How to Audit Your Brand Values — And Augment Your Brand Positioning Accordingly

Full Transcript

Zach Busekrus: [00:00:00] Hey folks. Welcome to Enrollify’s latest podcast series Brand Cam Brand. Brand Camp is a special podcast series on why brand manifesto's matter in higher education and how to create one for your institution, of your academic program. This special series is brought to you by UNINCORPORATED, a higher education agency committed to building engagement, growing enrollments, and solving major challenges facing universities, Schools and academies ran campus, hosted by me, Zach Busekrus

and Ian Evan Star, founder and CEO of Unincorporated. This series will explore why higher ed needs better brand manifestos. How to craft a mission statement for your school that doesn't suck. Why vision statements are crucial for higher ed marketing and how to audit your brand values and augment your brand positioning accordingly.

You can learn more about the incredible work that [00:01:00] unincorporated is doing and explore their client case studies at unincorporated.com. Or you can connect with Ian on LinkedIn via the link in the show notes below. All right, get ready. It's time to go to brand camp.

Zach Busekrus: All righty. This is episode four of Brand Camp Ian. How are you doing, my friend? 

Ian Evenstar: I'm doing great. I'm excited to be here with you again today and share a bit more about the brand Manifesto 

Zach Busekrus: framework. Yes, I, I am excited as well. This is the, again, as I mentioned, the fourth episode in this awesome little mini series that we are doing with the folks over at Unincorporated.

So if you're just joining us for the first time right now, you may want to scroll down to the show notes and start at episode one. Um, however, this will also be a very entertaining dynamic. Informative conversation. So maybe you [00:02:00] start at the end and, and work your way backwards just to be different. But just to be, uh, crystal clear, you are sort of joining us at episode four of this, of this mini series.

So today, Ian, we are gonna be talking about brand values and how to audit your brand values, um, and how, how to augment your brand positioning in accordance with those, those values. And to kick us off here, I thought it would be helpful for you to just kind of, in your own words, talk about how core values fit into the brand manifesto framework that we've been unpacking over the last several weeks.

Uh, what comes to mind with respect to the, the importance that core values hold within the context of this, of this f. 

Ian Evenstar: Yeah, well, I, I love this particular topic and the fact that we're gonna spend some time on brand values because I think this does really get finally to the center, the core, if you will, of the entire framework.

Uh, the brand [00:03:00] values, you know, they are part of that triumvirate, which makes up your brand manifesto. We've talked about your mission statement, your vision statement, and then ultimately, Your values that are all gonna work together in harmony in order to create that strong brand platform. Yeah. Um, so I'll, so, so I'll give you a vi a visualization of this.

Please think of the, the brand manifesto as three concentric circles. Okay. First circle, I'm gonna draw on a piece of paper. This is gonna symbolize that question, what I'm trying to achieve, right? We're gonna put everything. On this circle that is really the, the civilization of your vision. All right? Okay.

With me, 

Zach Busekrus: I'm with you. I got. . 

Ian Evenstar: Now we're gonna draw another circle inside of that first one, and that's gonna represent the how I will achieve the vision. Okay? This is my mission statement, right? So we're going kind of a layer repealing back the on [00:04:00] onion a little bit here, and going a little bit closer to the center.

Now I'll draw one final circle inside of the first two. And this is what Simon Sinek says when he says, you know, start with why. That this should be your why. Because basically everything emanates your mission, which are those ideal habits of how you're gonna achieve your vision. Emanates, you know, outward to your mission statement.

That, that, uh, next circle and then ultimately outward to the exterior, which is that vision, that external goal or objective that you want to hit long term, but it's deeper than that. It's actually one circle inside of there. Sorry, Simon Sinek. I hate to break it to you, but the circle inside of there that's more most important and more important than the why even is the who.

This is brand, you know, this is identity based branding. This is the who am I, And the only way you can answer that from a branding [00:05:00] standpoint of who am I as a brand is to. Identify your core values. So those values sit at the center of all of it and they emanate outward through your mission and ultimately help you achieve that outer rim, which is that vision.

