In life, as in fiction, publics are intolerant of inconsistent characters. 

A leader needs to establish a persona -- a clear definition of who he or she is, and why the visions expressed are consistent and credible. One way to define a leader's persona is in a personality profile. 

Traditional biographies are laundry lists of titles held and dates served. They reveal as much about the person as an accounting ledger tells about a dynamic company's culture. 

Personality profiles, conversely, are actual biographies with all of the humanity 
revealed. A profile incorporates the experiences of a lifetime with anecdotes, 
humor, and lessons learned. 

The first profile we wrote was for the chairman of the world's second largest global corporation. The media loved it, using it in bits and pieces, and occasionally in 
total, for the next three years. That same corporation commissioned me to write profiles on all top executives. Other corporations have since endorsed the profile approach by blatantly plagiarizing the concept. 

A personality profile has a number of uses. Public relations gives it to reporters before an interview, to pre-sell and humanize the interviewee. Occasionally,the entire profile is picked up and published.  More often, media people use slices to garnish their own copy. Another use for a profile is to send it to masters of ceremonies who will introduce your executive speaker. It makes for warmer introductions. Profiles also allow newcomers to an organization to quickly understand a leader. And finally, if, Godforbid, the executive joins the choir eternal prematurely, the profile makes a sensitive and ready obituary. 

Beyond the many benefits for public relations image building, profiles allow a speechwriter to know an executive, to express his or her innermost feelings as well as, and, some say better, than the executive could. Profiles personalize.