The CEO’s Mandate
Harry S. Truman, 33rd president of the United States, famously placed a plaque on his desk that read, “The Buck Stops Here.”
Truman wanted all Oval Office visitors to know that he was taking ultimate responsibility for everything that did or may occur on his watch.
That’s how a real CEO functions. And, that’s why you must build and maintain a strong corporate brand.
The CEO (chief executive officer) is the highest-ranking executive in a company — whether F500 or startup — responsible for:
- Establishing the company’s purpose and direction (brand)
- Making final corporate decisions
- Managing its operations, resources, and people
- Maximizing shareholder — not stakeholder (ESG, DEI, CRT, NetZero) — value
- Communicating financial and operational results and forecasts to shareholders.
What guideline should a CEO use to make decisions?
Every strategy and tactic a CEO executes must be subordinate to the company’s brand — because the brand sets the company’s purpose and direction, and is the emotional connection to its customers.
Many argue that operations are more important than the brand. Wrong. Disney almost destroyed its brand — and stock price — by sexualizing children. Now, it’s trying to reverse a lot of its woke decisions to rebuild its brand.
Your company, like a ship, may have a finely tuned engine room. But, if its direction (brand) is faulty, your ship will crash into the iceberg sooner and faster. CLICK HERE to get Woke CEO News.
That’s why corporate branding must be the CEO’s #1 priority. In other words, invoking Harry Truman’s dictum, the brand stops with the CEO. Bob Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods, rejects wokeism and woke mobs, and his company is prospering.
Taking Action
Brand Is Destiny™, Your #1 Priority. The brand stops with you.
Your brand sets your company’s purpose and direction. You must build it first (before building products) and vigilantly verify its effectiveness.
NEVER say you can’t afford branding or that “the timing isn’t right” for fixing it.
Read my books to improve your knowledge of and perspective on branding.
Engage me to help you create/fix your company’s brand — by the project or by the hour.
Why would you hire me?
You already have a marketing department. Exactly. This is the same group that, using anodyne, safe jargon, made your company bland and indistinguishable from its competitors.
