Digging in to Google search results on my name, I found the following post I wrote elsewhere back in December 2006:

I've often been heard saying that brand starts inside a company. For me, these aren't just empty words, not just part of some marketing spiel I've perfected. I believe this with my heart and soul.

Heart and soul...That's really what brand is all about.

Now, I've heard that some people think this means I could care less about the audience. That's just ridiculous. What kind of brand strategist would I be if I ignored the market? No, my point is that a brand has to start from the inside because that's where authenticity is found. In a world of fake and plastic and lies, we individual humans long for the authentic, for companies to tell the truth. We want them to be at least as passionate about their own products and how they affect our lives as they expect us to be in spending our money with them. We want a genuine reason to trust businesses. So, a company has to think deeper than "biggest" or "fastest" or "most profitable." Companies have to think beyond efficiency and stockholder value. They have to dig deep into the hearts and souls of their businesses to discover what they're about. Really about. They have to ask "Who are we? What do we stand for? What do we bring to the world?" That's not just where the spark of a good brand is. In the heart and soul of the company, you'll find the roaring fire of a great brand.