When we work with organizations to help them articulate their brand essence, promise, key messages, and other important expressions of their brand, some wonder why we spend so much time uncovering the perfect wording.  Here’s a powerful example.

Think back to high school civics.  You may have learned that before the Civil War, most people in our country referred to The United States as a plural noun.  Civil War Historian Shelby Foote commented,

“Before the war, it was said ‘the United States are.’ Grammatically, it was spoken that way and thought of as … read more

I was watching 60 Minutes the other night and had a thought. While the main segments of the show act kind of like White Papers, based in fact, interview and research, Andy Rooney’s finale segment acts more like a video blog. His pieces are still mostly based in fact, but more often than not, have much more to do with opinion. There’s something about his few minutes at the end of every show that makes the show less hard-hitting, more personal, and keeps viewers coming back for more. It just struck … read more

Image courtesy of eharborinc.com

What is an Employer Brand?    How is it different than a Consumer Brand?

This topic has caused a lot of debate and discussion in the branding world.  I recently attended a webinar called “Branding for Talent” through the Human Capital Institute.  The webinar discussed brand strategies for organizations to adopt as they look to attract new talent and especially attract the new generation of job seekers.   The majority of strategies that were presented were very informative, but … read more

I was recently doing some research on organizational strategy and came across the website of Sherry Schiller, an internationally acclaimed organizational strategist and expert on managing change (www.schillercenter.org).  For over 30 years, she has been helping leaders across the globe build organizations where people work with purpose and harmony.  She’s concluded that the hierarchical, industrial organizational model of American businesses, nonprofits, and public sector organizations would no longer work in the coming years, and would need to be replaced by more interactive, dynamic organization systems.

Here are a few excerpts that … read more

My parents bought a Wii.  My parents who haven’t seen a video game since they bought my brother and I the original Nintendo in 1990. My parents who are approaching retirement, yes, they bought a Wii.  Not only have they bought a Wii, they use it.  They have created Mii’s for every member of the family and sometimes they call to let me know I just hit a home run or that they beat my husband and me in a doubles game of tennis.

Nintendo Wii, unlike any other gaming … read more