Fusion Summary

Great brands and cultures are not just 'born'—they are made. The magic lies in aligning the inside and outside of your company to create an unstoppable force.

1. Brand Meets Culture Equals Fusion

Many businesses treat brand and culture as separate entities. But when these two merge, they release extraordinary energy. Consider Amazon, whose external brand focuses on relentless innovation in customer service. Internally, its culture mirrors this drive with a 'bruising and relentless' focus. This alignment of purpose creates synergy, making Amazon a powerful force.

The fusion model aligns employees, directing everyone toward a shared goal. This unity not only reduces inefficiencies but creates a brand that’s hard for competitors to replicate. When your culture embodies the promises your brand makes, authenticity naturally follows, solidifying trust with customers.

Using fusion, Amazon's cohesive brand-culture strategy has maintained its dominance. It ensures employees stay connected to its mission while delivering unparalleled services to its customers. A brand's external promise must flow directly from its internal values.

Examples

• Amazon’s "purposeful Darwinism” keeps internal culture aligned with its external promise of relentless customer focus.
• Disney merges its customer-oriented brand with a "cast member" culture that prioritizes magical experiences.
• Nordstrom’s culture of exceptional client service reflects its external slogan, "Customer service above all else."

2. Purpose and Values Drive Fusion

Nike’s slogan, "Just Do It," encapsulates its purpose and values – inspiring action and well-being. This clarity bridges the internal culture and external brand. A company’s purpose explains why it exists, while core values express how it operates, forming the foundation for cultural and brand alignment.

To unearth your company's purpose, an exercise like the Five Whys can help you dig deep and identify the real reasons behind what you do. This process strengthens your company against competitors by creating a stronger cultural foundation.

Defining core values connects operations to deeper principles. For example, Google doesn't just strive for quality; it aims to achieve it with the ethos that "great just isn't good enough." This blend of purpose and values amplifies internal unity and external loyalty.

Examples

• Amazon’s purpose, "to be Earth’s most customer-centric company," aligns intention with action.
• Google’s value: “great just isn’t good enough,” drives innovation at every level.
• Nike’s internal belief inspires its external message of action and achievement.

3. Defining Your Brand Type Anchors Values

Each brand falls into one of nine types, such as disruptive, innovative, or luxury. Identifying your brand type helps anchor your core values, clarifying how employees should interact and how the brand is perceived.

Nike and Apple share the innovative brand type, valuing creativity and cutting-edge work across their industries. In contrast, value brands like Walmart focus on low-cost solutions. Conducting a culture audit ensures your current practices reflect your declared core values.

Auditing involves analyzing how employees communicate internally and interact with customers. This clarity exposes any gaps between actual and desired culture, allowing for realignment. Successful companies consciously refine their operations to ensure their actions align with their values.

Examples

• Nike and Apple pursue innovation through experimentation and reinvention.
• Walmart’s low-cost outlook supports its value-based strategy.
• The Ritz-Carlton, a service brand, emphasizes care and empathy toward customers.

4. Leadership Shapes Brand and Culture

Transformative leadership is essential for bridging company culture and brand. Alan Mulally’s leadership at Ford rejuvenated its brand by realigning it with Henry Ford’s progressive vision. Conversely, Volkswagen’s emissions scandal highlighted how misaligned leadership can tarnish a brand.

Mulally's focus on Ford's culture brought the company together, avoiding government bailouts while igniting a shared purpose. By contrast, Volkswagen's failure to uphold its advertised values led to widespread public backlash, killing trust.

Leaders must clearly communicate purpose and values. Hiring or firing decisions should showcase adherence to these values. Through actions, leaders set cultural and brand standards for the organization to follow.

Examples

• Alan Mulally’s "One Ford" vision revitalized Ford’s brand and profitability.
• Volkswagen’s dishonesty exposed a rift between its external promises and internal culture.
• Tesla’s Elon Musk maintains alignment between the company’s innovative culture and brand leadership.

