What Makes You Irreplaceable? A Book Club Activity for Your Personal Brand
What makes you stand out — not just on paper, but in a room, in a conversation, in a career?
This session is part of the COIE Book Club series, inspired by Paul Arden's cult classic It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be — but you don't need to have read a single page to join in and get a lot out of it.
In 45 minutes we'll explore one of the most important questions you can ask yourself right now: what is your point of view?
We'll kick off with a provocation — "The best thing a student can do right now is develop a strong opinion about something" — and then move into a short, guided personal exercise designed to help you map your unique strengths, spot your edge in a world shaped by AI, and sketch the beginnings of a personal brand that is genuinely, distinctly yours.
The activity — called Your Unfair Advantage — uses a simple 2x2 framework to help you identify what you're good at that AI isn't, and where your greatest opportunities for growth and distinctiveness lie. The output is the seed of your personal brand: something you can carry well beyond this session.
Come curious. Leave with clarity.
Who Should Attend
This session is especially welcoming to:
Final-year students preparing to enter the job market
Recent graduates navigating their next step
Anyone looking to reposition themselves — whether finding a mentor, switching direction, or simply learning to tell their story with confidence
About the Book
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden (Phaidon, 2003) is a cult classic from one of the world's most celebrated creative directors. Compact, visual, and packed with provocation, it has been read by millions of people in business, design, and advertising.
It's the kind of book you read in one sitting and think about for years.
You don't need to read it before joining — but you'll almost certainly want to read it after.
Facilitator
Pat Robinson, Academic Coordinator and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Centennial College facilitate this session. Pat teaches Creative Entrepreneurship at the Story Arts Campus and has 20 years of experience helping students, educators, and early-stage founders build future-ready skills through practical, inclusive, and low-risk approaches to innovation.