In June, our founder and resident leadership guru, Ken Banta, talked with his friend and fellow expert Michael Watras about how to handle your brand in these complicated times.

Michael, CEO of the strategy firm Straightline, had a lot to say, and here’s one thing that struck me as especially interesting:

Many companies are sort of jumping on the bandwagon because they think it's the right thing to do, but the messages are weak — in some cases, I don't believe they're sincere. 

I have a great deal of respect for public relations firms and what they do, but this is not a public relations solution. This is much deeper — digging deep, doing discovery, talking to stakeholders, getting their opinions, listening to people, and then coming back to the organization saying listen, you have these problems and they’re deep, and this is where they are, this is the way forward. 

I think it's around really digging deep and "reinventing" if you will. The way forward is going to be very different than where we are today.

To hear more, check out this short video of highlights from the chat.

And please join us for our next Dialogue — click here to check it out and register.