What can McDonald’s launch of CosMc’s reminds us about the importance of being a problem-solving brand? Quite a lot, actually.

Contrary to the prevailing thinking put forward by some of my peers in the brand consulting world, the purpose of brand portfolio architecture is not to explain and accommodate all the complexity of a company’s business. It’s to help consumers choose.

An article in the New York Times focused on how under the watch of CEO James Daunt, bookstore chain Barnes & Noble is kicking rigid consistency to the curb. Rather than groan about brand rule-breaking, as the author suggests all brand experts should, I’m going to stand up and applaud a little new rule-writing.

It’s easy for consultants to become enamored with being right. But, sometimes – most of the time, actually – being right isn’t enough. Turns out, being helpful matters a lot more.

In the last decade, strategy has gone from a job for generalist, lateral thinkers to one for narrowly-focused specialists. That’s a problem and one that needs to be solved.

There’s a push amongst agencies to show that they fit their clients by describing their approach to brand building with terms like Agile, Rapid, Brand-in-a-Box, etc. All the goodness of what used to take months down to weeks or even days. Or so they say. The reality is fast and comprehensive are, by design, at opposite ends of the spectrum.

There’s been a backlash against copycat branding, especially amongst fast moving, fast pivoting startups. On one side of the argument is everyone who hates bland. On the other is…well…me.

Nestlé, the Swiss food giant, announced it was acquiring a majority stake in Bay Area-based Blue Bottle Coffee. And while many of Blue Bottle's fans are up in arms, the changes are all part of what happens when a brand succeeds.

In times of change, too many brands fall behind their organization. The best brands are those that lead the charge and shape what's to come. Here are five ways to ensure your brand leads, not lags.