How did we meet? What were we doing when we shifted from acquainted to friends? Who else is in our circle? How do we make space for each other and how do we dance together toward our center?

You’ve shown me who you really are, and I trust you enough to share my dreams and fears.

I know the sound of your laugh before you even start laughing and you remember things about me that I sometimes forget about myself. There are inside jokes between us that no one else would understand.

I remember you standing up for me, and I hope I’ve done the same for you. Can you count on me the way I count on you?

I’d miss you if you were gone.

Brands are not our friends. And most of them are simply acquaintances. But the most successful marketers understand how deeply our emotional bond with friends runs, and try to echo some of those feelings. Manipulate the process and you’ll inevitably disappoint the very people you seek to serve.

With their relentless push to humanize, brands have blurred the lines of connection and culture, but they’ve also reminded us that the stories we tell ourselves about our most important people are priceless and irreplaceable.

Authenticity is impossible to measure, and so consistency carries us forward. What do we expect when we hear you knocking? What promises are you here to keep, and how often are they kept?

[Coming in October: Seven years ago, I worked with my friend, bestselling author Bernadette Jiwa to launch The Story Skills Workshop. Bernadette has consistently helped people around the world get clear about the story they tell and the change they seek to make–in all arenas. She’s running it again in October.]