“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

— Herman Melville

"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." — Herman Melville

About Glenn

I’m a thinker and a dreamer. And for as long as I can remember I’ve contemplated the way things work. Not mechanical things so much, but rather the human equation—why do we do what we do, and why do we do things the way we do?

This orientation has led me to a life of personal development and inward exploration, which is also why I enjoy and excel at brand strategy, given the inward exploration of a vision, a company, and a way of leading.

I spent a number of years working with Fortune 500s, managing multiple brands and learning from a combination of real-world experience, observation, and mentoring.

I worked at a big-city newspaper from 1997 to 2008, a period in which the industry was undergoing huge upheaval and change, which gave me the opportunity to observe first-hand the challenges related to shifting the culture and strategy of a large organization.

I produced large-scale conferences and festivals for some fifteen years, which afforded me the opportunity to manage multiple brands. I had an intuitive sense that managing each brand according to their unique personality and tone would lead to greater success. Each of my projects grew in success when I was able to build authentic brands, and success would falter when competing objectives got in the way.

I left the event business in 2011 to start the predecessor to 4 Directions Branding, a company with a vision of helping people do business differently—with vision and purpose—which led to an increasing focus on brand building. Then in early 2018, with a growing sense of the importance of authenticity in marketing and leadership, 4 Directions Branding was born in partnership with Maria Geffcken, my business and life partner.

I enjoy diving deeply into understanding a business, a project or an individual, to discover what is truly unique and special about them. Together with Maria’s natural intuitive skills, we form a unique and potent partnership.

My first book, “Shift: Indigenous Principles for Corporate Change,” is a personal story about how I came to acquire from indigenous culture the wisdoms I have related to organizational dynamics and how to apply them to the art of doing business. Presently, I have three additional books in various stages of completion, and I I blog semi-regularly at 4 Directions Branding and on Medium.

My life vision is to support the evolution of human consciousness . . . beginning with me.

Glenn Geffcken

Ready to transcend to the new model?

Ready to transcend to the new model?