organizational identity

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

November 21, 2011

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 their [...]

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The “New” Crisis of Meaning?

October 4, 2011

What’s up with the word “new” in the phrase “meaning is the new motivator”? From all corners of the interwebz conversation about ‘business’, I see mention of this idea that meaning at work is something new, something that we have just begun to desire. Seriously. It seems to come as a surprise, or as a [...]

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

September 20, 2011

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 for [...]

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Make Distinctiveness Matter by Linking It To Organizational Purpose

June 14, 2011

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 only [...]

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Authentic Competitive Distinctiveness — It’s all in the details

May 19, 2011

There’s a great photo in the New York Times (May 19, 2011) of a whitepaper chart created to manage the Delta-Northwest Merger’s Long and Complex Path. The chart is full of of post-its, probably more than 200 of them. Each post-it reflects a point where the systems and processes of the organizations need to be [...]

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Their Need or Your Ability: Why does your organization exist?

March 31, 2011

Why does your organization exist? Was it created to meet the needs of some (external) community, constituency, or market segment? Or, Was it created to employ, utilize and engage your collective abilities? Did your organization emerge because of “who you could be together” or because of what someone else needed some organization to be? A [...]

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Beyond Positioning: Establishing Authentic Optimal Distinctiveness

February 23, 2011

Every organization needs to establish optimal distinctiveness – a competitive position within your field, where you are similar enough to other organizations to be seen as legitimate, but different enough that you’re seen as having something unique to offer.  But, optimal distinctiveness is more than being in a competitive place in your field. Optimal distinctiveness [...]

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Can an organization be too different?: The Strategic Value of Optimal Distinctiveness

February 18, 2011

Can an organization be too different? I spend a lot of time with organizations that are trying to strengthen the perception that they are different, so that they can distinguish themselves from their competition. They want their customers to see that they offer something that no other organization can. Because being different is critical to [...]

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How Social Media Create Organizational Meaning

January 18, 2011

Social media tools can transform an organization. One of the things I enjoy so much about social media is the chance to be (more often) the person I am, with my specific sets of talents, interests, and goals. Every time I extend myself out on social media, I get to choose what I’ll say, how [...]

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

October 20, 2010

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 made [...]

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