Identity PositioningA philosophy of personal branding
Identity Positioning™
The personal branding methodology that merges who you are with what you do. Most advice treats a personal brand as a marketing problem: more posts, more followers. Identity Positioning™ treats it as a position: something you hold, something that can be measured, and something that can be lost.
Read the transcript
Welcome to identitypositioning.com, the technology hub for Mashman Consulting Group.
There is no shortage of information about personal branding out there on the web today. But unfortunately, where there is abundance, it makes it ever so difficult to determine what is true and what is false, to be able to decide what strategies are effective versus what is ineffective, and to really understand from vetted professionals what your next best steps are.
Well, we're excited to say that with the introduction of Identity Positioning™, you do not have that issue anymore.
On the site, you'll notice that there is a series of technologies, tools, and resources made available to you, and in most cases they're absolutely free. Some might be paid, but there is zero obligation.
On one page, you'll notice that there is a personal brand audit. The Rapid 25 is a series of 25 questions measured off of 25 dimensions that create a composite score that is sent directly to your email inbox. This will provide a lot of insights into how strong your personal brand is, while also providing a series of recommendations that you could take to move that score up immediately.
There is also the Unrivaled 50, which is a more comprehensive and accurate version of the personal brand audit, which is also measured off of the same 25 dimensions, but that is unlocked by referral code only.
On a separate page, you'll notice that there are 12 different tools that you can use to improve and expedite your results with your personal brand. One
such tool is the Personal Brand Podcast Name and Book Title Generator. You put in a series of information what you want your show to represent, brand colors, themes, etc. And you'll receive a full list of recommendations that sound like you, that will properly represent what you are working towards and building. Once you lock in and find a name that you like, that name will no longer be recommended to anyone else.
Other tools include the Power of 3 Tracker, the Skyline Strategy Tool, and more. I would highly recommend you take a couple of minutes and check those out, all of them of which are free. Then,
if you go to learn.identitypositioning.com, you'll see the UnrivaledMCG Learning Platform. Instead of relying on third-party services to create a robust platform for our programs and resources, we decided to build our own. There
is an immense amount of development on the backend that make Identity Positioning™ that much more robust. It is an active development, and we're really excited to share more.
But ultimately, the end goal of this platform is to make personal branding more accessible, to educate the world and the masses on what personal branding is, and to ultimately help people take more conscious steps and maneuvers for their reputations to improve their results.
Thank you for watching this short educational video, and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out or visit mashmancg.com, the official website for Mashman Consulting Group. I'm Isaac Mashman, thank you.
The methodology
What Is Identity Positioning™?
Identity Positioning™ is Mashman Consulting Group’s proprietary personal brand strategy and philosophy, developed by Isaac Mashman with Eric Chow. It merges the personal identity of an individual with their professional career in a way that builds public authority, demonstrates competence, and develops a loyal following, whatever happens to any one platform.
It was academically published in 2024 as Identity Positioning: A Macroscopic View on Personal Branding, and it is the method behind every audit, tool, and consultation on this site. Where most personal branding works on one channel at a time, Identity Positioning™ works on the whole position, and then measures it.
The split at the center of the method
Where the Personal Meets the Brand
Split the phrase in two. The left side is the person. The right side is the brand. Most personal branding builds only the right side, and wonders why nobody feels they know the person behind it. Identity Positioning™ builds both.
- Characteristics and personality traits
- Interests and hobbies
- Passions
- Life experiences
- Where you come from, and what you believe
- Accomplishments
- Certifications and credentials
- Career and years of service
- Testimonials
- Results that earn revenue or attention
“I help X people get Y results.”
“Avid outdoorsman and loving father. I help X people get Y results.”
Two points of rapport a stranger would not otherwise have, before you have ever met.
The balance is kept with the Skyline Strategy: for every two steps that grow the brand side, take one that grows the personal. All great cities have beautiful skylines, and they are built over time.
Why it is different
Identity Positioning™ Against Conventional Personal Branding
Most personal branding advice is not wrong. It is narrow: one platform, one tactic, one number at a time. The difference is scope, proof, and measurement.
| The question | Conventional personal branding | Identity Positioning™ |
|---|---|---|
| What is being built? | A page, a profile, or a following on one platform. | A position: the whole of who you are and what you do, with every platform as an extension of it. |
| What happens when a platform changes? | The work goes with it. Rented reach disappears with a policy change. | Nothing essential is lost. Owned reach, a site, a list, and a network, is what compounds. |
| How is credibility earned? | Too often it is bought: paid awards, and paid placement presented as coverage. | By becoming press-worthy. You are not in the business of convincing. You are in the business of demonstrating. |
| What does the message lead with? | Credentials and results alone: “I help X people get Y results.” | The person and the professional together, two steps for the brand to every one for the personal. |
| How is progress measured? | Followers, likes, and impressions. | Five weighted pillars, scored by a fixed rubric, with reputational health able to cap the whole. |
| Where does the advice come from? | Whoever is giving it, fresh each time it is given. | A published body of work. Every audit question and every recommended move traces to a numbered chapter. |
| How long does it take? | A launch and a few quick wins. | A lifetime. Full intensity, applied on a long timeline. |
More on the difference: why a scored instrument is not a quiz, and how the scoring works.
