model absolutely do not go hand in hand, if they did almost every corporation in this country would be screwed. Also, times have changed, I know lots of successful couples who have been together a long time and have children and are not married, unlike plenty of couples who marry traditionally and are soon divorced…

By: Joel Libava

Joel Libava — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:05:05 +0000

Dan,
LeBron is very exciting to watch, especially in a great sports town like Cleveland. However, as strong as his presence is, he has made some branding mistakes;

1. He has 2 kids, and is not married to the mother of his kids. Brand & Role Model should go hand in hand, in my opinion. In Lebron’s case, lots of kids look up to him. We have enough problems with low income single mom’s trying to make ends meet. Cmon..step up Lebron!

2. His Cleveland brand has been hurt by his insistence on wearing a Yankees hat to every Cleveland Indians game he attends. He has even said that he likes the Yankees better than the Indians. Hello!!!

He is wealthy enough to not have to worry about the things that I mentioned. Or is he?

The Franchise King
Joel Libava

By: @tedbarbeau

@tedbarbeau — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:59:09 +0000

I’m so confused by this article. The Cavs have yet to win a championship with Mr. James at the helm and Tiger Woods is on pace to become the first billionaire athlete within the next couple years. I appreciate the effort, but this needs to be revised.

By: Chris Dingman

Chris Dingman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:15:10 +0000

Lebron truly is a great role mode for all businessmen and entrepreneurs. This was a brilliant post!

By: yinka olaito

yinka olaito — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:14:01 +0000

Your precise steps are absolutely correct. How can one communicate what he does not know?-the need for self-awareness. There is no free lunch anymore-the need to work a plan and have a plan. How will you represent what you are afraid of or not sure of?- that is the need for boldness. Thanks for the step by step description of personal branding journey again.

By: @JoshHurlock

@JoshHurlock — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 08:10:00 +0000

LeBron is awesome for the NBA. He is true to himself, has a vision and goals, plans toward them respectively, and is willing to be bold. LeBron understands that he is one of the kings of the NBA, and this gives him a great platform. Well, his nickname is “King James”. LeBron is a great role model for people to follow and young entrepreneurs should check this post out. Thanks for the tremendous writeup.