Zach Busekrus: Uh, so well said. And I love that Simon Sinek got a, got a shout out. Uh, he's, he's one of my favorites. Just, just to play, not, not even to play devil's advocate, but just to maybe. Uh, speak to the elephant in, in the room here. Why is it so important for brands to articulate their values? I, I think like at some level we can all understand this, but in your experience and, and from your perspective, Ian, why, why is the articulation of these values especially important when it comes to, uh, growing and, and maintaining a strong.

Ian Evenstar: Right. So I think this is fundamentally the biggest challenge when it comes to your brand manifesto because we can [00:06:00] all pay lip service to what we value, right? Like, oh, I value integrity. Hmm. I value health. So that in itself isn't enough. Okay, sure. So, so it it has, it has, it comes with this air of, Yeah, I get it.

We need to have values. , but you know, do they really matter? How do they really make an impact? And, and we'll get to the kind of the, the, the tactical or technical ways that values actually produce results. But to speak more philosophically or more generally, it's important for organizations, companies, brands, to articulate their values.

Because values, ultimately, they're gonna determine how you approach your life, your business, your operations, okay? They're gonna, sure, they're gonna guide that pursuit of meaningful work. They're gonna guide the way that you build relationships. They will. We hear a lot about, you know, developing good company culture, good [00:07:00] team culture.

Your values are going to cultivate and curate the culture that you want to manifest. They will also inform really difficult decisions that you will see along the way as a leader, like hiring, firing, you know, acquisitions, mergers. Should we take on that new program? Should we hire that new faculty member?

Should we take in or acquire that new endowment or that new, you know, name on the side of the building? Your values are the place that you turn to in order to inform those difficult decisions. Uh, these values are really, these are the fundamental instructions. On how you will invest your time, energy, attention, and money.

Okay. So it's, these values are so important. Yeah. to articulate, but probably more important to actually execute against. Um, you could think of values really as like governing rules. Or the non-negotiables as I, as I sometimes refer to them. These are the primary laws of your [00:08:00] organization. And to give, again, a few examples here, these governing rules, they actually show up in every aspect of our life.

So science, for example, we have the law or the value of gravity, right? This is gonna dictate how objects move and behave within the physical universe. Okay? We get that. Consider the values within our culture, such as like the laws or the value of morality. You know, every life is created equal, for example, and any crime against humanity is inexcusable.

So those values that we share culturally are shaping the society and the cultural that we live in. So obviously very important to articulate in, very important to keep people accountable to that. So when we determine, when we document, and we ultimately express these values, We're actually shaping our company culture.

For helping determine how we're gonna approach our work. We're gonna guide that pursuit of meaningful work, and we will use them when needed to call upon for difficult decisions along the way. [00:09:00] Yeah. 

Zach Busekrus: Yeah. Uh, that's so well said. I, I am struck to by the, that, by the notion of like articulating values, right?

It's not, it's not enough to. Have values. Right. But, you know, articulate is exactly, it's an active, it's an active word. Right. So within the context of, of this articulation, like what is this, what does this practically look like? So you said you've, you've said document, right? Is this, is this something that like should be plastered in every room on campus?

Is this something that should live on someone? Computer desktop. Is this something, Is it, is the articulation of value something that should sit next to somebody's desk? Or do do me a favor and just kind of unpack this, uh, a little bit further, if you will, so that we can really understand sort of the, the importance here.

Ian Evenstar: Yeah, so this was something that I struggled for a long time because even though I knew at the core, you know, that center circle [00:10:00] within. What, what I was trying to achieve when I founded Unincorporated, even though I knew what was most near and dear to me, even though I knew what I valued and I had these non-negotiables or these governing laws, I still wasn't seeing the direct results of those values, even though they were in the employee onboarding handbook, Even though I had a really nicely designed poster of it, you know, hanging above my desk or you know, in the office.

I wasn't seeing those results. So the, the point I'm trying to make here is, is exactly what you kind of alluded to, which is like anyone can articulate their values. Anyone can inscribe them on an edifice or a statue. You know, I'm so, I'm a USC alum, which I know, you know, and Tommy Trojan statue, It's a granite pedestal and inscribed on there are like the ideal qualities of Trojan, what we value as Trojans.

