What's In A Name?

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet"

-  Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

There's a lot of value that goes into a name. The principles at work behind the value of a name are very much the same as that in branding. (For more on this, take a look at this post: Building Your Personal Brand)

As such, in preparation for this last term and my current MBA candidacy, I'm shifting how I present my name in certain venues to more accurately reflect the direction I'm taking through the completion of this MBA in Marketing. More specifically, I've changed only my email "send as" as well as my Twitter name display (which is my primary social media outlet) to say this:

Ben Fung  DPT/MBA(c)

Why the funny format? That's all Twitter would let me fit! Why no more "Dr."??? Simple. Most of what I currently do now has more to do with business consulting than front-line clinical applications. Does this mean I'm turning my back on the clinical world of physical therapy and healthcare at large? NO WAY!

During a luncheon conversation with a long time colleague, we were talking about the process of becoming a physical therapist. Primarily, we were talking about how the mindset and training creates an outlook that never leaves you. I'll never stop being a physical therapist. I can still remember the near heart attack I had one day in a checkout line when an elderly man took a bad step backwards. I lunged forwards to guard him! 

See, it's not that I'm abandoning anything. It is simply that the way I'm choosing to embody the physical therapist identity is as one who empowers others through business solutions. Through this direction, I hope that my expertise in marketing, operations, reputation management, and optimizing the clinical lense through consumer perspectives will supercharge a new generation toward success.

So what's coming down the line?

1. I'm preparing a webinar via the Private Practice Section of the APTA.
2. I've been gathering together content to wrap up into a monster of a marketing course.
3. As many of you know, I've finished writing my book and am progressing through the various steps of publication.
4. I will be enviously following your Tweets during CSM 2015.
5. I hope to resume my involvement in speaking engagements later this year.
6. I aim to increase my outreach and platform diversity (more coming soon).
7. I am planning on finally introducing collaboratives posts on this blog. Interested in sharing your voice? Let me know!