Erosion of the Brand

There was a NYT article a bit ago that struck me a bit the wrong way. It purported to speak about the suffereing that Harvard had endured in having a series off negative press releases floating about. It struck me hard because it was another moment when I thought the idea of how do we clarify our values about something when we don’t acknowledge our own values before making the argument.

We assume that there is neutral ground; just the facts and then of course how it impacts me. The brand holds power. There is an undertone of suspicion that if we allow someone or something to go unchecked; we permit dissent; the brand is diminished.

Free speech is UNDERSTOOD as to who controls the narrative. What questions are asked and answered and who indeed is at the table when decisions are being made or when it is announced how the decision will be made in a particular instance.

If the Governor of Florida and I attended the same schools; would you question the brand and look for signs of erosion or would you assume that he or I were an anomaly? No shame, just guilt by association. Wrong place, wrong time; the rising tide floats all boats or might it depend on exactly what boat you were in.

There are circumstances where we would not question the brand. Brand loyalty compels us to act in the interest of the institution. I would not allow my good name to be tarnished,

I would wonder what the hell happened to him? We couldnt have possibly been there together at the same place and the same…