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As a brand passionista, I enjoy finding analogies between corporate brands and personal brands. With that in mind, here’s a favorite that absolutely speaks to the importance of creating a powerful leadership personal brand. (See how long it takes you to figure out which corporate brand I’m describing.)

•If you had invested $10,000 in this company when it first went public in 1992, it would be worth more than $1,000,000 today.

•According to an article on Forbes.com, this brand currently has approximately 18,000 stores located in over 50 countries.

•If you haven’t guessed it yet, this should help: Every morning, millions of people start their days by visiting one of this company’s outlets for their favorite cup of java.

Yes, indeed, I’m talking about Starbucks.

Now, a lot (and I mean a lot) has been talked about, written about, and discussed about the Starbucks brand—and for good reason. Starbucks became the game-changer for the centuries-old, staid coffee industry.

But what can Starbucks’ branding success teach you about your own brand? What follows is an analogy originally based on a Brandweek magazine article (with updated statistics to reflect today’s prices):

•Coffee, when it is in its natural bean state, is a commodity that sells for about 3 to 5 cents per cup.

•Add packaging and a brand name to that coffee, place it on a grocery store shelf, and the price rises to 10 to 50 cents per cup.

•That same coffee offered up with service and a smile (say, at a Dunkin’ Donuts) increases the price to about $1-$2 per cup.

•Then there’s Starbucks, which sells its coffee worldwide for anywhere from $4 to $8 per cup. Imagine—people flock there by the millions to spend four times more for a cup of coffee than anywhere else.

How does Starbucks get us to spend so much more of our hard-earned cash—and feel good about it while we’re doing it? Because it offers its consumers so much more than just a good cup of coffee; it provides a rewarding coffee experience. At Starbucks, we’re paying for the pleasure of taking a break during the day—watching the skilled baristas concoct our favorite choca-locca-mocha-frocha (I can never get those names right) and enjoy a relaxing chat with friends after a night out.

That’s what differentiates Starbucks from the dozens of other coffee brands out there and what has built such strong brand loyalty through the years, despite its higher price tag. So, what does this demonstrate?

People will pay more for a superior experience.

Applying this truth to your own brand as a leader means that if you want to earn more money, advance in your career, and rise to positions of greater responsibility, you must think about the experience you offer on the job. Think about it … would you want to work with you? What would it be like to be your colleague, your peer, your boss, or your direct report? What would that experience be like? Again, it’s all about the way key people perceive, think, and feel about YOU™.