"It's not good enough."
Not what any nine-year-old wants to hear. Especially for one who considered himself a good artist. But this was my aunty, someone I admired deeply and who just so happened to be an art teacher. Instead of politely praising my drawing or gently nudging me to try again, she took the time to explain. What she said to me changed how I viewed the world forever, and without realising it, shaped my entire understanding of identity clarity.

The common thread

Before the term brand strategy was bounced around like a hacky sack at a Californian coders convention, I was already curious about why companies looked, sounded and acted the way they did.

In my early career as a designer, my insistence on asking why probably annoyed colleagues and clients alike. In fact, I know it did. I wasn’t satisfied with creating something that only looked good. I needed to understand why it looked good and what, exactly, made it resonate. If I could identify that special element, I knew anything I designed would not only look great but work effectively.

As my career progressed into brand design, I became increasingly intrigued by what made certain businesses magnetic while others failed to attract. Interestingly, it wasn’t always the best-looking companies that got the best results. So what was it?

That question followed me for years. As a designer, creative director and strategist working with organisations of every size, I saw the same pattern emerging. The companies that were thriving, or destined to thrive, all had something unique about them. A particular energy. A collective confidence. A quiet conviction that ran through everything they did.

And I’m convinced that if it wasn’t for what my aunty taught me all those years ago, I might never have spotted it.

Existing in truth and understanding

I noticed something. The companies that struggled to create a confident project brief were the same ones struggling to grow. And the ones who gave us beautifully clear briefs? They were the ones thriving.

I went back through old enquiries, reviewing their project notes and the early conversations, trying to see if this instinct held up. It did.

I remember one moment vividly. I was sat in our old meeting room surrounded by piles of paperwork. The whiteboard was crammed with stickies and scribbles and colour-coded chaos in an attempt to make sense of dozens of projects. It looked like the wall of a detective trying to crack a case.

And in a way, I was.

When I stepped back and looked at everything together, the pattern became unmistakable. Yes, better briefs led to smoother projects and more impactful outcomes. But it was the companies behind those briefs that stood out. These were the organisations that truly understood who they were. Not superficially, but deeply. As a business. As a team. As a brand. They understood who they served and where they were heading.

I remember visiting their offices and sensing something different as soon as I walked in. There was a shared energy, a sense of alignment. People knew what the business believed in and how it should show up in the world.

Then I thought about the other projects. The ones that never quite clicked. The briefs that felt vague or stitched together at the last minute. Those companies constantly asked for more revisions and more exploration. Not because they were chasing excellence, but because they didn’t know what they were looking for. They didn’t know who they were.

Many of those businesses never gained traction. Some no longer exist.

That was the moment my thinking crystallised. The difference wasn’t simply in the quality of the brief. It was in the clarity of identity behind it. But what does it actually mean for a business to know who it is?

Identity identified

After plenty of head scratching, beard rubbing and a few packs of stickies, I distilled that the companies who truly knew themselves shared several characteristics:

• They had guiding principles that shaped daily behaviour, not forgotten values stuck to a wall.

• Their personality was unmistakable. You could feel it in meetings, see it in their writing and hear it in their conversations.

• They understood exactly who their customer was and what they were helping them achieve.

• They recognised the impact of their work beyond financial results.

• Their messaging felt intentional and their tone felt undeniably theirs.

• They did not try to be everything to everyone.

• Their brand identity used only the essential visual elements, not a sprawling library of assets.

• And most importantly, this clarity of identity ran through everyone, not just the senior team.

The journey of knowing

In Stoicism, clarity is knowing exactly who you are and who you must become. It creates a foundation that supports decisive action. Marcus Aurelius said, "If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favourable."

Ikigai, the Japanese concept of personal purpose, is found at the intersection of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs and what you can be rewarded for.

James Clear, in Atomic Habits, writes, "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become."

Across cultures and throughout history, identity clarity is presented as the starting point for progress. In my experience guiding businesses, the same principle applies. When a company understands who it is, it becomes far easier to make the adjustments needed to become who it needs to be. That is when everything begins to align.

For businesses, this clarity of identity becomes a powerful internal compass. It gives them a sense of direction not only for today, but for who they must evolve into tomorrow. It shapes decisions, unites people and builds conviction. That belief is what led to the methods and frameworks I have developed for my consulting work.

Seeing with purpose

So what did my aunty teach me that day that would shape everything I went on to do?

After dismissing my drawing as "not good enough," she knelt beside me and said something I will never forget.
"You need to learn to see. Really see. Look at what you are drawing and understand why it exists the way it does. Everything has been designed for a reason. The curve of a bird's wing. The angle of a building's roof. The way shadows fall across a face. Nothing just happens by accident."

She made me start over, but this time with intention.
"Before you put pencil to paper," she said, "ask yourself what story this thing tells. Why does it look this way and not another? What is it trying to achieve?"

She pointed to a vase of flowers on the windowsill.
"See how the petals curve to catch the light? How the stem is just thick enough to support the bloom? Even in nature, everything serves a purpose. Your drawing should too."

That single moment became the foundation of everything I do. She wasn’t just teaching me how to draw. She was teaching me how to decode the world. She taught me that behind every form lies function, behind every choice lies intent. In business, just like in art and nature, nothing should simply exist.

The companies that thrive are the ones that have learned to see themselves clearly. Not just what they are, but why they exist and what they are built to achieve. They understand their own architecture of purpose and value. And when everyone in the organisation is aligned, that is when the magic happens.

That is when clarity of identity becomes not just a concept, but a competitive advantage.