Organizational Identity

Lead With A Story: Book Review

October 12, 2012

Tweet I’m suspicious of the idea that people who want to be leaders should tell more stories.   While I get the arguments that stories are persuasive because they are emotional, have a predictable arc that makes it easy for people to get engaged with them, are easy to remember, etc. etc. I’ve sometimes wondered whether using […]

Read the full article →

Is there a Business Model behind that Values Statement?

March 1, 2012

Tweet There are many fledgling businesses that have laudable intent and shaky commercial foundations.   This is a problem because, in an ideal world, the businesses that stand for values we share should also be able to sustain themselves as businesses. That’s the key premise underneath social entrepreneurship and conscious capitalism. Purpose-driven organizations need compelling values, but they also need […]

Read the full article →

Company Character Grows From Place Identity

February 16, 2012

Tweet What do start-ups and coffee beans have in common? For both, the place they grow shapes who they become. We don’t talk much about the role of place in shaping organizational identity, but the physical circumstance of where we are located as we do our work together helps to determine who we become as […]

Read the full article →

Connecting to the Company Story: Coding is Crafting for Etsy’s Engineers

November 21, 2011

Tweet Every organization has a story. Any group that wants to be an important part of that organization needs to craft a place for itself in that story. The story an organization tells itself and shares with others helps everyone make sense of who the organization is. For members, the organization’s story helps them articulate […]

Read the full article →

Growing Social: 4 Different Paths to Social Organizations

October 26, 2011

Organizations can ‘grow social’ through 4 different paths, driven by technology, social business, collective values, and ‘product’ resonance. Two of these paths are more likely than the others to create organizations that are authentically social. Can you guess which two, and why?

Read the full article →

Pay Attention to How Social Media Communities Create ‘the Organization’

September 20, 2011

Tweet Why do so many social business advocates overlook the organizational value of online communities? Too many people dismiss online communities for not being central to the organizations they serve.  These critics dismiss communities for being merely social, just another way to chat or swap tips. Even when they acknowledge how communities can be critical […]

Read the full article →

4 Reasons Why Socializing Your Intranet Makes Organizational Change Easier

August 3, 2011

Tweet You can make the process of becoming a Social Organization a little easier if you start by socializing your intranet. Why? Because the shared, cohering nature of your intranet makes ‘social’ change efforts more comprehensive, more democratic, less scary, and more reinforcing of collective identity. In my previous post, I argue that we should […]

Read the full article →

Social Intranet Design and Organizational Identity: Design for functionality and character

June 15, 2011

Tweet In a social organization, the design of digital social tools like intranets should reflect the organizational features that define the organization. These design features, no matter how subtle, can ‘auto-communicate’ and make salient the characteristics that matter most, and help organizations stay authentic. Especially in the digital workplace, our digital tools create an important […]

Read the full article →

Make Distinctiveness Matter by Linking It To Organizational Purpose

June 14, 2011

Tweet Does it really matter if an organization is “distinctive”? When an organization’s distinctiveness (identity) is linked with the organization’s purpose (greater social goal), the organization’s unique qualities provide the unique resources needed to achieve that purpose. Organizational Distinctiveness is more than Positioning Managers often dismiss the concept of organizational “distinctiveness”, thinking that distinctiveness is […]

Read the full article →

Action Branding: Using activity streams to authenticate identity claims

March 23, 2011

Tweet Action Branding is the concept that brands are the sum of their actions. — Extending this concept to personal brands and organizational brands, action branding helps individuals and organizations demonstrate, and thus authenticate, the character, values and purpose they claim to have. — Social media creates opportunities for individuals and organizations to track, organize […]

Read the full article →