Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I’d like to take this opportunity to share breaking news on my book, as well as an update on my company and my first foray into teaching at UCLA Anderson.
It’s been an exciting year+ since I left P&G. When I left, I shared with you my mission to further inspire a movement to rethink business, branding, and marketing to achieve higher performance through a focus on higher ideals. Feedback from so many of you was very motivational to me, and it still is.
The mission is still in its early days, and there is no question it is resonating with many people on many levels. I see it in my consulting, where I have been working with really inspirational clients in tech, fashion, retail, healthcare, and wine/spirits. I see the idea resonating with MBA students at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where I am co-teaching with Dr. Sanjay Sood an experiential course based on a framework to achieve higher performance through higher ideals. And I see it in the transformation of AOL, where I have recently joined their new Board to serve and support their evolving brand ideal.
I am also very excited to announce that I have signed a book deal with Crown Business, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House. The title is simple and says it all: Grow. The working subtitle is: How the World’s Best Businesses Use the Power of Ideals to Outshine the Competition. The book is based on a global study of businesses that grow far faster than competitors, and it will provide a new framework for businesses to apply. My goal with Grow is to provide a lasting source of inspiration, and a valued guide to action for all who read it. We hope to have the book available by Fall, 2011.
I truly believe that businesses, brands — and the people behind them — can make a much stronger impact than they are making today. This conviction has come from my experience with so many of you, and I thank you for that. I hope to see many of you at the Cannes Advertising Festival this year. I will be returning to the Festival to lead a dynamic discussion on how to grow business in our society today.
Thanks for your continued friendship, support and inspiration.
