Uncategorized

At Emotive Brand, we’re big on the concept of purpose beyond profit. Apparently, people interpret this phrase in interesting ways. Some jump to the conclusion that it means “purpose instead of profit.” That’s a valid approach for Benefit Corporations, perhaps, but most companies – including this one – would prefer to make some money. Some people think the phrase means “profit plus being good to the environment.” We’re okay with that definition, but it’s still too easy for many brands to dismiss for one reason or another. The deeper definition applies to all brands, if they can make a simple...

You care about sustainability. Your company publishes a corporate responsibility report and has a pretty good website. But people at the company just don’t seem to care. If they’re knowledgeable, they’re skeptical. If they don’t know much, they’re not curious. Take comfort: You’re not alone. Many companies struggle to engage employees with sustainability. And while that sounds scary for the planet’s future, given the abundant resources corporations have and how many people they employ, there’s also a silver lining. Anything this common must have common causes we can identify and act on. Here...

When a couple of long-time associates asked if I wanted to get involved with their agency, Emotive Brand, I said “Sure, but what’s up with the name?” I was already allergic to “brand” – for all the reasons blogged here before by Jerry Holtaway. My only exposure to “emotive” was from a pompous college psychology professor who liked words nobody else used. Putting the two terms together did not improve either one, IMHO. Well, as my parents used to say, don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it. Given that Jerry has already nailed “brand,” in my first post I’ll handle the other term in the...

Business is hard. Companies face a never-ending stream of challenges. Ask a CEO, “What’s the matter?”, and he or she is likely to talk anxiously about stalled growth, employee lethargy, lagging innovation, disgruntled customers, growing competition, the threat of commoditization, investor concerns, and a litany of other issues. These are real issues and concerns. They are often complex issues that are difficult and expensive to address. And, try as they may, many CEOs have trouble implementing the changes needed to counter these disruptive and destructive ailments. Why?...

Every minute of every day your brand’s future is influenced – for better or worse – by the way people feel after experiencing your brand’s way of doing business. Ask yourself, “What is driving the intent, attitude and manner of the way our brand does business right now?” Or, more to the point, “How do we want to leave people feeling as a result of dealing with our brand? Oddly, despite all the innovation and advances in the branding process, few brand-owners have a clear vision for the emotional connection they could seek that could transform their...

High on our upcoming Holiday reading list is “The Connected Company” by David Grey. We’re adding it to our list because we came across an interesting #HRBBookChat Twitter stream in which David held court. These chat extracts, some from David, others from readers, provoked our interest: “You’re in a connected company when everyone feels connection between the job they do and the purpose of the company.” “Leaders need to build relationships and trust, it is always a work in progress, never done in my mind.” “HR must help them connect their...

You’re off and running. You have a big idea, funding is lining up, and you’re ready to take the world by storm. Stop for a moment. Think. What is behind your big idea? What will help you build a business case that’s right for the times? What will cause the industry’s most valuable people to come knocking on your door? What will help you attract the team that can truly make your product matter to people? What will raise your idea from just another thing to buy to something people buy into in a serious way? What will help you create a thriving, agile, and sustainable...

“Close Enough for Love” is a Tony Bennett classic. In the lyrics, there’s the phrase “the greatest story never told.” Based on our experience working with clients, we believe there are thousands of companies out there sitting on a very valuable asset. This is an asset that could generate new revenues, build customer loyalty, enthuse and motivate your workforce, raise your business above the crowd, and make you a hero. The asset is a meaningful story about your business that’s waiting to be told. – It’s a story based on meaningful truths about...

Engage for Success is a UK-based movement committed to the idea that there is a better way to work, a better way to enable personal growth, organisational growth and ultimately growth for Britain by releasing more of the capability and potential of people at work. They recently launched this thought-provoking video: Learn more here. Read our paper, The Meaningful...

As business leaders, we often use words we’d never say to our loved ones. For example, we’d never ask someone we love to “implement a three-point strategy”, or to “capture insights, view them through the right lens, and cascade them to the rest of the family.” We know that if we talked that way to the people we really care about, they would stare at us with baffled looks, smile blandly, and ignore us for the rest of the day. Yet, all too often, that’s how we talk to our employees when we seek to “engage” them. And they look at us with...