Driving home one day, I noticed a shiny white BMW 3 Series with seriously dark tinted windows and a personalized “vanity” license plate. The license plate had attitude. Suave confidence bordering cockiness. I decided the driver was obviously cool. James Dean cool. Then BMW turned right into my neighborhood. “What’s he doing in my neighborhood?” I wondered. I drove the labyrinthine streets behind the Beautiful Bimmer until… until it pulled into the driveway of an infamous resident. As soon as he pulled into that driveway, instantly, all those good thoughts were replaced with bad. The license plate was tacky, the tinted windows were arrogant.    

In this world of ubiquitous connection and instant communication, brand “sizzle” doesn’t work. At least, not unless there’s some real (valuable) substance to back it up. This guy was wrapping himself in gadgets and glamor and greebles. But in spite of (because of?) all the trappings, he– his personal brand– became more aweful to me.

Are you focusing too much on the sizzle– the ads, the website, the tradeshow booth? What if you spent some of those resources on raising a Kobe-grade steak of a product or service?