Innovation has been with us, if not since the dawn of time, then, at the very least, since that day somebody invented the wheel. In science, there were Gallileo, Newton, Darwin and Einstein. In art, Giotto, Da Vinci, Cézanne and Duchamp. Name any discipline, activity, pursuit or interest. You can be sure it has a rich history of contributors who have all raised the bar in some spectacular fashion. Thought of in a certain way, innovation is to be expected. Somebody, somewhere, is bound to shift the paradigm, sooner or later. That’s just how human nature works. So why does innovation – the word, at least, if not the true concept – suddenly seem in vogue, as if it had been out of favor for the last several centuries? Why this sudden obsession? Why all the conferences and summits? Why all the webinars and business books? It turns out there’s a very important reason.

Some sports, like football (soccer), have tens of millions of fans worldwide. Some sports, like solo synchronized swimming (dropped from the Olympics in 1992), not so many. But even the most obscure sports have their champions, their purists, their devotees and their rabid fans. On the other hand, if you don’t like a particular sport, it’s easy to just ignore it and concentrate on the ones you do like or love. Nobody devotes much time to denigrating any single sport. I don’t think pole vault or dressage have any haters. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for sports governing organizations. Powerhouse brands like the NFL and FIFA come to mind as cozy little billionaire’s clubs, rife with cronyism, mismanagement, neglect and outright criminal corruption. But, of course, all this comes to mind this week because the master branders of the IOC and the Olympic Games have come to Rio de Janeiro.

The man in this photo is repeating a vital truth about branding. Try saying it aloud a few times, yourself. Your brand, unlike your tangible assets, will never depreciate. Your brand, unlike your patents, will never expire. Your brand, unlike your trademarks or copyrights, will never pass into the public domain. Your brand is yours to keep and grow – forever. If you are the owner or manager of a brand asset, it is your job to define your true brand promise, to communicate it to every corner of your market, and to empower your employees to deliver on it. Do this, and your brand will grow like wild vines. Fail to do it and your brand will wither and, possibly, even die. You owe it to yourself and everyone who counts on your organization to do everything possible to drive up the monetary value of your brand.

Jay Gould is a noted businessman, a turnaround specialist who takes on troubled business lines and brings them back to profitability. He’s worked his magic at Newell Rubbermaid, Graco, Pepperidge Farm and, most recently, at American Standard. Gould is first to say that his successes come, in large part, from “viewing all … decisions through the Brand Lens”. What is the Brand Lens? It’s nothing less than a vital management tool that helps you make the correct strategic decisions – every time. Use it to “future-proof” your business.

Attendees at our branding workshops are often shocked to learn that there is no universally accepted definition of “brand”. The people who work with brands – intellectual property attorneys, public relations professionals, graphic designers, etc. – all bring their own backgrounds and biases to definitions that they make up themselves. To the attorney, your brand is your trademark. To the publicist, it’s your reputation. To the graphic designer, it’s your logo or visual identity. But, lately, even the clients themselves seem intent on creating their own definitions. Or, rather, they let competing marketers, ad agencies, design firms and web developers each propose what it will take to create an effective brand for them. And, all too often, it is the lowest bidder who wins, not just the assignment, but the very definition of what a brand is. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for.