Progressive Organizational Movements

Employee Branding at BP: Do snazzy uniforms protect the response teams?

June 16, 2010

Tweet Somebody at BP has been reading The Onion. BP has figured out that dressing their employees in groovy outfits can help build esprit, camaraderie and a even a sense of importance. Okay, I’m being snarky here… but I am wondering about the positive (and possibly negative) effects of the outfits these BP control center […]

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Sexism in FairyLand: Disney’s Pixie Hollow Won’t Let Girls Wear Pants

June 11, 2010

Tweet Mom, Disney is a sexist company, isn’t it. Out of the mouths of babes, and 9 year olds, come important truths. But I like to wait it out, rather than presume, so I reply with: Why do you say that, honey? On Pixie Hollow I want to buy pants for my fairies. I have […]

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Authentic CSR: Should Dawn publicize its involvement in Oiled Bird Rescue?

June 10, 2010

Tweet Procter & Gamble and its Dawn Dishwashing Liquid are the targets of criticism and cynicism for their efforts to help the International Bird Rescue Research Center save birds who have been wounded by BP’s Oil Spill. While I’m quick to criticize any organization that promotes its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts when all they […]

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The Horrible Work-Life Truth I Learned at the Harvard Business School Reunion

June 7, 2010

Tweet That’s one headline for it. Another one might be: “How to make a table of women with graduate degrees cry.” I could spend a bit of time trying to set the scene to give you some perspective, but let me cut straight to the chase. Sitting at a table, talking with my female friends– […]

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Could BP have avoided the Gulf Oil Spill if it had more Women Executives?

May 26, 2010

Tweet How much has the paucity of women executives at BP and the overall gender imbalance in BP’s managerial ranks contributed to the Gulf Oil Spill? I’m betting that had there been more women in the executive ranks at British Petroleum, more women (especially from inside the Company) on BP’s Board of Directors, and more […]

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3 Types of Employee Engagement Advocates: Which type are you?

May 17, 2010

Tweet Is there ever a time when our reactions don’t reflect our own perspectives on an issue? The whole wisdom behind the dictum: “Seek First to Understand” turns on our awareness of the near-impossibility of uncoupling our initial reactions from our personal standpoint. Our experience with an issue, as well as our general world views, […]

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Misleading Image for Army: New York Times, PowerPoint and Complexity Fail

April 27, 2010

Tweet Was anyone else annoyed by the use of this image, below, on the front page of today’s New York Times? The image is being used to illustrate an article on “death by Powerpoint“, or the overuse of linear, bullet-pointed presentation methods in today’s information-drenched warfare. I have no quarrel with the reporting in the […]

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Heaping Scorn & Criticism on Feminist Advocates at Newsweek

March 24, 2010

Tweet This week’s story about feminists at Newsweek who have publicly challenged that magazine for failing to make progress against gender discrimination encouraged me, as I’m sure it encouraged many others. To see someone, anyone, make a prominent critique of a prominent organization, and then to have that organization make this criticism public, should have […]

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Will Newsweek Respond to Claims of Sexism?

March 23, 2010

Tweet I would love to have been in the room when three journalists at Newsweek proposed that Newsweek publish their article criticizing Newsweek for gender discrimination. Why? You know you’re getting close(r) to authenticity when you can have a recursive sentence like that one written about changing things that are wrong at your organization. Here […]

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Social Media, False Urgency & Anywhen: Chris Brogan shows how to improve your Work-Life Fit

March 15, 2010

Tweet Blogger & Trust Agent extraordinaire, Chris Brogan, recently shared a mini rant that contained an important demonstration of work-life initiative. His suggestion — that we learn to recognize and respect what really is or isn’t ‘urgent’ — is a key element of constructing a healthy relationship between work and the rest of your life. […]

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