Bryan Adams kicks his article off by saying, “talent acquisition professionals and employer brand leaders can often fall victim to an over-reliance on conventional thinking” so you knew I was going to mention this one. His call is to go beyond “typical employer branding” is music to my ears. It’s a call to stop being passive, to stop just focusing on polishing up and providing the “nicest” face on the company and taking a more active role in shaping the brand. Don’t tell stories, make stories. Love it.

If you’re looking for a good book, take a look at Brain Surfing by Heather LeFevre. Imagine if a very smart brand strategist decided to take an eat, pray, love style trip to meet the world’s most interesting brand strategists. Good stuff.

Podcast recommendation: Sweathead. It skews very agency-heavy/strategy director-heavy, and the quality of the podcast seems to hinge on the guest, but I have heard some really interesting episodes lately. I recommend The interviews with Ryan Ford, Blake Desormeaux, and Jenny Chang.