5. Structure Your Company to Support Culture

Adobe restructured its organization to align its new customer-focused priorities with its culture. Branding and culture cannot thrive in isolation; the ways you organize teams and decision-making processes shape behavior and mindset.

Changing structures shows commitment. Managers must assess how structures—policies, workflows, and employee roles—affect culture. For example, Google’s “rule of seven” ensures ideas quickly meet decision-makers to keep its innovative culture alive.

Intentionally adjusting structures reinforces desired behaviors, creating a consistent employee and customer experience. Structure supports strategy and enables a culture that delivers on the brand’s promise.

Examples

• Adobe restructured departments to unify customer and employee experience goals.
• Google’s "rule of seven" empowers employees to innovate.
• LinkedIn’s Culture Champions make workplace experience a part of cultural activities.

6. Align Employee Experience with Customer Experience

Airbnb excels at connecting employees with its "Belong Anywhere" brand message by mirroring customer experiences internally. Everything from their office design to vacation policies reinforces this idea.

Aligning employee and customer experiences keeps both groups engaged with the brand’s purpose. Employees who live the brand’s values will naturally provide better customer interactions.

Companies can begin aligning experiences by prioritizing activities that satisfy key employee groups. By immersing employees in experiences reflective of customer journeys, businesses develop a workplace team committed to the brand mission.

Examples

• Airbnb’s offices replicate the comfort of its hosting environments.
• Airbnb offers employees financial support to use company services.
• Zappos encourages customer and employee interactions that reflect its service-first culture.

7. Rituals and Artifacts Build Culture

Salesforce’s Hawaiian ohana rituals, like “aloha” greetings and Friday Hawaiian shirt days, unify employees under a shared sense of values. Rituals make abstract cultural ideals tangible.

Artifacts—like names, symbols, or awards—also reinforce culture. Salesforce’s Hawaiian-themed room designs or surfboard-shaped trophies turn culture into visual symbols employees see daily.

Both rituals and artifacts help employees connect personally to cultural values. Companies create shared practices that not only remind employees of what they stand for but also bring people closer together through meaningful activities.

Examples

• Salesforce’s ohana-inspired rituals drive workplace solidarity.
• Hawaiian-themed artifacts at Salesforce reflect its family-focused values.
• Starbucks’ coffee culture rituals connect employees with the brand’s mission.

8. Employee Engagement Strengthens Fusion

Mitchell International’s brand-engagement events brought teams together creatively to reinforce values. Engagement activities make brand and culture meaningful to employees.

Exhibits, listening booths for customer feedback, or creative projects like brand collages deepen understanding while sparking discussion on improvements. Encouraging participation instills commitment to core values.

When employees feel connected, their actions align with the brand's intentions. Programs that engage employees ensure that cultural energy fuels company strategies effectively.

Examples

• Mitchell International’s department exhibits helped teams explain how they live core values.
• Listening booths encourage empathy by sharing real customer feedback.
• Marriot’s brand training immerses employees in its “putting people first” culture.

9. Build a Strong Brand Using Culture

Patagonia’s brand identity stems from its culture of environmental commitment. Decisions like using organic cotton and encouraging used-clothing donations amplify its key values while attracting like-minded customers.

Organizations can similarly strengthen their brand by aligning decisions with their core beliefs. Start internally, like Vail Resorts does with its “Epic Promise Day,” aligning its culture of community service with its brand.

Aligning internal actions with external promises shapes a consistent identity. A brand must emerge naturally from the internal culture to earn customer authenticity and loyalty.

Examples

• Patagonia commits to sustainability with recycled materials policies.
• Vail Resorts reinforces its community ethos through employee-driven initiatives.
• Ben & Jerry’s incorporates activism into every company decision.

Takeaways

1. Start by unearthing your company’s purpose and identifying core values that connect brand and culture.
2. Introduce rituals and artifacts that bring abstract values to life for employees and customers.
3. Implement engagement activities like "listening booths" or cultural workshops to build stronger brand alignment with employee actions.