Culture05 Apr 2026 · 3 min read
The vanity of the internal manifesto
If your brand principles live only in a Notion doc your team refers to twice a year, they are not principles.
“A brand principle only exists in the meetings where it costs you money.”
I.
The Moment
A newly appointed VP of Brand shared his eighty-slide manifesto with me. It was beautifully designed.
II.
What Everyone Saw
A serious commitment to a serious document.
III.
What Actually Happened
Nobody on his team could name a single decision the document had changed. It sat next to seven other decks nobody had opened since onboarding.
The Verdict
NOISEDiscard
Noise. Principles are only real when they close doors. If yours have not killed a piece of work in the last quarter, they are decoration.
The Question
What did your brand principles cost you last month?
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