How a position is measured
The Five Personal Brand Pillars
Every position rests on five pillars. The Brand Audit scores all five and reports where a position is carried, and where it is exposed. The pillars in the MCG Wiki (opens in a new tab).
Omnipresence
Visible and discoverable, whenever and wherever possible. Repeated exposure is what produces familiarity, and familiarity is what produces trust.
25% of the composite
What it measuresCredibility
Trust is the understanding that your claims are accurate and your word holds. It is built through the consistent exchange of influence in the form of edification, not through follower counts.
25% of the composite
What it measuresSeamless Branding
The consistent and maintained portrayal of one person. There should be no doubt who you are when someone introduces you, on or offline.
20% of the composite
What it measuresReputational Health & Risks
A position is always one misstep from falling. Reputational health is the foundation under everything else, which is why it caps the composite rather than only contributing to it.
15% of the composite
What it measuresMarketability
Whether attention converts. A personal brand has deliverable products and services, a clear offer, and somewhere for interest to go.
15% of the composite
What it measuresHow large a position is
The Hierarchy of Personal Branding
Six tiers, from a person who does not know they have a personal brand to one recognized across the world. The Hierarchy measures the scale of a position. The pillars measure its quality. A Local Hero can hold a near-perfect position, and an International Icon can hold a failing one. The six tiers in the MCG Wiki (opens in a new tab).
| 1 | Unconscious Incompetent Unaware they have a personal brand at all; not yet directing it. |
| 2 | Friends and Family Known only within an existing personal circle. Rarely exceeds 100 people. |
| 3 | The Local Hero Recognized within a community through deliberate, conscious effort. 500 or more people. |
| 4 | The State Representative Well-established authority known within a region. 100,000 or more people. |
| 5 | The National Personality Recognizable nationally; represented by agents, teams, and professional support. 1,000,000 or more people. |
| 6 | The International Icon Global fame and influence, largely one-directional. |
Six Ways In
The Brand Audit
A free personal brand audit. Twenty-five questions, seven minutes. A composite score, five pillar scores, a risk register, and the three moves that raise the score most.
Start the auditThe Toolkit
Twelve free tools from the method, from a name generator and an elevator pitch builder to a cliché checker, a Power of 3 tracker, and a mentor blueprint. No AI, and nothing leaves your browser.
Open the toolsIdentity Quest™
The world’s first personal brand simulator. Build a name from nothing, one week at a time, against a rival who plays by the same rules, with the same five pillars audited as you go.
See the gameUnrivaledMCG
The learning platform: self-paced programs in the method for consulting clients and anyone building a personal brand, and the Resource Library every MCG client receives.
Start learningIdentity Positioner™
An AI personal brand consultant, built on ISIA, the recommendation engine MCG’s own consultants work from. Strategic counsel on demand, grounded in your own scored position.
See what is comingThe Paper
Identity Positioning: A Macroscopic View on Personal Branding. Published academically and reproduced here in full, unaltered.
Read itWhere This Comes From
Identity Positioning™ is the methodology of Mashman Consulting Group, developed by Isaac Mashman and Eric Chow (opens in a new tab). It is documented in the white paper, published academically in 2024, and in Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition.
Every question in the Brand Audit traces to a chapter of that book. The scoring is fixed and published-derived rather than improvised, which is what makes a score defensible when someone challenges it.
Common Questions
What Is Identity Positioning™?
Identity Positioning™ is Mashman Consulting Group’s proprietary personal brand strategy and philosophy, developed by Isaac Mashman with Eric Chow. It merges the personal identity of an individual with their professional career in a way that builds public authority, demonstrates competence, and develops a loyal following, whatever happens to any one platform. Read the full definition.
What Is the Definition of Personal Branding?
Personal branding, in one word, is you: who you are, what people know you for, and the distinctive combination of characteristics and personality traits that only you possess. Personal branding is also the practice of consciously directing it: determining what you want to be seen as in the public’s eye and making decisions that contribute positively to your overall reputation. Reputation is one part of a personal brand, not the definition of one.
How Is Identity Positioning™ Different From Personal Branding?
It is a way of practicing personal branding, not a replacement for it. Personal branding is the subject: you, and the practice of directing how you are seen. Identity Positioning™ is a method for that practice. It merges the personal and professional sides of a person, treats the result as a position, and measures that position across The Five Personal Brand Pillars.
Who Developed Identity Positioning™?
Isaac Mashman, founder of Mashman Consulting Group, with Eric Chow. It was academically published in 2024 as Identity Positioning: A Macroscopic View on Personal Branding, which is reproduced on this site in full, and it appears in Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition.
Who Is Identity Positioning™ For?
Anyone whose name carries weight in their work: founders, executives, authors, coaches, consultants, creators, entertainers, podcasters, and public speakers. It applies as much to the business owner who would rather not be on camera as to the performer who already is.
How Do I Measure My Own Position?
Take the free Brand Audit. Twenty-five questions, about seven minutes, and it returns a composite score, all five pillar scores, a risk register, and the three moves that would raise your score most.