In 1577, Sir Francis Drake sailed his galleon Golden Hind towards South America. Drake had offical approval to ‘benefit’ himself and Queen Elizabeth I, as well as to cause maximum damage to the Spaniards. This would eventually culminate in the Anglo-Spanish War. On March 1 1579, off the coast of Ecuador, Golden Hind challenged and captured the Spanish galleon. It had the largest treasure captured to that date: over 360,000 pesos (equivalent to £480m in 2017). Elizabeth’s share of the treasure was enough to pay off her entire government debt and still have a neat sum left over.

Drake was little more than a state-sponsored pirate. Of relevance is the vessel he counted on for conquest and profit. The story of Drake cannot be told without Golden Hind.

Centuries later, in July 1969 and a very different context, Apollo 11 put Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon, effectively ending the space race. The Apollo 11 spacecraft had three parts: a command module Columbia, with a cabin for the three astronauts; a service module which supported the command module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen and water; and a lunar module Eagle that had two stages – a lower stage for landing on the Moon, and an upper stage to place the astronauts back into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin landed Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility. They stayed about 21 hours on the lunar surface, then used Eagle’s upper stage to lift off and rejoin Collins.

Can the story of “…one giant leap for mankind” be told without Eagle and Columbia?

Both Drake’s and the Apollo 11 mission, akin to so many other bold human endeavours, faced volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). Despite all the planning, preparation and training, several unknowns existed on the seas or in space. Above all else, the vehicle that anchored the mission, and held its precious human and material cargo, would have to be completely failsafe.

Golden Hind and Columbia are useful metaphors for your brand. The brand is a vessel for a business’s mission. It protects it from unknowns, unpredictability and hostile conditions. It is not made of sturdy timber or ablative heat shields, but of human goodwill, owned and nourished in people’s minds by great brand behaviour.

A brand’s equity is essentially a reservoir of reputation. Actions determine how large the reservoir is, and therefore how long it will hold out when everything around the business is changing or falling apart. It allows and assists changes in business strategies.

MasterCard is an example of brand equity assisting business evolution. We unfailingly recognise its interlocking circles logo. We know its ageless, timeless, “Priceless” slogan. This has supported changes in business strategy over the years, necessistated by technology changes in the payments industry.

A well cared for brand is arguably the only dependable constant in times of VUCA. Question is: do you feel as confident about your vessel as Drake did with Golden Hind or Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins did with Apollo 11?