A business based on brand is, very simply, a business primed for success.

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

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

The great lesson of the Internet revolution is not that people never want personal service, just that they won't pay for personal service that does not add real value to the transaction.

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.

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.

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.