This week’s Field Notes by Brand Shepherd is an “audiobook” version of an article published this week by our founder, Dan Crask.

Listen to the article narrated by Dan Crask here or via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or read the full article linked below.

I had an existential pause today.

Not a crisis. A pause.

The kind where you read the room in your profession, listen to the people you work with, and ask a question you’ve been avoiding: Is there any value in stating that I am Brand Shepherd’s “Brand Strategist” anymore?

Ironically, AI is why I’m asking this.

To be clear, I welcome it. I’m a “roll with the changes” person. Branding as a profession is not a “passion” of mine in the sense that I’m emotionally entangled with it. I regard it as an interesting way to earn a living. Meanwhile, I protect my actual passions (music, fitness, creative work) from commercial intrusion. So when the ground shifts beneath a professional identity, I don’t cling. I adapt.

But adaptation requires honesty about what’s actually happening.

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