http://vimeo.com/8224953 Maybe it’s the writer in me, but I really love a manifesto. Few things humanize a brand more than laying it all out there, opening the kimono and letting the world in on what you stand for and stand behind.

I recently stumbled across a page of quotes from author Stan Slap. (How’s that for an awesome name?) As I perused them, they started to read more like a brilliant manifesto than a bunch of individual quotes. I mashed them together. Take a peek…

Lead your own life first. The only thing in this world that will dependably happen from the top down is the digging of your grave. Work/life balance is not about escaping work. It’s about living exactly the way you want to when you’re at work.

I want to be in healthy relationships. I want a real connection with people I spend so much time with. Who creates trust and higher purpose amongst their people and gets unparalleled levels of support for common goals. Hard-core results come from igniting the massive power of emotional commitment. I want to know the work I do means something to somebody and helps make the world, if not a better place, not a worse one.

The high quality of a company’s customer experience rarely has anything to do with the high price of their product. The company may have captured their minds, their bodies and their pockets, but that doesn’t mean it’s captured their hearts. You don’t have to fear your own company being perceived as human. You want it. People don’t trust companies; they trust people.