Is it Working?

Too many people are trying to build something — a business, a nonprofit, a community — with a disproportionate focus on marketing and branding.

We polish the story, design the logo, and build the website.
Yet when you open the income statement or cash flow report, the imbalance shows.
There’s movement, but not momentum.
Noise, but not growth.

Branding creates awareness and marketing build curiosity.
But sales makes a commitment and operations builds trust by delivering on that commitment.

Without those, marketing and branding are just noise.

Each matters.
But when the first two get all the attention, the foundation weakens.
The real test isn’t how good it looks—it’s whether it works.

So the essential practice is asking, again and again:
Is this working?
And how do we know?