About 10 years ago, I started writing a book about idgroup’s approach to branding.

Well, they say all good things take time, and that is certainly true in this case. But it’s happening. Yesterday, the team at idgroup celebrated my signing of a contract with Maven House Press for the publication of The Next Evolution of Branding: Aligning Purpose, Performance and Perception. Over the years, the team at idgroup, colleagues, friends and family have challenged my views and cheered on moments of clarity as I noodled and doodled with ideas that have finally come life on the pages of this manuscript. I have learned it takes a team to write a book, and fortunately I am surrounded with one of the best!

The book has emerged as a playbook of sorts for leaders that want to design organizations built on purpose and backed up by performance. It is anchored in the optimistic view we hold at idgroup in the power organizations have to create a better world—while creating a stronger bottom line. For us, this is not a question of either-or. We have seen the creation of competitive advantage by finding the “and”.

“This book is a valuable contribution to the literature on corporate social responsibility. Mona offers readers a clear path to positioning their organizations as firms that make the world a better place.”

— JIM PENNYPACKER, PUBLISHER AT MAVEN HOUSE

When I first began researching this approach to business over 15 years ago, the ideas of corporate social and environmental sustainability lived on the margins; considered too granola for most “real” business people. But today, in the words of Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. Sustainability has moved from the fringes and has taken a seat at the boardroom table. No longer is the question being asked by leaders, should we do this? Today, they are clamoring to understand how do we do it? Enter the Next Evolution of Branding, which provides both the business case and a “how to” guide to building business as a force for good. I believe this is the next big business opportunity for entrepreneurial thinkers willing to throw off the shackles of “the way we have always done it” in favor of a new approach that is proven to yield bottom line results—and so much more.

The publication date is June 12, 2018. In the words of someone that I can’t recall right now, the best thing about writing is having written. I look forward to celebrating the moment The Next Evolution of Branding sits on the bookstore shelves (or on Amazon).

Trust the process. Enjoy the journey.