Permit me to use a term that might nauseate a few people and fascinate others. Brand. There is a link between the brand and the history.

The history of an entity is a key source of its brand. But it’s not enough to know that. You also need to know that the brand, like the history which informs it, can be divided into two parts. One part is the external brand, or that attitude and understanding that the clients, customers, consumers, and partners have of the entity in question. The other part is the internal brand, or that culture which has been built up through the habits, routines, and practices of the people within the entity.

When you’re identifying the relationship between the history and the brand, remember to ask the second question–what is the link between the history and the brand’s two forms, the external and the internal.