It only seems appropriate to begin a post on questioning with just that—a question.

So here it is: Why challenge the status quo?

If business is booming, you might not feel like there is much reason to do so. We think that’s shortsighted. Even if your business is at the top of its game, there are plenty of questions to be asked. How did you achieve that success? And how are you going to keep growing?

The most successful brands all have something in common—people LOVE to work there. And it’s not just because of name recognition or competitive salaries. It’s because those brands realize that inspired employees are not only a clutch component of a thriving business, but also the best brand ambassadors around.

Your brand is not a product. It’s not a logo, a website or a color palette.

It's a promise. And when all else fails, the single most important thing you must do, is keep that promise.

This is serious stuff if you want to build a successful brand that will last. Your promise is like the keystone in your brand’s structure. It’s cause and effect. Promise goes un-kept? Your foundation crumbles. Your customers go elsewhere. 

Brands are powerful stuff. Think about it. We all know that branded acetaminophen (a.k.a. Tylenol) is essentially the same as the private label sitting next to it on the shelf, but we often fork over an extra buck or two for the branded product. Why? Because Tylenol has invested heavily in building their brand equity and grown consumer loyalty by fulfilling their brand promise: Gentle on the stomach, effective on pain. And when we’ve got a headache, we don’t want to mess with anything less than that promise.

Disruption: Typically a verb used to convey an annoying interference to your normal programming. Things we usually associate with disruption:

• Commercials—non-Super Bowl, of course
• Parents and/or Children—depending on what stage of life you’re at
• Heavy metal bands that practice in the garage next door at 3 a.m.—unless you’re in said heavy metal band or really enjoy nocturnal head-banging

But, as every fitness trainer knows, disruption is also crucial to sustained growth, agility and creating impact. Brands looking to achieve these goals should take heed.

How often do you hear someone ask what you don’t like about their product? Our guess—Not very.

Most companies treat criticism like it’s the plague. And because they avoid looking at their organization and products honestly, they end up spending a good deal of money covering up defects instead of on front-end resources that create ultimate success. 

We can’t help but shake our heads at the futility of that mentality.

Somewhere between the global economy hitting the brakes and the explosion of real-time feedback loops on the Internet, the way we traditionally did business was turned on its head.

The top-down model—where elite brands picked what colors would be hot next season, what news was important and what consumers really wanted—has pretty much been blown to bits. In its place now stands a construction project, being built from the bottom up—and by the way, no one knows what the finished product will look like, much less whether it will ever be complete.

Let us start by saying this: Everyone has a dark side. Dr. Jekyll. Oprah. Even Gandhi.

Yes. Even Gandhi.

If you haven’t heard the news: Things have changed. Your company no longer operates in a profit vacuum, where your only consistent feedback comes from shareholders. While business scrambled to stop our economy from completely imploding, the consumer acquired a substantial hold over the success and failure of brands.

Too many companies fail to recognize the importance of staying the course. Look around. You’ll see a vast majority of brands exhibiting a schizophrenic symphony of “branding personality disorder” symptoms. Over-extended product lines. Jumbled messaging. Inconsistent decisions. All of which result in a diluted consumer experience and decreased brand strength.