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This is not as much step #8, as it will be done as part of the earlier steps. Your giant vision could become a giant bubble if someone with a needle gets to it before you can take steps to stop him or her. The trouble with threats is their sheer number and their sheer unpredictability. Add to it your paranoia and ego, and those of your co-workers, you have a volatile sausage factory on your hands.

Identifying threats is the least fun of the strategy definition process. For one thing, confidence is mistaken for invulnerability. You must have confidence, but also acknowledge both impermanence as a law of nature, as well as the chinks in your armor.

A new invention, changing government regulation, war, natural disaster, terrorism, employee turnover, stock market instability, the list goes on and on. If you did strike the mother lode, but you cannot serve your customers fast enough, competitors will rush in. Monitoring your threats is an ongoing effort, you have to scan your business environment constantly. Remember, if you’ve read it in the news, it is probably too late.

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Time to bring out your branding iron. This has a physical aspect: the color, the logo, the font, the look and feel. It has a psychological aspect: what is the experience of the buyer and customer when they interact with you? Do you keep the promises you make? Do you surprise and delight? Is the interaction friction-free? These are all elements that contribute to branding.

Thanks to the Internet, small companies can look like big companies. An easy to navigate web site, personalization, email subscriptions, and shopping carts are yours, even if you are a one person show.

Branding is crucial because it becomes a proxy for a host of decisions that do not have to be taken. It shortens the sales cycle, improves customer loyalty, and raises barriers to entry. You may “do” branding, but those are the mechanical and administrative tasks. In reality, every single person in the organization is contributing to the brand every time they come to work.