How do you do, fellow kids?

I want to write about the Seven Deadly Sins of Authentic Branding. This idea isn’t fully-formed yet, so I don’t know what all seven are yet, or if there even are seven, etc.

But I know pandering is one of them.

The word's probably most popular in the political arena, and for good reason—there are endless examples of politicians doing their best Steve Buscemi.

In general, I think the more authentic-seeming candidate will win most of the time. Many political campaigns have undoubtedly folded due to this nasty P-word.

But pandering goes beyond politics, and it's often more pervasive and subtle. Sorta like racism.

It's there in those goddamned stock photos, and beside them in that corporate-jargon, buzzword-laced, generic copy on the page so audaciously labeled "about us."

And there too in the mission statement and brand pillars.

It's there in our beefed up, important-sounding previous job description on our LinkedIn profiles and resumes.

And yes, my solopreneur design friends, there too in the copy of our portfolio websites.

It's a common tendency to feel that we have to be a more "fill-in-the-blank" version of ourselves to be accepted or hired or loved. None of us are immune to this problematic thinking.

But—perhaps counterintuitively—the more we embrace whatever makes us weird and wacky and wonderful, the easier we connect and build with our people.