Brand strategy

If Nike announced that they were opening a hotel, you’d have a pretty good guess about what it would be like. But if Hyatt announced that they were going to start making shoes, you would have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what those shoes would be like. That’s because Nike owns a brand and Hyatt simply owns real estate.

A brand is always answering two questions. The first one internally facing: What do we believe? The second, externally: How do we behave? You must remain authentic to yourself, your core values, and what you stand for. If you’re not, people will sniff you out. But your brand must maintain cultural congruence — remaining relevant to the times,... See more

I was talking to a friend about why we decided to invite only paying believers to the Sublime private beta. My answer is that charging early for a product creates high expectations, and in aspiring to meet those expectations, we are held accountable to deliver a product you love and trust. My answer is that growing Sublime the right way is more... See more

We are unlikely to be able to sell “a group chat system” very well: there are just not enough people shopping for group chat system (and, as pointed out elsewhere, our current fax machine works fine).

That’s why what we’re selling is organizational transformation

I think our competitive aim is always been... This is going to sound like very basic but it’s true. It’s just we do what we say we’re going to do when we say we’re going to do it. We just try to practice extreme reliability. And it’s an accruing advantage because the more people know that you’ll do what you say you’re going to do, you’re going to... See more

And it had that winning amalgamation of familiarity and desire: At the end of the show, Mr. Lauren emerged in a just-running-errands-on-a-Saturday outfit — olive button-down shirt, sleeves slightly rolled up, tucked into beige cargo pants — and waved to the crowd. (Familiarity.) At that very moment, the barn door behind him opened, revealing a... See more