Companies that didn’t make the cut in the column include Nike, Southwest Airlines and Chipotle, among others, and I will be commenting on their brand authenticity (or lack thereof) in upcoming posts, some of which may surprise you.

I’d like to invite your suggestions on other brands that may be particularly authentic—or authenticity-challenged. Feel free to comment below or drop me an email at Steve.McKee@WhenGrowthStalls.com with your thoughts on which, and why. If I use your idea I’ll be happy to give you a plug. And look for my column this week.

While the tools of advertising continually change, the need for it never does. That’s a lesson I learned the hard way through my own company’s stall (which began the journey that ultimately resulted in When Growth Stalls). Consistency is just one of the principles critical to recovering from (or preventing) a stall.

My business partners and I took our own medicine in 2009, and our firm is the better for it now. We’ll continue to keep it up this year, sluggish though the economy may be. I hope your company will too.

There is, of course, no telling. I recall in late 2008 looking forward to the calendar turning, hoping that with a new year the craziness of that fourth quarter would settle down and enable us to rebuild our economic prospects. Alas, the recession wore on. And on. The downturn has now lasted more that two years, and it simply has to be over. Doesn’t it?

Time will tell. In the meantime, those of us who have any say over investment and job creation should go about our business with the intent of bringing about growth. We don’t have any other choice, really–nor would we want to do anything else. As bad as last year was, we survived, and most of our companies are leaner and meaner for it. That’s the silver lining.

So we get up, we go to work, we look ahead, we make decisions, we take risks. Just as we always have, and just as we always will. As I alluded to in my final FindYourNerve.com post, we are blessed to operate within the most productive, dynamic, and resilient economic system the world has ever seen. As each of us does our part, the whole will take care of itself.

Now along comes a speech by Jon Iwata, SVP of communications and marketing at IBM, that makes my argument look like a kiddy pool compared to the depths he’s diving. His speech was titled, “Toward a New Profession: Brand, Constituency and Eminence on the Global Commons,” but don’t let that scare you. He made some insightful points about why IBM has created a new internal discipline that combines brand management and what he calls “workforce enablement,” aligning “experts in the workplace and experts in the marketplace.”

The reason? Iwata says, “One day soon, every employee, every retiree, every customer, every business partner, every investor and every neighbor associated with every company will be able to share an opinion about that company with everyone in the world, based on firsthand experience. The only way we can be comfortable in that world is if every employee of the company is truly grounded in what their company values and stands for.”

In ancitipation, Iwata emphasizes the need to “go from managing outward expressions and manifestations of the company – visual identity, naming conventions, messaging, design and the like – to the behavior and performance of people.”

Iwata also addresses the current corporate hand-wringing over social media: “The CFO worries about financial disclosure. The General Counsel fears intellectual property leakage. HR will say we’re helping competitors recruit our people. And everyone will be nervous about criticism of management.” But instead of mocking these worries, he points out how legitimate they are and that they will need to be—and will be—addressed. The key, he believes, is not just to lay down policies and procedures (although those do have a role), but to “build the eminence of our workforce.”

Perhaps this statement sums up the speech best: “For great companies, values are not the work of “positioning” or messaging or story-telling alone. For great companies, what they value defines who they are – and who they hire, and what they make, and the broader constituency of aspiration they seek to define. And they methodically and intentionally align their operations and cultures to authentically be that.”

Iwata is not only smart, his speech demonstrated a humanity and a humility not often found at the highest levels of the biggest corporations. Count me a fan. If you’d like to read the speech in its entirety, it’s [here].

Both schools have proud traditions, terrific facilities, and rich and powerful alumni. Yet both schools lost momentum in recent years. You might even say that with respect to their win-loss records, growth stalled. They had to question all of their assumptions, adjust their style of play to the changing dynamics of the college game, and once again find their nerve. But while they were willing to re-examine all of the non-essentials, some things they were unwilling to change.

Way back in 1969 new Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler hung a sign in the locker room that read, “Those who stay will be champions.” The sign was meant to reflect the fact that living up to the proud Michigan tradition wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worthwhile.

Similarly, every Saturday as the Notre Dame players exit the locker room to take the field, the last thing they do is touch the sign that says, “Play like a champion today.” Nobody knows the exact origin of the statement, but legendary coach Lou Holtz had it put up to remind his players what was expected of them.

Those who stay will be champions–a reminder to all of us that while business can be brutal at times, perseverance will pay off. Play like a champion today–encouragement that no matter how difficult things get, our job is simply to do our absolute best.

Sports are a great metaphor for life, and both Notre Dame and Michigan have proven their staying power over generations. I’m confident that both will again be at the top of their games soon. Perhaps by following their advice, our companies can be as well.

Launched in 1939 as C.D. Kenny Company, over the course of the next sixty-plus years the organization acquired and divested brands in industries as varied as supermarkets (Piggly Wiggly), electronics (Electrolux), apparel (Aris Isotoner, Hanes, Champion, Playtex), shoe polish (Kiwi), and even chemicals (Oxford Chemical Corporation). It took its present name from a company acquired in 1956, The Kitchens of Sara Lee.

By the early 2000s Sara Lee’s strategic chickens had come home to roost in the form of slow sales growth and weak earnings. A company that had fueled growth for decades through artificial diversification had simply become too unwieldy to manage.

