“Brand creates focus. It helps you prioritize. Because it’s a North Star in can help the leader allocate resources, determine how he or she should spend his or her time.” This week on the On Brand podcast, I was joined by Lindsay Pedersen, brand strategist and author of the book Forging an Ironclad Brand.

About Lindsay Pedersen

Lindsay Pedersen is the author of Forging An Ironclad Brand: A Leader’s Guide. She is a brand strategist and leadership coach who views brand as a blend of science, intuition, behavioral economics, and ancient storytelling. She developed the Ironclad Method™ while building brands with companies such as Starbucks, Clorox, Zulily, T-Mobile, IMDb, and burgeoning start-ups. Lindsay lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.

Episode Highlights

Branding as a leadership tool. “Brand creates focus. It helps you prioritize. Because it’s a North Star in can help the leader allocate resources, determine how he or she should spend his or her time. Who he or she should hire.”

The economic impact of brand. “Brand is the only truly sustainable differentiating factor for a business. Eventually, everything else can be copied. But you can’t copy a brand you’ve been reinforcing in peoples’ minds over time. Brand creates focus and a prioritizing mechanism for the leader and it also helps him or her create economic value by creating a competitive moat.”

Demystifying storytelling for business. “I think of story as problem-solution or tension-resolution. So brand and business exist to create resolution. To take the audience from struggling with a problem to mastering a problem.”

What brand has made Lindsay smile recently? “I love Trader Joe’s. When I shop at Trader Joe’s, I feel uplifted. I feel understood as a busy working mom.”

To learn more, go to her book website where you can access a free workbook and follow Lindsay on Twitter.

As We Wrap …

Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.

On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more.

Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

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