Organizational Identity

The Day “The Patrick” Disappeared: A story of lost identity

October 20, 2010

Tweet This is a story about a quirky little cafe that disappeared. While I lived in town, and for a few years after we moved, this cafe was a touchstone, a demonstration, of one of the experiences that made our small town so interesting. When the cafe changed just one little thing, it lost what […]

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Built to Deceive: When organizations intend to mislead us

October 14, 2010

Tweet What would you think about an organization that intentionally mislead its potential clients? — That advertised itself as providing a range of products or services, when in fact it only offered one? — That presented itself as being here to “help you”, when in reality its sole purpose is to fulfill its own mission, […]

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MAC’s Apology for Juarez Makeup Line: Effective and Authentic

August 5, 2010

Tweet It’s not often that I get to follow up a post about an organization’s disappointing actions with a post celebrating that very organization’s next step. Given how easy it is to pay attention to and be outraged by the bad actions, it is all the more important to devote some energy to positive resolutions– […]

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Capturing Authenticity in Your Business Name: Dangerous Mathematicians

April 6, 2010

Tweet Over the weekend I took my family over to Brooklyn to visit our groovy friend Lizz. Part of the plan was to wander around Boerum Hill and explore (okay, window shop and eat ice cream). As per usual, I found it necessary to stick my nose in someone else’s business. Wouldn’t you *have* to […]

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Does the iPad Signal a Change in Apple’s Core Brand & Identity?

February 2, 2010

Tweet If products reflect an organization’s values and an organization’s identity, does Apple’s new iPad tell us something about where Apple as a company is headed? And, if that’s where Apple is going, do we all want to go there too? Here’s a proposition: Apple as an organization is changing, from an organization that’s “about” […]

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Organizational Change Using Authentic Attributes

December 14, 2009

Tweet My friend Charles just took a new job ‘making rain’ for a creative services agency. The agency is well-known in its industry for producing top-quality product, but its business isn’t growing. Why has their business stopped growing? Charles thinks that the problem with the agency is that it is “Too German”. What does it […]

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Finding a Leadership Opportunity in Alternatives to Layoffs

March 16, 2009

Tweet Let’s say you’ve been convinced by the argument against layoffs and the recommendations for trying alternatives to layoffs. You’ve looked at a few of the Honor Roll organizations and decided to take that next step… As you prepare to act, consider this additional option. Can you find a way to make alternatives into layoffs […]

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What’s Better Than Branding the Organization with the CEO?

December 9, 2008

Tweet Graeme Martin , Director of the Centre for Reputation Management through People at the University of Glasgow, has written an interesting post on his blog, about the Dangers of Branding Leaders . Writing about the practice of creating an organization’s brand / identity from the celebrity personality of the CEO as a strategy for […]

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The Case Against a Marriott Boycott: Marriott is not a Mormon organization

November 25, 2008

Tweet Many GLBT-rights and marriage equality rights activists are up in arms in protest against individuals, business and institutions that supported California’s Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage. Letters to prominent individual contributors, protests in front of churches, and calls for boycotts figure prominently in these activists’ efforts both to punish the individual, businesses and […]

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