In his autobiography Models of My Life (WorldCat), Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon talks about his experience with good management and tries to describe what makes it tick.

September 1, 2021

|

5min read

Sam Frentzel-Beyme

Strategic Branding

Principles of Good (Brand) Management

The Short of It

  • The principles of good management are simple, even trivial.
  • It is not enough to know the principles; you must acquire the deeply ingrained habits of carrying them out, in the face of all sorts of strong urges to stray onto more comfortable and pleasant paths, to respond without inhibition to provocations, and just to goof off.
  • The actual diligent application of the tools is what allows some brands to continually gain momentum, while others are continually trying to gain it back.

In his autobiography Models of My Life (WorldCat), Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon talks about his experience with good management and tries to describe what makes it tick. Here’s what he says:

"The principles of good management are simple, even trivial. They are not widely practiced for the same reason that Christianity is not widely practiced. It is not enough to know the principles; you must acquire the deeply ingrained habits of carrying them out, in the face of all sorts of strong urges to stray onto more comfortable and pleasant paths, to respond without inhibition to provocations, and just to goof off."

I think his view could be applied equally to building strong brands.

While the creative elements and directions themselves are often what gets shown and talked about, it’s the actual diligent application of those tools that allows some brands to continually gain momentum, while others are continually trying to gain it back.

Related Articles