It's not fair, but it's not entirely wrong to presume that the more capable people will come from the better brand.

It's not fair, but it's not entirely wrong to presume that the more capable people will come from the better brand.

It is not easy to build a great brand. It takes leadership to persuade the rest of the company to follow your vision. It takes an artistic sense of proportion and timing. It takes a ruthless willingness to distinguish yourself from competing brands and, hopefully, bury them in the process.

Good brands do three things for highly stressed out consumers: 1. They save time. 2. They project the right message. 3. They provide an identity.

Every brand builder will face a million temptations to obscure, dilute, or confuse his or her brand message. These temptations fall under two general headings: boredom and the desire for growth.

The truth is the best brands, like the most interesting people, have a keen sense of self.

While the importance of a strong brand is widely understood, nothing is as misunderstood in American business as the question of how to use it.