I applaud your sincerity and your respect for this man’s service. And while he has an incredibly loyal following in some areas, his final approval rating as president was just twenty two percent – lowest ever save for Nixon. His legacy is his brand. And as of today, his legacy is a twenty two percent approval rating.

I believe that he has a story to tell to at least thirty to fifty percent of the country who may not currently approve of him, but may change their tune with time and context. And while publishing a book may address some of this nations concerns, I do not believe that this alone will change his legacy.

Brands can be both authentic and in trouble, can’t they?

Yet, I don’t subscribe to the idea that he is a brand in trouble. He has a strong brand that is authentically who he is…whether the majority likes it or not. I live in Midland, Texas which over 30,000 West Texas residents greeted the former President and First Lady on Tuesday. He spoke of his “pioneer spirit”, his “type A” personality and that he “never had to have an opinion poll to come up with what he thought”. That personality and his values, whether anyone agrees with them or not, is a part of his personal brand. Personal branding is not about positioning. It is about extracting what a person’s brand is and exuding and expressing it in a way that honors a person’s unique deliverables and core values. While his “brand” may not be palatable or agreeable to the rest of the nation, to West Texans he very much fits the brand of a determined wildcatter and rough and rowdy oilman. Here, in West Texas, the majority greets his brand with open arms, vivacious pride and a slightly arrogant and big-hearted Texas pride.

I’ve known him since he was governor of our great state. And, he’s very Texan complete with hat and Texas pride.

Is that a brand gone bad? Or, it personal branding honoring those brand attributes that make you uniquely you and attracting those who appreciate that brand? Is it positioning to please the masses? Or, it is that focused, target audience that will be your own personal fan club (in any industry) that you’re after? Is it being “rich in your niche” or is pleasing all?

I cannot say I’ve agreed with everything that he’s done. Yet, as a personal brand strategist, I do feel it’s not that he has a brand in trouble yet a brand “in line” for a specific target niche. And, in personal branding…is that a bad thing?

Your post inspires many great thoughts and questions. And, I so appreciate you posting it. For me, when I read it, I had to sit down and really think “Is this a brand in trouble or is it a brand authentic”?

Focusing on the past will not help build a better tomorrow. We need to safely and properly acknowledge what has happened, and embrace was it still to come.

PS – hiring a consultant is the rational thing to do. This is not your mom and dad’s local store brand. This is a job for a professional, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, history will not be kind on GW Bush. But embracing humility (and possibly even acting “christian”) will be his best approach.

Or, he could act arrogant and hire a “branding consultant” to improve his image – that’s what most ostracized CEOs and rich criminals do (because, after all, it’s all about improving his image, right?)…

The problem is that no matter how much “good” he may have done or may yet do, there will always be people who absolutely hate him, so you have to start from the perspective that you have a loyal core audience from which to rebuild, but you are NEVER going to get everyone.

Before starting, I would perform a comprehensive discovery with the “client” to establish precisely what his goals are. If he’s still figuring that out, then it’s too soon to start any re-branding, but once they are established, then you can get the ball rolling quickly.

Fortunately, there is a lot of good data available on the public’s perception of the brand, so the foundation is there. However, this client should be prepared for the long, long haul. This brand is going to take years, perhaps as much as a decade, and concentrated attention and effort to rehabilitate. Start very small with the core audience and slowly build from there focusing on new accomplishments. Ignore the old unless there is a clear example of significant success, otherwise you’re inviting criticism and rehashing old arguments.

It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out.