Yeah. Faithful, scholarly, skillful, courageous, and ambitious. , [00:11:00] but the most important question is, you know, how is the university actually holding their leadership and their staff and their faculty and their students accountable to these values? Yeah. You can't just have them in the center of your campus and, and, you know, assume that everyone's gonna follow this.

So you have to not only articulate them, but celebrate them, execute against them. Keep everyone accountable to them really is what's most important. And I can give the listeners some places where I've been able to kind of solve for that, that challenge. Yeah. And you know, some, some practical knowhow of if you're, if you're seeing, if you're, you're kind of seeing that the values aren't translating the way that the, you want them to.

How you can actually implement them and, and make some improvements. 

Zach Busekrus: I'd love your thoughts on how often values should be either updated or revisited. [00:12:00] We, we've spent some time over the last several weeks talking about, uh, mission statements and vision statements. Right? And, and really talking about how your vision statement is, is something that, that shouldn't be changed.

That often, right? You, you come up if done well, if, if the work is done well, it's gonna take a long time to, to realize that, that particular vision, right? With respect to the mission statement too, that, you know, that might be a little bit more focused, a little bit more timely, depending on the context. Uh, what, what, what about values?

How, how often should these be thought through and, or, and, or revisited and or augmented? 

Ian Evenstar: Yeah, so they do change, at least my experience, working with some of the largest brands, you know, that, that we know of, uh, in today's economy as well as some of the largest private universities. I do see that values can change.

They can, they can kind of evolve, if you will, over time. So, Those governing laws, those non-negotiables. I, I have seen that they can, [00:13:00] that they can shift slightly. Hmm. Um, so, we'll, we, we can, we can kind of give ourself that grace, you know, you don't have to have values perfectly identified and articulated right from the get go.

They will evolve. But what I recommend, you know, just very practically speaking, is if you're a leader in, like, say, a president of a univers, And you want to check alignment around these values, you know, the ones that I shared, like faithful, scholarly, skillful, You can, you can actually run an anonymous survey to, to kind of measure the general or attitude, general attitude or expression.

Of these values within your different team or academic units, right? So you could run this at the, you know, kind of leadership council at that level. You can also run this survey within the smaller groups there on campus, and you can also be looking at things like, you know, how high is your turnover rate?

Yeah. So if you're seeing a, like a high turnover rate, chances [00:14:00] are people aren't deriving a lot of meaning and purpose outta their work, and that's likely because of some misalignment with their value set. There's also just, you know, and this is a, a more difficult one to measure, but what's the general excitement level like maybe sitting around that, in that dean's cabinet, you ask the, uh, the, the various associate deans, you say, Hey, what's the general excitement level that you're hearing from your students?

What's the general excitement level that you're seeing within your labs or, you know, within your research teams, are they motivated as new initiatives, new projects? New studies are, are kind of getting assigned or tasks are getting assigned. What's the general excitement level? So these are the indicators on whether or not like values are really like being transmitted or transcended, but if they're not working, then this could be a moment or an opportunity to go back and see how you might modify them.

We, we give a example again from the agency. We found over [00:15:00] time that in our day to day operations, Something people felt, and again, this was through a qualitative survey that I was running with my team. I was getting this feedback that people felt like there were moments where they couldn't kind of speak their mind.

Mm-hmm. They couldn't like just say straight out with authenticity what they were feeling. And I knew that I always like wanted people to speak up and share their, you know, as long as it's done in a respectful tone. But because of that feedback, we went back and added the value of candor. Hmm. And to speak, you know, candidly with candor.

And that respectful tone was actually something that I valued, but I needed to hear that from the team in order to like actually, you know, formalize it, articulate it, and add it into our final value set that we have. Right. 

Zach Busekrus: Yeah. Yeah, that's a, that's a fantastic example. And what I, what I love about that is that it's a, it's, it's a cool example.

It's not like you set out to change a core value, right? Or [00:16:00] to, to augment, uh, your, your brand's values it in light of, in light of what happened in real time. You, because you do take this work so seriously realized, huh? If this thing is really important to me and if this thing. Isn't, isn't happening in the way that I like to see it happen.

Maybe that's because we don't value it enough and maybe, maybe we need to, maybe we need to write this down. Maybe we need to celebrate it. Maybe we need to promote it. So that, that's a great example. Yeah. Go ahead 

Ian Evenstar: and on. And on that note, Zach, I'll, I'll say that when we, you know, we onboard new team members or we're bringing in, say, new staff, new faculty.

