“Now, Gerald, I have one last question before your interview is complete.  If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”

Gerald started sweating.  He knew he was supposed to come up with rehearsed answers for job interview questions like this, but he never took the time to do it.  Drat!

“Uh…a…maple tree?” Gerald replied.

“Interesting…and what brought you to that answer?” asked the interviewer.

“Uh…they’re…cool?  I…like maple trees.  I…have one in my yard…uh…sir.”

Gerald didn’t get the job.

Now, we feel bad that Gerald got stuck with the WORST interview question ever created.  But he probably could have helped himself out a little bit if he’d picked out a tree that somehow symbolized his personality or work ethic.  Maybe he could have gone with the apple tree and compared the work he produces to the delicious apples growing on the tree.  Or perhaps he could have chosen a pine tree and compared the tree’s evergreen quality to his own tenacity and consistent work.  The point is, the HR rep was looking for him to use his higher level thinking to make a comparison between himself and something else, and he blew it.  (But, honestly, it was a bogus question.  Poor Gerald.)

Although we hope you’re never in our buddy Gerald’s awkward position, let’s try to learn a lesson from his plight.  Gerald didn’t realize that the tree he chose was supposed to represent him in some way.  As a business owner, you probably won’t ever have the occasion to pick out a tree that represents you, but you do have to come up with a logo.  And, like Gerald’s tree, the logo shouldn’t be random – it should actually reflect something about your company.

The real idea behind a logo is to symbolize your company in one little image.  A random shape you happen to like isn’t exactly what a logo is all about.  The most effective logos are memorable and smart and actually connect to your company’s products or goals.  If you stop to think about the logos we all know and remember – McDonald’s golden arches, the Target symbol, the Nike swoosh, to name a few – you’ll notice that each of them does tie into the company’s image or product line.

Nothing particularly bad will happen to you if you do decide to haphazardly design a logo that doesn’t mean anything, but nothing particularly good will come out of it, either.

Like Gerald.  He’s doing okay, these days, despite the fact that he missed out on his dream job.  He was hired by a competitor for about 5K less per year than he could have made at the original job, and he puts in his time 9 to 5.  But every once in awhile, he catches himself staring out his kitchen window late at night, gazing at that maple tree in his backyard, and wondering to himself what things would be like if he picked the right logo – er, tree.