CMOs are increasingly recognizing that human issues are political issues.

And how to tackle them.

I look forward to your feedback.

In the third installment of his CMO ot CEO column, Paul Evans ponders how putting marketing strategy at the heart of his business makes for better leadership.

I'm helping a friend walk her employer brand project through leadership, so I'm super sensitive to how hard is it to get leadership buy-in. Then I see this article on how to get leadership to buy into consumer branding, and I realize we aren't quite the proverbial red-headed step-child we often think we are. Even marketing has to work hard to get buy-in, so why not steal some good ideas from them?

I think it's a mistake to say "employer branding is dead" because you're moving to a "one brand" strategy, but it's hard to resist lines like, "Delivering your brand is as much about what you don’t do and say as it is about what you do say and do."

The dirty little secret to successful employer branding is the ability to "sell" the concept and idea up the chain. Without any buy-in, you will be isolated on an island for a long time ("a three hour tour..."). But if you can get leadership excited for the work, your path forward will always be clearer. So here's Phil Strazzulla whiteboarding how to build a strong business case for your TA and EB initiative.

You know that my feeling is that the platonic ideal of employer brand isn't to be a silo, but rather a single perspective through a shared brand for the entire company. Ignoring how surprised I was that a marketing/branding magazine even know what employer brand was, here's a great article geared towards marketers on how to leverage a stronger employer brand.

What's the hardest part of getting your employer brand ideas off the ground? Building a business case. Very few of us were taught this skill, so my friend Mezjan wrote up his own process for business case development perfect for EB pros.

In an increasingly complex and stressful world with blurred lines between personal and work lives, workers at all levels need total well-being in all aspects of their lives. Expectations at work and home are no longer distinct or neatly separate – they are becoming one and the same. Savvy companies know that workers who are well

I've got an open call for podcast and article ideas (feel free to chime in), and one of the big asks is more discussion on how to work with recruiters and other teams. While I try and put together my own thoughts, here's an article from HBR on how culture differences should be considered when building trust with other business units.

Our jobs often feel lonely in a sea of people (because we're the only ones who understand what we do). So essays that discuss what someone has learned in their job and journey are so valuable. Jazmyn Mijuskovic talks about her first year at Publix.

Our jobs often feel lonely in a sea of people (because we're the only ones who understand what we do). So essays that discuss what someone has learned in their job and journey are so valuable. Here are two: Lilian Mahoukou talks about his work at Mondelez,

What happens when your employees get politically active? This week, more than 360 Amazon employees signed a public petition demanding the corporation take action on climate change. The company responded by threatening to fire them. Last year, Google saw a mass walkout. Between Greta, a US presidential election and Brexit, the political and social landscape is getting very tricky. And yes, your employer brand plays a role. If you've established values and pillars around being green or being socially responsible, what happens when staff act on that? And do you know how leadership will respond?

What does it take to build a strong employer brand? Well, you need to know how to execute projects (tactical mind). You also need to be able to select and prioritize your projects (strategic mind), but theres something still missing. If you want your brand work to achieve maximum impact, you need to know how to tap into a third mind: the political mind. The Three Minds of Employer Branding over at ERE.

I continue to maintain that employer branders usually have zero functional power, so must rely on their ability to influence others. So here are seven ways to build your influence internally.

In case you don't feel prepared, here's HBR's guide to Corporate Social Justice.

And once you have “trust,” can you lead? Are brands morally obligated to change the world for the better?

Tim Sackett asks a pretty controversial question over on his blog: Should companies disclose their political leanings? Tim makes good points that just because a business might lean liberal or conservative, that doesn’t mean everyone does, or even that it’s a critical component to the employer brand. My take is simple: if it matters to leadership and staff what the political identify of an organization is, and it’s not exclusive of talent from other perspectives, there’s no reason not to talk about it. But in this day and age, where “wearing a mask” is seen as somehow “political,” the return from such a position is likely very very weak (if not completely counter-productive).