What fly fishing taught me about building a brand |
05-29-2026IMPACT COUNCIL
What fly fishing taught me about building a brand
Learn how to read the water.
[Photo: Getty Images]
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There is a moment on a trout river, when the light softens, the water goes still and everything you know about casting, currents, and choosing the right fly comes together in a single act of skill. When the line unrolls, the fly touches down, and a trout rises to meet it, the feeling is close to gratitude. You did the work. The river did the rest.
I have spent 40 years helping technology companies build brands and almost as long trying to catch trout on a fly rod in Montana. I am better at one than the other, though the lessons from both turn out to be the same.
John Gierach wrote that the best fishermen make new and interesting mistakes and remember what they learned from them. That line has stayed with me, probably because it describes the work of building a technology brand as accurately as it describes a day on the Yellowstone. In both pursuits, the people who succeed observe more carefully, adapt more quickly, and learn from what went wrong.
READ THE WATER, THEN READ IT AGAIN
If you want to catch trout, you must read the water, determine where the current breaks, and guess where a trout would hold if it wanted to eat. The answers are there, but you must look past the surface to find........