Where do we report a missing month or two? 2017 seems to have been shorter than one would expect, right? Did it feel like the year just whizzed past? Did you get a chance to execute all that you had planned for your brand when the year started? Or did you get sidetracked? If you’re like most brands (and brand managers) then it’s likely you’re nodding along. But is it time to think why?

Consider, were your actions driven by external factors? Was it you, or your competition, or the much-maligned market that made you do the things you ended up doing? Were you consumed by the chaos surrounding you, the entropy in the system? If so here’s a suggestion. Make your 2018 New Year resolution to focus inwards, not outwards. Take a conscious step back from the confusion and look inside. Identify what makes your brand tick, what are the core values you represent, who you are, and to whom. Then base all your actions on that Core. Look to communicate that effectively to the audience that shares those values. Do that, and possibly when you end 2018, you will be able to look back at a less reactive, more planned year gone by.

Happy New Year!