Working backwards from your values to determine your activities creates a lifestyle dramatically more meaningful than working forward from whatever seems appealing in the moment. It’s the difference between resilience and anxiety; satisfaction and distraction. 

→ Cal Newport, Cultivating a Deep Life

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Both on a brand & a personal level, values are often about identity. They're about how we see ourselves & how we want others to see us. They're about where we're going & with whom we will associate ourselves on the journey.

In the pyramid of decision-making, our values should sit at the base level.

Above them should live our goals - the quantifiable articulations of those values.

One step up should be the strategies we're implementing to execute our goals - the short to medium term experiments we're running, learning from, & iterating.

Finally, at the top of the pyramid, should be the tactics we're deploying to stress-test & pursue those strategies - the daily actions & the getting of our hands dirty.

If that sounds daunting, always working forwards & backward through time & up & down the pyramid, that's because it is. It's much easier to react, to spin, to chase the next shiny object or the next (temporary) relief from whatever uncertainty & discomfort comes from choosing the difficult path.

But if we want to build a strong brand & a strong life, we must recognize & explore our decisions at these varying, interdependent layers. We must understand that we can either determine who we want to become, first, or hope.

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Functional Branding exists to help change-makers make change. If you're feeling high on passion & hunger, but low on strategy, I can help. Just hit reply. Let's talk.