We may sit them as part of their orientation. We may sit them down and say, Hey, these are the things we value, right? Mm-hmm. , it's very top down, kind of like governing laws, like you're born into a society that has like these prescribed values and. You know, they, they ethically and morally maybe make sense, but at the same time, they're kind of given to you, right?

Yeah. Yeah. That's the same exact way. When [00:17:00] you enter or you're birthed into an organization, you know, change of career, new university, new program, new role, new title, you're kind of birthed into this culture, which has its own set of values. So they're very top down. So here's what leaders need to. Here's what need leaders need to do more than just articulating, Hey, this is what we value.

They need to be constantly on the move. Constantly like inspired by and motivated to find ways that they can communicate that. This is also, I'm gonna slow down for a second cause this is super important and I want listeners to hear this. You can also be reminding. That this is the way that you bring value to your job.

Hmm. So I value knowledge at the agency, but this is, and I can tell you that and speak that to you, and you can say, Yeah, I, I get it. I, I like to learn. I also value knowledge. [00:18:00] But when I start to say, Zach, by you developing and owning up and working on this value of knowledge, This is the way that you're gonna bring more and more value to your job.

Hmm. And to yourself as a professional. And not only that, but in the pursuit of this value together, you're gonna be bringing more, more, and more value to your job year over year. That's also gonna be the way that we cont can continue to deliver value to our clients. Hmm. This is the way we deliver value to our students, clients, stakeholders, et cetera.

And this is the piece that a lot of people get wrong. And this is the, if anything, this is the aha moment of this segment, which is to remind people that your values aren't top down. They're not just these core principles. They are the way that your employees. Add value to their job. They're the ways that they build value in their own careers and that [00:19:00] they are the ways ultimately that we deliver value to our end user, customer, student 

Zach Busekrus: cetera.

Mike Drop . That, that, that was awesome. That was awesome, Ian, And, and I couldn't agree more, and actually that's right at the end there. That's a, that's a nice transition into kind of my next question for you, which is around how are, how are these used as like marketing assets, right? Like what, when you. We, we've talked a lot about sort of core values as being incredibly important to, uh, team collaboration, to, to, uh, organizational unity, right.

To, to common vision. Um, but, but what about, and I think your USC example touches on this a little bit, but what, what about from a, from a marketer standpoint, how are, how are core values like leveraged with respect to student recruitment, Right. Uh, and or, and, or just larger brand marketing efforts. 

Ian Evenstar: Yeah, so a, a college may put in their, their marketing brochure somewhere [00:20:00] on their website that, you know, we offer study abroad programs.

Which is, in a way, it's a, it's a, their expression of a value, which is, you know, kinetic or active learning, you know, active learning through discovery, travel, you know, immersion. Yeah. So from a marketing standpoint, you can take the values that you have within your program and communicate that out outward into your marketing material.

Right. And, and, and that's not only marketing, but also sales too, right? Like when you get to that final decision point or that inflection between like, should I choose this program or, or the other, that's a perfect opportunity to illustrate how your program might be distinctly different than your competitor.

Yeah, and again, I'll, I'll give you an example from Agency Worlds. Like if, if we're in discussions with a program and they're thinking about hiring unincorporated [00:21:00] compared to another firm, We're in that sort of last conversation where they're vetting both firms and they, they really wanna understand, Okay, on paper you guys seem about the same, what's, what's truly gonna be the decision make made here?

The, the distinction made between these two. You can point to your values and say, Well, I haven't shared this with you before, but knowledge is one of our most core endearing values that we have as an agency. So I promise to you that as we. Partner together, learn together, work together, try to succeed together.

We are always gonna be coming to the table with new ideas. We are always going to be putting in front of you like, you know, the freshest best and brightest like innovations that we're seeing within marketing design or branding. Yeah. And so that's our promise and that's not something we're gonna have to reach for because it's at the core of who we are.

It's that center circle. Inside of all of us here at the agency. So this, [00:22:00] so from a marketing standpoint, these are gonna show up in your external communications, but they can also be like brand differentiators when you're thinking about, Okay, well you're brand equity. Why should someone hire you? Or why do you put a premium on your service?

