Starting this week, this month, this year, U.S. 1 Newspaper celebrates its silver anniversary. Amazing, isn’t it, that Princeton’s maverick business/entertainment newspaper could capture the hearts and minds of loyal readers and keep going for 25 years!

I begin to recognize the reasons why as I read “Personality not included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity – and How Great Brands Get it Back,” by Rohit Bhargava, a marketing guru with the iconic firm of Ogilvy. I met him at the e-Patient Connections conference in Philadelphia last Monday.

When I read a business book (and I’ll bet you’re the same way), I try to test out the wisdom by applying it to the businesses I know. So in honor of U.S. 1’s silver year I propose to dissect Bhargava’s theories, one by one, and see how they compare with my perception of U.S. 1’s business model. Maybe you’ll want to do the same and apply them to the business where you work.

Caveat: Notice that I said my perception of what U.S. 1 Newspaper is about. I am not the founder, nor related to the founder, Richard K. Rein. Rein is famous for his single-minded vision and after 23 years (I first wrote for him in 1986) I can sometimes guess what he’ll say but by no means all the time. To get his opinion, you’ll have to read his column and/or the Between the Lines column this week. He’ll probably interview himself; he does every year.

Bhargava says that kind of definable personality is the key to creating an inspiring brand: “Personality is not just about what you stand for, but how you choose to communicate it. …Personality is the reason consumers love one product more than another. ….Personality can help you go from good to great.”

How to define personality? That’ll be in Part II. It’s enough, now, to plan to pop a cork and celebrate.