The Problem With Passion

Maybe you’re brimming with passion yourself. Passion is a vital asset because it’s both impossible to fake and potentially contagious. Combined with compelling storytelling, passion can win you converts, inspire donors and convince investors.

But if you aren’t careful, passion can overwhelm, distract and confuse your brand message—all signs that you’re suffering from a common condition we call Passionitis.

Don’t worry; the prognosis is good! Passionitis is an easily managed condition once you understand its most prominent symptoms and how they’re best treated. And, like most problems, admitting there is one can be the hardest step.

Beware of The Fog

When you describe your organization’s goals, do they feel attainable? Or do they get a little...unwieldy?

If your ultimate purpose is to “change the world,” you may be a victim of The Fog. What started as a simple mission in your mind has grown into a far-reaching movement, and mere words can’t explain all of the things you’ve got planned. Plus: why would you want to limit yourself? But this mindset leaves those you lead overwhelmed and the brand you seek to create unclear.

Make it Tangible

Ambition is wonderful, but specificity is more relatable and compelling—and your brand needs to be both.

Having trouble narrowing things down? Sometimes a little distance can help. Find your power users—your most important customers, donors and stakeholders—and ask for their input. It should come as no surprise they know your brand well, if not better, than you do.

Here are some good questions to get you started:

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of our organization?


What first drew you to the organization?


What would a world without our organization look like?

Once you find some common ground, combine your knowledge and those external responses and distill them into a distinct and specific story. Remember: you can always expand your reach later.

Look Out for The Weeds

Can you explain your organization’s mission to a layperson in ten seconds? If not, you may be a victim of The Weeds, an affliction that plagues the passionate, the highly-informed and the super-experienced.

The trouble here is that you might actually know your work too well, making it impossible for you to communicate with the uninitiated.

Stay on the Path

We get it. You want to describe your work accurately and with nuance. But when it comes to your brand, it’s more important to tell a simple story that resonates first, then expand into more. Imagine that you’re explaining your work to a twelve year old. You’d probably focus more on the big picture, not the process. Try and remember why you started doing this kind of work and forget those pesky details learned along the way.

Fear the Grip

Many organizations’ leaders—especially if they’re also founders—can have a hard time letting go of even small decisions around the brand’s expression. This is the dreaded Grip, one of Passionitis’s most acute symptoms.

Empower Your Team

You can’t do it all! And you’ve got a team for a reason. So let’s get you some help.

Creating useful and clear guidelines—covering everything from your visuals to your verbals—will help you empower your team members to steward the brand, freeing you up to focus on the really important stuff. This will feel like a heavy lift at first, but the consistency and confidence will be well worth it.