Donna Flagg

Corporate Identity: The Importance of Knowing Who You Are
January 20, 2008

Just as individuals need to know who they are in order to lead fulfilling and successful lives, so to do organizations. 

One really fun way to define your company’s identity is to discuss who your organization would be if it were a person. The idea is to conjure an image of an individual, and then brainstorm it into a shared vision of your company’s “personality.” By opening up opportunities to agree and disagree on who you should and shouldn’t be in order to support your business, you shape your culture by establishing the company’s core attributes.   

It’s an exercise we’ve been doing for years with clients and it works like a charm every time. Interestingly enough, now the concept has made its way into a marketing campaign for Apple. You can see what I mean by the Mac/PC commercials where two men clearly personify the essence of their respective brands and bring it to life in the way they look, speak and act.

Your identity as a brand and essence as a company is the equivalent to an individual’s personality. Furthermore, it shapes your culture the same way personalities instruct behavior. So understanding yourself, knowing what makes you tick and having a grasp on how you are viewed and experienced by the outside world all serve to inform the decisions you make about your business, life or both.  The key is to put a little time toward thinking about it and having fun in the process.

Posted by Donna Flagg on January 20, 2008 | Comments (0)