You’ve invested time and money to build a brand that commands attention and compels customers to trust, try and buy. The journey hasn’t been easy. And it’s never over. But your hard work and single-minded focus is paying off.But having a successful brand can be something of a two-edged sword. On the one hand, success can come with bullish demand, higher prices and committed customers – results that make all those late nights, lost weekends and interminable discussions about value proposition and core values seem worthwhile.On the other, it attracts a certain amount of baggage. Expectant stakeholders, for example. More and more they expect a business to live up to the promises it’s made. They expect an unwaivering commitment to ethical practices. They’re holding businesses accountable on the ‘green’ front. And they expect management to ensure the right products, with the right quality at the right prices. In short, they expect a vigilant leadership team that’s on top of any and every performance-impacting variable.Fail to live up to these expectations and there are consequences.Just ask Conrad Black what can happen when shareholders think management has been acting in a manner that runs counter to their interests. Talk to the Forzani Group (that’s Sport Chek, Coast Mountain Sports, National Sports and other retail marques) about the impact of languishing sales on stock price. Or broach the subject of product quality with Menu Foods and, well, run for cover. After recalling more than a million cans of tainted pet food, Menu Foods has been trying to stem a disastrous customer exodus including the loss, in mid-August, of a customer that accounted for over 10 per cent of its annual sales volume.The lesson for senior teams is obvious. Deliver what stakeholders consider important or suffer the consequences. Big brands attract big expectations. We ignore them at our peril.