“Understanding meaning is grounded in observing and understanding culture. Culture represents the agreed upon meanings and behaviors that groups of people develop and share over time.”

 - From Innovation as a Learning Process: Embedding Design Thinking, by Sara L. Beckman and Michael Barry, California Management Review, Fall 2007. Originally found via this post from Stowe Boyd.

This is just a snippet of a good read and reminder about the importance of where identity comes from and what it is connected to — and how “outside” identities and messages (e.g., brands, stories) must be reflective and inclusive of culture if they hope to be successful.

I so prefer the approach of an ethnographer or sociologist to that of a marketer… it’s one of the reasons we’ve started to talk more about identity, storytelling, and narratives at DVQ and less about logos, messaging, and copy. It’s a subtle evolution, but I think it’s so important… some people want to build sexy brands. We want to build authentic organizations.

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