I am currently writing an e-book about culture, and as you might have predicted, it will include some discussion of Zappos. Zappos is the poster child for a powerful culture that drives results (I highly recommend Delivering Happiness), and here’s one of my favorite quotes about culture from Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh (source):

Our belief is that a company’s culture and a company’s brand are just two sides of the same coin. The brand is just a lagging indicator of the culture.

I love this quote for a couple of reasons. First, I have always hated the concept of “brand.” Sorry, marketers, but it just bugs me. I guess I can own this as my issue. I understand logically what brand is and why it’s important. But I always felt it was a slippery slope between “effective brand management” and “convincing me that your nicely packaged lies are the truth.” Maybe it’s the Gen Xer in me, but I’m skeptical of your story.

That’s why I like Tony’s quote. Your brand is the lagging indicator of your culture, and your culture, by definition, exists in reality. It exists in behavior. Action. Tangible things. Sure, part of your culture will be the stories you tell about it, but the stories can never trump the reality, partially because it’s how you behave with your customers and stakeholders that will define the brand (in other words, you never have been in control of your brand entirely).

So go ahead and manage that brand, but if you start by managing the culture, I think the brand management will end up being a whole lot easier.

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