Laurence Vincent - Brand Real: How Smart Companies Live Their Brand Promise and Inspire Fierce Customer Loyalty

This book shouldnt be in your hands. If not for the steadfast belief and encouragement of Ellen Kadin, my editor at AMACOM Books, I assure you that it would never have found its way to bookshelves. Several months after I began my work on this project, my wife and I learned that a new tumor was growing in my daughters spine. Jordan had been fighting a rare cancer that affects the brain and central nervous system for seven years, but until we received this new news she had enjoyed a brief period of remission. I lost my concentration and stopped writing as I shifted into Daddy mode. When my deadline approached, I knew I was going to miss it. It would be the first time I didnt meet a deadline in my writing career and I was ashamed. I did what any writer would do. I called my agent and asked her to deliver the bad news. Cynthia (my agent) called me back within the hour and told me not to worry. She said that Ellen completely understood and that AMACOM wanted to stick with the project whenever I was ready to continue. I felt a sense of relief, but it paled in comparison to the way I felt when I received my next call from Ellen. Editors are people, too, she said. I cant imagine what youre going through, and I dont want you to give a second thought to writing deadlines. I made some apologies and fumbled for the right thing to say, before Ellen interrupted me. Be good to yourself, Larry. This book shouldnt be your priority right now. I know that youll come back to it when youre ready.

Sadly, when Jordans health recovered, I found it hard to come back to the book. I would miss my deadline two more times before it was all said and done. And each time, Ellen refused to give up on me. One night, in a bout of complete exasperation, I made up my mind to throw in the towel and walk away. I even wrote an e-mail to Ellen explaining my reasons. But I didnt hit Send on that e-mail because I thought about the loyal mentor on the receiving end. Despite all the setbacks and unfortunate circumstances, she motivated me with kindness, faith, and unbelievable patience. So, instead of sending that e-mail, I hunkered down and got serious about writing this book. I was inspired by my editor and my friend, and Im very grateful to her for believing that I would eventually keep my promise.

I am also thankful to the rest of the great folks at AMACOM, especially freelance editor Louis Greenstein, who helped me assemble so many scattered pieces of the final manuscript and find the story while we both sped forward on a challenging race to finish. If you can imagine the writing of this book as a Hollywood-style buddy cop movie, think of Louis as the lovable partner assigned to work with the cop who has a reputation for working alone. In the end, they work so well together that you hope for a sequel. Im also grateful to Barry Richardson, who played the role of our sergeant, providing Louis and I with lots of great coaching, support, and encouragement during the final stages of development. Id be remiss if I didnt also thank my agent, Cynthia Zigmund. Truthfully, it feels strange to refer to Cindy as my agent. Shes a friend and a confidante. It was Cindy who convinced me that I had another book in me. And when I was uncertain whether the book was shaping up to be what wed originally intended, Cindy was the one who kept saying, Write the book you want to write, and the rest will fall into place.

Three mentrue characters, indeedplayed large parts in the story of this books development. The first is Alan Siegel, the Chairman of Siegel+Gale. It was a privilege to work for Alan. When I told him I was thinking about writing a new book, he was the first one to encourage me. In fact, his encouragement never wavered. Whenever Id fall behind in my writing, Alan was usually right there to ask, When are you going to finish that book? When my phone rang and the name on the display was Alan Siegel, my palms would sweat because I knew he was going to ask me again. Truthfully, the fact that he even cared provided plenty of motivation to keep going. Alan is one of the great pioneers of the branding trade, and I consider it an honor to know him and to have learned from him. Hes a role model and one of my most cherished mentors.