It's because, Of how your values might be distinctly different than say your competitor. Ah, 

Zach Busekrus: that was a, a great example. I, I'm even reminded of my own college experience where, so I went to George Mason University right outside of DC in, uh, Fairfax, Virginia. And, um, the Mason's tagline at the time, I don't know that they would've called it their, it was, I don't know how they would've referred to it.

We, we all thought about it as their tagline, which was, uh, where innovation is tradition. And I, I distinctly remember, and again, I don't know that they would've considered this, uh, a core value per se, but I distinctly remember being in classes and if, uh, there was like this joke right among, and this happened on, on, on more than a couple occasions where if we were doing something.

that felt, you know, way [00:23:00] too traditional or, or not innovative at all. We would make this joke to like, to our faculty, to our professors. We'd be like, Well, you know, doesn't really seem like, uh, this place is a, is an environment that celebrates innovation. Uh, I, I must be missing it. Right? Where, where, where's the innovation?

And, and we would make these comments. And this wasn't just. Me and my buddies think this was a thing that the school actually wrestled with. And I, I distinctly remember at one point getting an email from, I don't know, somebody in like the marketing office talking about, like, it was almost like, it wasn't an official response, but it was all these examples of the innovative things that George Mason was doing.

But anyways, all that is to say is that, you know, core values. Are incredibly important because again, even for existing students, they latch onto, they latch onto these values and then they expect them. And if that expectation exactly isn't delivered in some way, shape, or form, they might, you know, screw around or joke about it in class or, or they could, you know, it could be much [00:24:00] worse and they could decide to, to leave or to, you know, go somewhere else and or just feel like they.

Promise something that was never actually delivered. So anyways, all that you don't wanna over 

Ian Evenstar: promise. Yeah, yeah. And here's what I would, here's the guidance if, if I was consulting with leadership in that situation. Yeah. So it sounded like the, the response to that was, here's an email listing out like all the places where we're doing innovation.

Right. Again, very top down. It was comical. Yeah. Like this, this is what we value, this is how we're doing it. Like enough said, there shouldn't be any more confusion on the. , But what if instead, and this is something again that I I prescribe is what if instead that leadership team went back and said, Hey, how are we running our quarterly and annual performance reviews?

Hmm. What's the rubric right now on how we assess how people are bringing value? How our faculty Yeah. Is bringing value Yeah. To their courses, [00:25:00] to the student. Oh, wouldn't you know it Innovation is not one of the things that we're measuring in our performance reviews. Yeah. Yeah. So this is a really easy key, simple takeaway.

And this was the, This was the secret for unincorporated that I unlocked a few years ago. Was like, Holy cow, if I say I value this and the organization says they value this, then this also needs to be the way we evaluate , the actual performance of the organization. So they put innovation into their performance review, and now when you're dean is sitting there with a faculty member and going through the performance review, they say, Okay, let's talk about innovation.

Where have you upheld this value? Yeah. Let's celebrate those wins. Yeah. Talk to me about the places and, and if they haven't for that year, the first year you roll it out, you better believe the next time that faculty member steps in that classroom with you, The young, that , they're thinking about how to innovate that class.

Oh, [00:26:00] yeah. Where they can bring innovation. Yeah, Yeah. Other, And all of a sudden the whole thing gets aligned, it gets communicated, it gets translated, and most importantly, it gets felt. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And gets manifested long term. So put it into your performance reviews, put your values. Into your, the rubric for your performance 

Zach Busekrus: assessments.

And then maybe, maybe if you're listening to this and you're like, Oh, well, that, that would never work. Maybe you have the wrong values. Right? Like if, if it isn't something that you could put into, into a, a way to performance, uh, assessment or, or any other way to sort of measure it, maybe it is the wrong value or maybe it's time to, to revisit these values.

Ian Evenstar: Yeah. And on and on that front. And that's a, I think a very, that's a great piece of feedback given my, like, you should do this, and this is the only way . You can innovate. All right, we're gonna use that word again. You can innovate on, in the places where you do have autonomy. Hmm. So maybe you can't, you know, put these in, You know, I know these performance [00:27:00] evaluations, they're like in some legacy software platform until like rewrite the whole thing and redo the rubric that's tied to compensation.

