Great Examples

Because Women Have “Ideas Worth Spreading” : TED2011 Action Steps

February 27, 2011

The 2011 TED conference begins Tuesday in Long Beach CA. Of the 55 folks who will present “Ideas worth Spreading”, 15 of these speakers will be women. That’s a whopping 27%… no improvement over previous years, and nowhere near gender parity. To celebrate the 15 Women who will take the TED stage, and to encourage [...]

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

August 5, 2010

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– so [...]

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The Best PR that $1.6 Million Can’t Buy: Authenticity in Action at Zappos

May 25, 2010

Gotta love those folks at Zappos. They screw up, they explain, they apologize, and they fix it. And we applaud. Why? Because Zappos’ actions support the company’s stated purpose, and Zappos’ actions support its claims about who they are as a company. It’s Authenticity in Action. The Zappos’ Mistake Story in a Nutshell An online [...]

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That Special Starbucks: Does the place help the people be authentic?

March 4, 2010

First it was the Siren. Then it was the Christmas cards. For a while, it’s been the original artwork by their very own baristas displayed on the walls.. And now, my favorite Starbucks is getting bouquets of flowers. On a recent visit, there were two big vases of flowers on the counter by the espresso [...]

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The Phone Call That Changed My Life

November 16, 2009

Dared by GaryVee, inspired by Dr.Bret and Dave Rendall, and zen-ed out by Jonathan Fields, I’m posting my first vlog. As writers know, although “the first draft is always the worst” that’s no reason not to write. Or to vlog. Or to pick up the phone and call the Executive Vice President. Which was what [...]

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Bias Bingo: Blending Branding and Learning

November 4, 2009

I love it when basic business science can be applied to important causes. So, I was excited when my favorite FemaleScienceProfessor pointed me towards a clever website designed to teach about gender bias: The Gender Bias Learning Project. The Gender Bias Learning Project is a great demonstration of how basic web skills, clever marketing skills, [...]

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Can Starbucks Touch Your Soul?

October 8, 2009

When an organization is being authentic, you can feel it. Even when its character is being expressed in a very small way, or through a very small action, an organization’s expression of its authentic self can touch your soul. I was reminded of the power of small, authentic acts to touch your soul while I [...]

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Response to 9/11 Tragedy Revealed Business Schools’ Values

September 11, 2009

You will read many stories today recounting the heroism and the losses experienced eight years ago. We know now how many individuals and organizations rose up to help victims of the WTC & Pentagon attacks, and how individually and collectively  our responses to the 9/11 tragedy revealed important goodness deep within us. Every year at [...]

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Peek inside an Authentic Organization: Blogging at Berrett-Koehler

July 14, 2009

Years of following industries that create culture have left me with a special fondness for book publishers. Year after year, season after season, page after page, book publishers create objects that convey what I love most — great ideas. Increasingly, book publishers do this in an embattled industry, towards a customer base with a dwindling [...]

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Resources for Authenticity: Being vs. Understanding

June 30, 2009

What resources can organizations draw on to create and sustain an authentic sense of “who they are”? My class with the Darden EMBA students on Saturday danced around the questions of “How do organizations ‘source’ their identity? and “How do organizations sustain their authenticity?” Even though we had a chance to discuss many other issues [...]

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