I read Jonathan's blog every time he posts. It is always useful to note what your leadership thinks is important. Leaders talk about what they value (a lot) and that should drive action. One of the previous posts was about "What Brand means" and he spoke about a personal experience with a hotel chain. Good read. Check it out.

 It reminded me of something that happened to me 18 years ago. I was in Korea, serving in in the 5/17th Armored Cavalry as a Cadet Scout Platoon leader. I was feeling pretty low after a really long and really hard field exercise. Ever send a platoon of tanks the wrong way down a really long and really narrow canyon?  I did. Couldn't turn it around. Follow me... The next twenty minutes was radio call after radio call asking if I was lost. Humility is good for the soul. Ineptness is a great teacher. I never did it again. (Well once but that is another story.)

 Anyway,  I was exhausted. I was also dirt poor. Really poor. I really wanted to call somebody that liked me and didn't care (much) that I couldn't find my way around with $10mil in Army equipment following me. I called up AT&T and explained that I was a poor dogface that wanted to talk to my family. They cut me a credit card for $100 on the phone. Right there. No signature, no mindless and mind numbing paperwork. Just a friendly person that wanted to help me out. Well, she did, and she gained a life long customer. Brand does matter. AT&T wasn't the first company I called, but they were the last, and they still are. I can't even remember the other companies I called. But, I can't forget that someone made a difference in my life, and that, that has made all the difference.