Your Reputation Precedes You
I’m listening to the title track of Cake’s Comfort Eagle release this morning on the train. The chorus…
We are building a religion, We are making a brand
…started the gears turning…
We are making a brand (reputation), all of us, everyday. Whether we’re conscious of it or not (it’s probably best to be conscious and deliberate about it). Any marketing student can tell you that unclear brands aren’t popular and that popular brands are profitable well after the founder signs off.
L. Ron Hubbard figured that out when he quipped, “If you want to get rich, you start a religion.”
I suppose, it doesn’t need to be a religion right away, just a brand (Oprah, Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs, Alan Greenspan, Cake, Too Much Joy) that’s nutured along until it is self-sustaining.
Maybe Life is a brand-building exercise. Our family name communicates volumes about us, ask any Reagan, Rockefeller, Ford, or Shakespeare.
