A Fixed Mindset Can Kill Your Brand

One of the things I relish most about being a brand strategist is working alongside leadership teams as they dive deeply into what we call the soil of soul of the brand. (Our definition of brand is how other people experience what you believe.)

Over the last seven years guiding branding journeys, I have noticed that branding is a blend of learning and letting go.

As human beings we are drawn to people who hold similar values. We are also drawn to those who can teach us, guide us, show us different perspectives. If this mentorship, challenge and appreciation are done in a respectful environment, where everyone feels valued, a culture can grow.

From a healthy culture comes a healthy brand.

A healthy brand is a living thing. Yes, it has deep roots in the soil of soul, but it also is continually growing, thriving and adapting to its environment.

It is always learning new ways of expressing itself, sharing its beliefs and stress testing how its beliefs are evolving.

Evolution is an indicator of a brand's health.

We’re lucky enough to have worked with many founders who have poured their hearts, souls, minds and money into building a business and a brand. It’s worked! It’s paid off! The brand is now born and living in the world.

And while it is rooted in the core beliefs, it doesn’t mean the brand is static. And this is a common fixed mindset trap founders can fall into.

The founder will always be the chief spiritual officer of the brand. They are the genesis of the brand.

But a vital part of the chief spiritual officer role is letting go of the brand and allowing it to be cared for by the new generation of leaders.

Like a child who has left their parents’ home to experience a broader world, the brand must be embodied by others beyond the founder to remain relevant and healthy. In an organization where time and care has been spent on building a brand, these new leaders are honoring the foundation and also interpreting it in new ways.

Some founders find this growth of the brand very challenging. Like a parent who remembers so clearly the newborn they held in their arms for the first time, the founder knows and is deeply attached to their brand from the very beginning. They have shepherded every stage of growth with love and attention. They’ve endured the tumbles and stumbles and bumps on the head. And held tightly to their baby and relied upon their own will and vision to create a healthy, whole brand.

Often, they question their role as the brand begins to bloom in new ways the founder didn’t see coming. They may tighten their grip on the tried and true strategies that got them to hear. They may resist change. They are protective, and that’s natural.

This is where a learning mindset comes in. As founders confront the growth of their brand, they have an important choice to make.

If founders can assume a growth mindset about their brands, they will stay open to learning from their leaders about how the brand is growing. They won’t attach too much of their identity or ego to how the brand is evolving. They will be curious and open to new ways of expressing the brand. In this way, they can truly act as a harbor and a fine, strong wind in the sails of the brand’s growth.

If founders adopt a fixed mindset around their brand, they will close down growth, creativity and innovation for their brand. They will hamper the brand’s continued relevance in a drastically changing world. They will deter innovative leaders from becoming bonded with the brand.

Yes, if they have a fixed mindset, they will remain more in control of what the brand represents and means – but only to them. And founders cannot build an enduring brand that continues to thrive across generations while ensuring nothing ever changes. It’s impossible.

Creating a thriving business has been a similar journey for me to creating and raising two daughters.

As my daughters have grown into their teens and college years, I am learning to release them into the world a bit more each day, week, month.

It’s a painful process.

So many times I want to adopt a fixed mindset and keep them attached to my hip. So many times I equate that with protecting them. But really I know I am just protecting me.

Our businesses are visible, highly valued entities societies recognize as symbols of success. Our egos are attached to them. Our hearts are attached to them. Our livelihoods are attached to them.

Ironically, it’s only by detaching from them, bit by bit, and from our fixed ideas about them that they can truly grow.

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Emily Soccorsy is cofounder and CEO of?Root + River, a brand strategy team that believes all great brands are spiritual experiences. She's also an award-winning writer, who feels most alive when creating word alchemy or visual art. She's the co-author of?Rooting Up: Essays in Modern Branding.