In a recent coaching session, we were discussing the client’s brand. He’s the CEO of a company with more than 25 years of success. The conversation was focused on his marketing department and its activity. “Our marketing department has done most of the work building our brand,” he said, “but I’m not sure our executive team really understands what our brand is.”


How refreshing.


It’s refreshing because this guy has the guts to admit it. Too often businesses fade away and die-and CEO’s get fired-because they are too prideful to admit what they don’t know. Good leaders address the hard questions straight up, and this man is a good leader.


How involved should the company’s leadership be in building and defining the brand-or should that be the job of marketing? The answer: both.


It’s critical that leadership at every level be included and involved in building the company brand. Formulating and identifying brand attributes, creating a brand promise, building a value proposition, and creating a brand culture are all critical elements for company leadership to develop. The inclusion of the executive team, usually made of senior leaders and department heads within the company, is an absolute necessity.


Too often, business leaders are just river pilots- they navigate the company in its existing state through predictable turns, bends, and depths, but they don’t engage in changing or building the company’s future. The problem is that very little is predictable anymore. Today’s business leaders are as much explorers as they are navigators. Through my Marketing Coach Program, I help business leaders discover, develop, and employ their marketing skills to grow their companies through challenge and change.


So, where did your company’s brand come from? Can you define it? Do you know how to build it? In just 90 days, you could have the strongest grasp on your marketing that you’ve ever had by employing the Marketing Coach Program.


Lead your company. Explore what’s ahead, and profit from it.