What is the surest way to destroy your personal brand? Let me begin with a short story.

There once was a young man named Orenthal who grew up in California with great athletic skills. He attended USC where his athletic prowess led him to track and the sport where he really shined, football. He was awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1968, and was the number one, first round draft pick in the NFL draft in 1969. His professional football career led him to six Pro Bowl games, earning both the Pro Bowl MVP and NFL MVP in 1973. He was one of the most recognized and admired athletes of his time. This celebrity also led him into TV and movies, where he became the luggage leaping spokesman for Hertz rental cars as well as a featured actor in movies such as Roots, Capricorn One, and The Naked Gun trilogy. All was going well for him, and he had one of the more recognizable personal brands of the time. Then he allegedly (remember he was found not guilty by a jury of his peers) murdered two people. And essentially did the same to his personal brand.

So why would I choose to use such a dramatic example as OJ Simpson of brand suicide? Because it is exactly that, a dramatic example that all the intentional acts you make to further your positive person brand can instantly be undone by one act you have no intention of associating with it. When I asked a colleague recently what they thought of when I said OJ Simpson the first thing that came out was “killer” (followed by a colorful list of other descriptors).

When working to further your personal brand it’s a lot about what you say and what you do. Personal brand is all about the impressions and experiences people associate with you. Keep that in mind, particularly in business. Before you do something shady, insincere, or even mildly sneaky take a second to think, “What happens if (insert client, colleague, boss, or associate name here) finds out?”. Even one negative action perceived by one person can have a dramatic impact on your personal brand if word gets out. And in our web 2.0 world, news travels fast. Especially the bad kind.

There are a ton of “don’ts” to consider when developing your brand (probably the biggest one being don’t kill anybody). However, they do not have to squash your efforts at building one. As with most things in business, use your professional common sense. We all have it…somewhere…we just need to use it. And a little negative publicity is not always bad. Being infamous can often get you a long way. But a lot of negative publicity could…well…kill you (from a brand perspective).