Topics

employee engagement

Investing in Brand Management?

August 5, 2015 —

Investing in Brand Management?

A brand strategy can take what people know and believe about your business to new levels. Active brand management takes a valuable asset that may now be largely underused, and turns it into a powerful competitive weapon. Regardless of how sophisticated your current approach to branding is, your business has a “brand” today, though you may have acquired it by default. Simply by being active in the marketplace, your business will have accrued a reputation, a level of fame, and a degree of notoriety (for better or worse) with your customers, and within your industry. A brand strategy will take...
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Meaning in the Workplace?

January 22, 2015 —

Meaning in the Workplace?

We came across an excellent article on Fast Company about worker happiness (and the startling lack thereof). It starts with the story of an employee who, after two decades of service to a financial institution, decided he couldn’t take it any more: “I felt like no one cared about me as a person there, and finally decided to extricate myself from the grind. I know many of you feel the same way now in your jobs…trapped and unappreciated.” The article calls for significant changes in the intent, attitude and behavior of business leaders and makes the following observations and...
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Brand Strategy Without Brand Behavior = A Car Without an Engine

September 23, 2014 —

Brand Strategy Without Brand Behavior = A Car Without an Engine

Brand strategy is step one. Defining the shifts to the brand required to live the new brand strategy is step two. We call that brand behavior. It’s becoming increasingly clear that brands need to run deep if they are to prevail in today’s world. This is because modern brands need to compete with not only each other, but also with an overwhelming number of ideas, considerations, and issues that flood the minds and hearts of the people important to any brand’s success. To cut through this noise, and to stand out in a meaningful way, brands need to exude a holistic and deeply...
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How Strongly Do People Want Your Brand to Be Meaningful?

July 3, 2014 —

How Strongly Do People Want Your Brand to Be Meaningful?

Based on our conversations with brand-owners (including our own clients), brands need to work harder than ever. There are many reasons for this. Brands want to get their employees aligned to a new vision, but their employees are unengaged. Brands want to attract new customers, but can’t find ways to break through the clutter. Brands want to hire good people, but don’t seem to attract people with passion. This list (which goes on and on) speaks to the gap between a brand’s rational business needs and the emotional human desires of people. When brands are self-absorbed, stuck...
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For Employees, Employee Engagement Starts With The Letter “C”

January 13, 2014 —

For Employees, Employee Engagement Starts With The Letter “C”

If one thing marks the companies with highly engaged employees, it is that the top people of the company – the “C-suite” – are in sync with the idea that “people matter”. Working together, these leaders put forth ideas, hopes and aspirations which their employees, in turn, use to fuel their personal desire to create more meaning in their lives. The leadership “walks the talk” by acting and speaking in ways that demonstrate their intent, their positive attitudes and their shared purpose. What sets these engaged workplaces apart is that the...
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