Let me tell you a story that challenges the conventional wisdom about who really builds a brand. (This article sparked my curiosity.) Marks & Spencer’s remarkable comeback isn’t just a tale of clever marketing. It’s proof that true brand building starts with the CEO’s vision, not in the marketing department. This isn’t about diminishing marketing’s…

It emerges like health. Think about health for a moment.You can’t “build” health directly. It emerges from consistent habits—quality sleep, proper nutrition, regular exercise, and stress management. The same is true for brands. You don’t build a brand through marketing campaigns. It emerges from consistent business decisions that deliver value. Look at the evidence: Steve…

Having contributed to GQ, I’ve observed and shaped conversations at the crossroads of culture, fashion, and identity. Writing for a global tastemaker has sharpened my perspective on how brands evolve—not just by selling products but by creating movements that resonate deeply with their audiences. Holt Renfrew, with its rich heritage and commitment to “Conscious Luxury,”…

Dear ‘Marketers,’ let’s talk about Jaguar—not just the rebrand that’s set Marketing Linkedin/X ablaze but the deeper lessons it reveals about our industry’s thinking. I get it. Everyone’s choosing sides. The traditionalists are clutching their pearls about abandoned heritage. The progressives are celebrating disruption. And somewhere in between, actual customers are wondering what happened to…

You know that feeling when you’re lying in bed, one last scroll through your phone before sleep? That innocent-seeming habit might change more than just your bedtime – it could be rewiring how our society thinks. Disclaimer: Human beings are perpetual students, constantly learning and adapting to the world around them. As designers, we are…

The world’s most valuable brands share a secret: They weren’t built by marketing departments. Apple, Tesla, Amazon—none of them focused on ‘brand building.’ Here’s what they understood that most companies miss… Let’s examine what Steve Jobs actually said about this: “We don’t spend time talking about brand. We spend time talking about how to make…

Eliminate marketing.Stop all brand building. Sounds crazy? What if the very act of trying to build a brand is what’s destroying it? The science of emergence tells us something profound about complex systems. From consciousness to colonies, complex patterns emerge from simple rules and interactions. As Nobel laureate Philip Anderson noted, ‘More is different’ –…

Have you ever found yourself solving the same problem over and over? You’re not alone. In our rush to fix things, we often miss the deeper patterns that could transform our approach entirely. This is where the concept of single, double, and triple-loop learning becomes your secret weapon. The Power of Three: Understanding Learning Loops…

This post is a commentary on this and this. This is a fascinating take on brand building, but I think there’s a deeper insight hiding beneath the surface that few are discussing. Yes, great brands are built by entire organizations, not just marketing teams. But here’s the counterintuitive part – the very concept of “building…

Ever notice how surgeons don’t put “Heart Expert 🫀” in their LinkedIn bio? They’re too busy, you know, doing actual heart surgery. Yet scroll through LinkedIn for 30 seconds, and you’ll drown in a sea of “thought leaders,” “visionaries,” and, my personal favourite, “expert strategists” who love to say, “We’re all just making stuff up.”…

The world has gone bananas. Let’s end this nonsense. If you’re using the term “brand positioning,” you’re probably thinking about it wrong. Here’s why this matters more than you think. First, let’s clear something up: There’s no such thing as “brand positioning.” There’s just positioning. And the difference isn’t just semantic – it reveals a…

See Elle McCarthy’s post first. What caught my attention was the framing of “brand as an operating system.” This isn’t just semantics, it’s a fundamental shift from viewing brand as marketing to understanding it as the atomic core that drives every business decision. The first six months in this role will be critical, but not…