Like impossible thing to change, right? Sure, sure. But where could you bring. This idea of celebrating the value of innovation, Like maybe that's just in your weekly standup, you know, may, maybe that is the, uh, faculty of the month, you know, that you put on your website and it says, you know, this faculty member embrace the value of innovation through these ways.

So you can celebrate the, the wins with your team, or you can look for other ways to fold in your values operationally. Yeah. In the places where you do have autonomy. 

Zach Busekrus: Yeah. No, I love those, I love those examples as well. Um, and, and a good reminder, Ian, one, one of the things that you've talked about and I know is, uh, is, is, uh, aligned with, or, or similar to the kind of this, the brand manifests of framework that we've been unpacking over the last several weeks, is this idea of identity based [00:28:00] branding.

Can you just, can you unpack exactly what this is and, and, um, maybe share with our listeners an, an example or two of, of how it works. . 

Ian Evenstar: Yeah. So the idea was born out of the writing and the thinking of James Clear, So I'm gonna give him, He wrote a great book called Atomic Habits. Yeah, yeah. And in that book, he goes through the science, the behavior, and the research of how we can set goals for ourself.

And in the terms of brand manifesto, this is your vision statement, right? We could set the big, hairy, audacious goal, the B. Year over year, we may have a goal like, Hey, I'm gonna lose 20 pounds, or, Hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna quit drinking this year. Right? And that's all well and good, but ultimately, and these are James clear's words, not mine.

He says, We don't rise to the level of the goals or the vision. We fall to the level of our [00:29:00] habits. So we fall to the level of. Mission statement. Right? Our ideal day to day habits and and I got thinking and I was like, Okay, that's true. That's true. But I think there's actually one layer below that. And again, Simon Sinek says, this is a why statement, but one layer below that is we actually fall to the level of who we are.

Hmm. So identity based branding is really getting clear on who you are. So that you can rise to the level of your habits and ultimately hit that goal, that objective. Right. So there's a, there's a great case study. It was two control groups. One group, they were said, Okay, you're gonna, you're gonna quit smoking, and every time someone asks if you would like a cigarette, you're gonna say, No, I'm trying to quit smoking.

Hmm. Okay. The [00:30:00] other control group, same exercise, cold Turkey. But every time someone asks you if you want a cigarette, you're gonna respond and said, No, I'm not a smoker. And then they did this thought experiment for, you know, three months, whatever the duration was, and. They went back and the group that identified with not being a smoker, that they, that they valued this idea that I have changed fundamentally my identity is now tied to this value of not being a smoker.

They were far less likely to go back, you know, years later and, and actually pick up the habit again. Wow. So this is very powerful when you just like shift the, the mindset. I'm gonna try to stick to these habits, these disciplined habits within, say my mission statement. That's well and good, and James Clear has it right.

You gotta focus there on, on what those ideal habits are. But if you can have those and then go a layer deeper and start to identify [00:31:00] with who you want to be, you're actually gonna be a lot. You, you'll, you'll be set up for success a lot more than just sticking to the habits and certainly more than just sticking to the goal alone.

Yeah. 

Zach Busekrus: Yeah. That is such a great example. And it, it sort of just reinforces the whole idea of, you know, affirmation. Some people really like this stuff, other people, you know, critique it. But I do think that there is, there's something you know about saying, for instance, I'm, I'm not gonna get distracted versus.

I'm focused. Right. And just, and repeating that over and over and over. Uh, I added a small little test, uh, literally using that exact example. I dunno if it was like six months ago. Um, and, and it works like it's strange, but it works. Um, 

Ian Evenstar: it's, it is strangely effective. It is 

Zach Busekrus: absolutely. As, as weird or as cheesy.

Is there different as it is, uh, is something about it works, man, So I, I, 

Ian Evenstar: I had a, I had a weight loss goal, right? And so for this year, my, my word of the year was, Right. So that was the, the, the outer realm. My vision was to, [00:32:00] to be a healthier person. And, and I, you know, I said, Okay, I'm gonna go on a diet. I'm gonna do these other things.