That’s when Barnes launched (according to internal company documents) “a bold and ambitious multi-year plan to transform Sara Lee” by divesting brands comprising 40 percent of its revenues and focusing R&D; efforts on food. By 2007 Sara Lee was increasing market share faster than any of its major competitors, and last month Barnes announced that she was selling Sara Lee’s deodorant and skin care brands to Unilever. When asked about the rationale behind this recent move, Barnes—no doubt for the umpteenth time over the past four years–said, “Our intent is to build a great business in food and beverage.” (It was a “multi-year plan,” remember?)

Count me a fan. Contrary to the strategic flailing about demonstrated by many companies when they encounter rough waters, Sara Lee has kept its focus. Barnes has consistently executed on her now four year-old strategic plan, and the nearly $2 billion take she’ll get from the sale to Unilever will equip her to further strengthen Sara Lee’s food and beverage brands. Which will leave a good taste in the mouth of the company’s investors. Smart.

A random scan of tweets over the past week or so reveals a lot of people scoffing at RadioShack’s newest campaign, which refers to the store simply as “The Shack.” I’m not ready to pass judgment on the campaign yet (one of the things I’ve learned is when it comes to advertising–as with fashion, architecture and automobile styling–people often judge too quickly), but I have to give RadioShack and its agency, Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, credit.

Think about it. RadioShack was a brand left for dead. The fact that it’s doing something–anything–is a good sign. True, “The Shack” initially confused me, since I had just read the book by the same name, but that’s little more than a speed bump. And yes, it’s a little out of character for a store that, according to one Twitterer, is only relevant “if you’re over 65.” But I tend to think of it more like the nerdy kid in high school who one day shows up with a good haircut and hip clothes. Sure, the “cool kids” will tease him a lot that first day, but if he keeps it up over time they will not only get used to it, they may realize he’s not so nerdy after all. That, I believe, is the core strategy behind this idea.

Which brings me to the key for “The Shack.” Consistency. If RadioShack runs this effort for three months, six months, even nine months and then moves on, it will be just like the nerdy kid going back to his highwater pants and short sleeve dress shirt. RadioShack’s commitment to being relevant–and being present with notable advertising–needs to be permanent. As in forever. As in this is the way retail business is done.

I hope that Lee Applbaum, RadioShack’s chief marketing officer, realizes that. And that he has the support of the company’s CEO. Some elements of this campaign will perform better than others, and some may fall totally flat. But when an advertiser is consistent, it can drop what isn’t working and keep what is, continually honing its message to be more relevant in the marketplace.

RadioShack, for all its recent problems, is a great old brand. And it still has a relevant place in the world of retail electronics. So to all of the cool kids on Twitter, I say relax, back down, and give “The Shack” some breathing room. After all, some of those “nerds” in high school grew up to be rock stars, supermodels and Internet multimillionaires.

I recently heard Saunda speak about their accomplishments and how she and Paul have managed to maintain their focus despite the horrible economy. She says, “When times get tough we all tend to start looking for the next big thing, and we forget what got us here. We already have the tools; we just need to remember to use them.”

That philosophy has served the Kitchens well, and their steady and deliberate approach has kept their business healthy and ahead of the competition. When growth stalls, inconsistency is one of four factors that tend to plague struggling companies. But Saunda and Paul understand that to reap the rewards of consistency, they have to do what they do–and do it well–day after day.

Events beyond our control are challenging even the best-run companies. At times like these there’s no silver bullet solution, and chasing one can actually set an organization back. The Kitchens understand that the best thing they can do is continue focusing on the thing they do best, even if they, too, need an occasional reminder.

Paraphrazing Zig Ziglar, Saunda says, “Motivation is temporary, But so is bathing.”

The La Quinta hotel chain has made its mark as a moderately-priced, low to mid range hotel concept. By contrast, Waldorf-Astoria is one of the most glamorous names in hospitality. Most people would never associate the two brands, other than as members of a very broadly defined hotel industry.

That’s why it was an odd experience for me as I arrived at the PRSA Counselors Academy conference several days ago. When I first learned the conference was going to be held at a place called La Quinta, my mind naturally flashed on the imagery established by the La Quinta hotel chain, even though I suspected that the resort wasn’t officially related. And when I saw the sign at the entrance proudly stating that the resort was part of the Waldorf-Astoria collection, I had an entirely different set of expectations.

The resort was lovely and my stay was enjoyable, but that’s not really the point. I found it fascinating how both the La Quinta and Waldorf-Astoria brand identities framed my initial expectations of what I was going to experience. Over the years, both companies have developed specific brand footprints in my mind that were very different–and that caused a period of cognitive dissonance as I attempted to categorize where, exactly, I would be laying my head.

The next time somebody dismisses branding as a luxury, reflect on my experience (or similar ones you may have had). Branding is all about creating meaningful expectations in the minds of customers and prospects, and waiting to do so until the point of purchase may be too late.

One way or another, your brand will be categorized in the mind of your prospects. The more intentional you can be with your identity, the better.

That principle was borne out in my research for When Growth Stalls. Brands that were the most successful over the long term were the most consistent in pursuing and wooing a well-defined customer base. Building awareness, credibility and affection take a great deal of time and focus, and they can neither be acquired overnight nor taken for granted.

It’s a lesson that companies like GM and Chrysler long ago forgot. And one that all of us–no matter our company or industry–would do well to remember.