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Preface. <p>1. Strong Brand, Strong Reputation.</p> <p>2. Measuring Brand and Reputation.</p> <p>3. The BalancedBrand System.</p> <p><b>Part One: Assessment of Organization and Stakeholder Values.</b></p> <p>4. Brand Assessment.</p> <p>5. Stakeholder Assessment.</p> <p>6. Stakeholder Return on Investment.</p> <p><b>Part Two: Alignment of Organization and Stakeholder Values.</b></p> <p>7. Balanced Culture.</p> <p>8. Balanced Conversation.</p> <p>9. Creating and Maintaining Balance.</p> <p>Notes.</p> <p>Glossary.</p> <p>Acknowledgments.</p> <p>About the Authors.</p> <p>Index.</p>

<b>John Foley</b> is the founder of the brand agency The Foley Group. His agency has been providing strategic brand planning, advertising, and public relations since 1986 for organizations including Ameriprise Financial, Cargill, Caterpillar, Coca-Cola USA, Hazelden, Lawson, 3M, Tiffany & Co., United Healthcare, and the University of Minnesota.<br /> In addition, he is Chief Executive Officer of BALANCEDBRAND LLC, which provides values-based brand and reputation consultation in the United States and the United Kingdom. Foley is currently on the boards of the Carlson Brand Enterprise at the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota chapter of American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Design Institute, and the Reputation Institute. <p><b>Julie Kendrick</b> is a business writer with expertise in the area of motivation and performance improvement. Her client list includes Fortune 100 companies in the areas of automotive manufacturing, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, and telecommunications.</p>

More than 62 million people watched the presidential debates. Amazingly half the country selectively heard one message while the other half heard something completely different.  What made the difference were the personal values people used to filter and interpret what they saw and heard.  Values are what drive behavior in politics, commerce, and your business. <p>Successful companies often assume that if sales are good, then their branding must be effective. They often pay little attention to what actually sustains their brand and reputation, leaving them vulnerable to dangerous backlash if a rift develops between their values and those of their stakeholders.</p> <p>Every stakeholder—customers, employees, shareholders, and community members—plays a role in the overall success of a company. When corporate values are out of alignment with stakeholder values, trouble is right around the corner. In this groundbreaking book, branding expert John Foley shows how to understand and effectively respond to the needs of each stakeholder group, emphasizing <i>reputation</i> in balance with <i>brand</i> to avoid damaging misalignment between them. <i>Balanced Brand</i> provides tools for identifying potential backlash flashpoints and for designing internal and external communication strategies for projecting appropriate values.</p> <p>This important resource is based on years of research, including interviews with senior managers who struggle with the challenges of foreign competition, outsourcing, and the relentless cycle of reducing costs while adding value to compete in a global market. The book delivers the systems and tools to assess and align corporate values with stakeholder values. Using these guidelines, companies will have a new way to manage stakeholders that results in building and protecting a strong brand and a strong reputation. The competitive advantages created by <i>Balanced Brand</i> can help any company—no matter how large or small—succeed.</p>

"Trusted long-term relationships come to pass only through aligned principles and values, not short-term gimmicks and strategies.  This engaging book, <i>Balanced Brand</i>, focuses on bringing the person to the brand, not the brand to the person."<br /> --Stephen R. Covey, author, <i>The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People</i> and <i>The 8^th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness</i>  <p>"Brands are experiences, delivered by multiple stakeholders across the entire organization. <i>Balanced Brand</i> outlines a clear, concise, useful, and usable method to re-think your entire range of branding activities.  If you want your brand to succeed in the years ahead, you'll need the insights you'll find in <i>Balanced Brand</i>."<br /> --Don Schultz, president, Agora, Inc., and professor emeritus-in-service, Northwestern University</p> <p>"John Foley has written a remarkably comprehensive and cogent analysis of branding, and his commonsense approach has equal application to the public and private sectors.  His BalancedBrand System requires that executives seek to align their stated values with their actual operating values, that they assess the values of their stakeholders and seek to harmonize them with the institutional values, and that there be authentic brand-building conversations. Foley demands authenticity, honesty, and discipline.  But the rewards in terms of trust, branding, and reputation are immense."<br /> --Mark G. Yudof, chancellor, The University of Texas System</p>

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