Brands are an important part of all cultures across the planet, as well as in the business world. Brands help people make decisions, small ones, as well as big ones. They enable you to trust the Bordeaux you drink, the Mercedes you drive, and the GE Jet Engine that lifts the plane you count on to take you places. Brands are the ideas, perceptions, expectations and beliefs that are in the mind of consumers, your potential customers or any individual who can effect your enterprise. We live in an interconnected world, made more transparent by the proliferation of new communications technologies. Today, a person, a company, a brand, even a nation, is increasingly accessible and exposed to the observation of the citizens of the world. Strong brands go far beyond just creating awareness: they accurately expose the corporate soul and brand promise for all to see. I believe consumer understanding dominates everything in the business world. Today, consumers have greater access and control over the information from which their perceptions about a brand are created. The ideas and impressions we might hope the consumer to have about our brands are subject to the competing ideas, which are available for consumer perception. This is a new age of consumerism, one that has evolved into a higher order of brand relationship and accountability. It is a business world where examples like Enron have resulted in greater consumer mistrust of the information coming from brands and companies. It is a business environment I call ecologism ? where a brand, a company or its leaders cannot hide behind inaccurate pretenses. The truth about your company will always be discovered.