There’s a million (now a million + one) articles, books, and videos that define a brand as “a promise,” or “culmination of every interaction, product, and feeling” a person has of and with a particular company.

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The truth is, many of us understand this after seeing it and immediately think about how to improve our product, the brand colors, the marketing, and on and on, and often forget one key point.

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Whether we know the definition or not, as owners, principals, and key decision makers, we have a good idea of what we want our brand to be.

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And we spend too much time prioritizing trying to get that external message out, going to networking events, leading sales calls, and perfecting our tagline ( all absolutely important ), and not enough time defining our brand goals and vision to our employees.

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Our hires, whether new or keystone employees, want to do their jobs well and take pride in the success that their efforts have a direct impact on.

Define what the company, the brand, and the collective you are trying to achieve, how you’re impacting change in your market, and why what you do matters.

With clarity and consistency, they will internalize that mission and begin to imbue every interaction they have, internally or externally, with those values.

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Thus if part of your brand voice is to be warm and witty, they’ll begin answering calls and emails with a little bit of that wit and warmth too.

If they’re working a POS and helpfulness is a key cultural value, they’ll be more patient when a customer just can’t get their tap to pay to work.

Or better yet, some of the interpersonal issues that are bound to pop up can now be framed within your brand values and lead to a resolution with both parties aligned to your brand value of compassion.

Us, our business, and our brand is only as strong as the people we rely on to keep us moving and they deserve to know where they’re going.