These are, this is my mission statement. This is how I'm going to, you know, proceed day to day. And then in those moments where I'm like, Ah, you know, Ebola of ice cream would really be nice at the end of the day right now, Instead of saying, No, I'm on a diet, I reminded. I'm a healthy person. Yeah. I'm a healthy person.

What would a healthy person do right now? Would a healthy person choose regardless of whatever diet I'm on? Yeah. Would a healthy person choose to have ice cream right now? Yeah. Yes or no? No. You know, a healthy person wouldn't. Okay. I'm a healthy person. Great decision made, right? Easy. Move on. Another key idea, I just wanna leave with the listeners cause I think it's profound, which is what you value.

Is ultimately where you will invest. Hmm. Okay. So where you invest your time, where you invest your energy, where you invest your money. And [00:33:00] again, this is, could be operationally or it could be at the individual level, but where you invest is a mirror to what you value. Hmm. Here's a couple examples. I work nine to five at the end of the day or end of the week, I go out and I party with my friends, right?

Saturday night roll around, boom, I'm at the bar. Versus someone, they work nine to five and then that Saturday night they spend time with their family playing board games. Another person works nine to five. They go Saturday night, rolls around and they go to the gym. Or maybe they read a book or maybe they start writing.

You know that A few words on that, ma. Each person is investing their time in energy in a different way because they value reading, learning, spending time with friends, being social family. Right. They all have different values. Yeah. And so that's where they're spending [00:34:00] their time. So if you wanna know, ultimately, and this goes, I'm gonna up level this for a second, You know, Please, Why is it important to articulate the value.

Great to articulate the value and give lip service to what you value, but if you wanna spot check what you really value. Look at where you're investing your time, energy, focus, money, , that's gonna tell you 

Zach Busekrus: what you value. Scary when you start thinking in these, uh, in these frames, man, uh, dangerous things can happen.

Radical change can occur. Yes. You know? Yep. Um, Ian, as as we, as we wrap this, This series. This has been, uh, again, just a, just a joy. I've learned, I've learned a ton. Um, and I know that, you know, this is really kind of just scratching the, the tip of the iceberg here. And you, we've got the whole brand manifests of framework that will link below that folks can go and, and access to, to learn a lot more about this.

They can come and they can talk to you and your team to. Figure out how everything that we've been talking about applies to, to their unique context. Um, but, but as, as we [00:35:00] wrap here, as we think about kind of tying in mission, vision, core values, all, all together, is there, is there anything you wanna, like, leave us with or any, any words of wisdom or kind of like, you know, last Harrahs, um, that you, that you hope folks will, will take away from, from the conversations that we've been having over the last few weeks?

Ian Evenstar: I think the big idea here is that this framework is a collection of three tools, mission, vision, values, but they're tools. Hmm. They have to actually be put into practice for them to make any kind of lasting difference, change or growth for the organization or for the individual. So I hope, it's my hope that with this framework and this tool set, you now feel empowered to do the work.

Hmm. But this is not a silver bullet. . Yeah. This [00:36:00] is only giving you the guidance of how to put the tools into practice, but it's up to you to figure out how you're actually going to implement this. The first step is to do the workbook right. Go to unincorporated.com/brand manifest. And start with the workbook.

And then if you need help, if you need consultation, if you need someone to guide you through this, coach you along, keep you accountable, you know, un un uh, provide clarity where you're feeling uncertain, then obviously reach out. That's where a guide can, can definitely help. But the big idea, the last idea here, the final thought is take these tools.

They are, I've seen it the best, the brightest, the greatest brands. Have really figured out how to implement and execute this brand manifesto framework, but ultimately it's up to you to do the. 

Zach Busekrus: Ian, this has been a treat. Thank you for your time. [00:37:00] Thank you to the unincorporated team who has helped make all of this possible and has given me some of your time, which I know is highly valuable.

But, um, We, uh, I just wanna, uh, end by encouraging folks if you are just joining us again for episode four. If you've only listened to a couple episodes, go back. Listen to this full series. It's chalk full of really good information. If you scroll down to your show notes, all of the episodes that have been published previously will be linked there.

Ian, my friend. Until next time. Thank. 

Ian Evenstar: Thank you, Zach. I really appreciate the platform and the opportunity to share this.

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