Former prime minister Gordon Brown recently lost the May 6 UK election to David Cameron who was elected Prime Minister. Part of what led to Brown's downfall can be found in these 5 political career lessons that we can all learn from.

1. Brand Yourself
During the election campaign, Brown kept saying that he was a man of "substance, not style." But we do need style along with substance in today's world.

We are all in the marketing business and we are all entrepreneurs, whether you work for yourself or for someone else. It's important to manage your personal brand and not just rely on your resume and good job performance to get ahead. You must sell yourself and your ideas.

2. Be transparent
You may remember the incident dubbed "Bigot-gate" where Brown was caught referring to an elderly woman of the public as being a bigot, not remembering that he was still hooked up to the TV mic as he was whisked away in his car to the next stop.

Be the same person you are both in public and in private, at work or at networking events, on or off "camera".

3. Embrace new media
Cameron was active on social media throughout his campaign. Nick Clegg, a relative unknown, embraced social media, became known, and is now the deputy Prime Minister. Brown did not embrace and adapt to social media to help him win the election.

The world is changing rapidly and we all need to adapt to its change to get ahead. Embrace new media. It's not "just for kids".

4. Be likeable
Press reports had stated that Brown is "difficult", a bit aggressive, and patronizing, hence little chance of Brown's Labor Party being invited as part of any new coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.

As an aside, US President Obama was relatively unknown to the world before he ran in the elections, but he was likeable. You may be surprised how people in the workplace with less talent and experience get farther ahead than others just because they are likeable.

5. Just be yourself
Brown isn't naturally outgoing and "smiley" like Tony Blair, but during the campaign he attempted some kind of smile, which did not come across as being authentic.

Just be yourself and be the best version of yourself.

Talent and hard work isn't enough to get ahead in today's world. To stand out from the crowd you must brand yourself, be transparent, embrace new media, be likeable and just be yourself.

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