Last week at Good Hunter, we gathered with a group of local business leaders for a powerful session focused on one of the most essential, and often overlooked, elements of building a conscious brand: alignment.
Why Alignment Matters
Alignment is not just a branding tool, it's the foundation of trust. When what a business believes and values is expressed clearly in what it says and reinforced by what it does, people notice. Consistent alignment builds credibility and confidence. And when there is a disconnect, the result is often confusion, mistrust and reputational damage.
When it works: Think of brands like Patagonia. Their belief in protecting the planet is consistently reflected in how they communicate, the materials they use, the customer experience and even their ownership structure. Their alignment is visible and experienced by customers and employees alike. It’s why they have such a fiercely loyal following.
When it doesn’t: On the flip side, Volkswagen’s emissions scandal is a prime example of misalignment. While the company marketed itself as an environmentally responsible leader in clean diesel technology, it was discovered that they were deliberately manipulating emissions tests. That gap between what they said and what they did caused lasting damage to their credibility.
These are extreme examples, but alignment doesn’t just show up in corporate campaigns or billion-dollar scandals. It shows up in the small things, every day. The decisions we make about how we write an email, respond to feedback, handle a refund, or hire a new team member. The tiny touchpoints add up to the bigger experience of who we are as a business. I am challenged by it multiple times a day.
During our workshop, we went through our Alignment Audit Worksheet and reflected on;
- What do we believe as a business?
- How are those beliefs communicated through our visual identity, language, tone and interactions?
- How do our products, services, policies, culture and initiatives reinforce or undermine those beliefs?
We asked: Are we consistent? Do our values show up in our actions? Where do we see gaps? And what’s one thing we can do right now to bring things into closer alignment?
This is why alignment matters. It is not about perfection or PR. It is about integrity. It creates a brand people believe in and want to stay connected to and in a marketplace where trust is fragile and attention is scarce, being congruent in your beliefs, voice and behaviour sets you apart.
A Simple Framework You Can Use
In our session, we introduced the “Believe, Say, Do” model, a simple but powerful tool for reflection:
- Believe: What is your organisation’s purpose, core beliefs and values?
- Say: How are those beliefs expressed through your communication?
- Do: How do your behaviours, decisions and systems reflect what you believe?
This model helps you quickly assess if you’re truly walking your talk. If you’re unsure where to begin, our Brand Growth Guide explains how awareness, connection and trust work together, and how alignment is the thread that ties them all.
Common Alignment Gaps (and What to Do About Them)
As business leaders and founders worked through their Alignment Audit during the workshop, a few consistent challenges came up. Whether or not you attended, use these prompts to check in with your own brand:
- Are your values clear, documented and actually known by your team?
- Is your communication, from marketing to onboarding, reflecting those values?
- Are your policies, products, partnerships and culture reinforcing what you believe, or working against it?
These are not just brand questions. They are leadership questions. And they require more than a tagline tweak. They often call for deep, thoughtful change.
Take the 30-Day Alignment Challenge
Before we wrapped up the workshop, each participant chose one action they could take in the next 30 days to close a gap they’d identified.
We invite you to do the same. Start by downloading our free Brand Alignment Worksheet and set aside 30 minutes to work through it. Then choose just one small but meaningful action, a policy, a piece of communication, a product decision, that brings your brand closer to your beliefs.
The goal is not perfection. It is consistency.
Join the Next Conversation
Good Hunter is a monthly event series hosted by Mezzanine, designed for business leaders who believe that business can (and should) be a force for good. Each month we explore a different theme related to brand, culture and leadership, with input from a guest expert and space for honest conversation.
Whether you’re a founder, CEO, or team leader, these conversations offer practical tools, inspiring insights and the chance to connect with like-minded people who are working to lead differently.
See you at the next one.
