It’s not a particularly new idea, but more and more businesses are wondering: What connects your brand and culture — and why does it matter?

Your brand defines what you believe; Your culture lives those beliefs. 

Your brand creates interest; Your culture creates trust.

Your brand shapes your stories; Your culture makes them believable.

Your brand makes promises which create expectations; Your culture delivers on them.

Your brand invites and engages customers; Your culture serves and cares for them.

Your brand carves out your market position; Your culture secures it.

Your brand attracts the right customers; Your culture builds loyalty.

After you understand what connects a brand with culture, the next question is: How do we make that happen?

That’s more complex to answer. I have a framework for integration and a map for how it all (brand, culture, and business strategy) fits that I share with my clients. Here’s a high-level view of it. If you want to know the details of how it works together and my framework for integration, let’s talk.

Regardless, the fusions stated above will give you some understanding of what’s at stake with your brand-culture integration.

Because your brand is everything your company does, it’s too important to be left to an agency or a marketing team alone. 

Your culture is too important to be separate from your brand.

Your business is too important to operate in parts and pieces.

Your brand and culture, together with your business strategy, drive results.

Your business impact comes from the fusion of your brand and culture working in synergy. Your people know this, your customers demand this, and your future depends on how well you achieve the integration of brand and culture with your business strategy.

After all, there’s nothing more powerful than a united group of souls ignited in a common cause with love at the core.

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Thinking Beyond Purpose — Replay

An Author 3-Way Conversation with Denise Lee Yohn, and Adam Bryant, hosted by Steven Morris.

Has “purpose” lost its meaning; is it just the latest fad for corporations to jump on the bandwagon of?

Are some organizations misusing “purpose”?

Is it time to think beyond “purpose”?

It seems that nearly every business on the planet is talking about “purpose” these days. But, it’s unclear if there is any commonly applied definition of “purpose,” or if it carries any weight in today’s marketplace.

Denise Lee Yohn and Adam Bryant have both, in their own ways, been thinking about “purpose” for years.

Denise is a go-to expert on brand leadership for national media outlets, a sought-after speaker, and best-selling author of What Great Brands Do and Fusion: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World’s Greatest Companies.

Adam has been a reporter, editor, and columnist for The New York Times, the best-selling author of The CEO Test, and has interviewed over 500 CEOs for his “Corner Office” leadership series.

Both Denise and Adam have a wealth of experience, insight, and know-how on what drives organizations to become successful, and even great.

Hosted by, Steven Morris brand and culture building expert and author of The Beautiful Business: An Actionable Manifesto to Create an Unignorable Business with Love at the Core.