What I learned about brand relationships from working retail at 18I was 18 when I learned what a brand really was. Not from a marketing course or a business book, but from a laminated piece of paper stuck to every door at Iceland Frozen Foods. Every shift for years, I'd push through those doors and high-five Sir Malcolm Walker's mission statement—dozens of times a day.Most people think their first job teaches them how to show up on time and deal with difficult customers. Mine taught me something completely different: the foundation of authentic brand relationships. Those weren't just corporate words on a wall. They were principles I was literally touching and internalizing every single day.Thirty-five years later, I still have that laminated mission statement in my office. It's the blueprint for everything I teach about sustainable business relationships.Here's what high-fiving that mission statement taught me.
How I Learned Brand Relationships from the…
What I learned about brand relationships from working retail at 18I was 18 when I learned what a brand really was. Not from a marketing course or a business book, but from a laminated piece of paper stuck to every door at Iceland Frozen Foods. Every shift for years, I'd push through those doors and high-five Sir Malcolm Walker's mission statement—dozens of times a day.Most people think their first job teaches them how to show up on time and deal with difficult customers. Mine taught me something completely different: the foundation of authentic brand relationships. Those weren't just corporate words on a wall. They were principles I was literally touching and internalizing every single day.Thirty-five years later, I still have that laminated mission statement in my office. It's the blueprint for everything I teach about sustainable business relationships.Here's what high-fiving that mission statement taught me.