People don’t trust us, they say. Sometimes they mutter this in the buffet line. Sometimes it pops up in the boardroom.

Ever come across an idea or a theory or just a simple model that gripped you and never let go? It happened to me.

Yesterday I asked my four children “what’s your favorite big cat?”

My kids call this a “Dad Question”: an inquisitive cousin to the Dad Joke.Or do they trust what they think you do?

Or do they trust what they think you do?

I hear this phrase all the time: “our customers trust us.” I'm not here to disagree. It’s good to have supporting data, but who am I to cast doubt?

In February’s Golden Thread I asked: what role do employees play in their own brand?

In January, I issued the Call for Inside-Out Branding. I argued we must center our brand on inside strengths:

I’m worried about something. I’m beginning to think I hold an unpopular opinion on trust.

What role do employees play in their own brand?

“What would we do without you?” a typical CEO might exclaim, in any meeting, at any company in America.

Hello 2026.

Buckle up for a big year in the world of branding.

I founded Golden Advisory for a few reasons: to rediscover my early passions for brand, to take a good stretch during what feels like halftime in my career, and perhaps most important: