Lately, I’ve been thinking that if I have one particular skill, it is finding great partners and building trust with them.

The philosopher Kwame Appiah writes that “in life, the challenge is not so much to figure out how best to play the game; the challenge is to figure out what game you’re playing.” When I try to figure out what game I’m playing, I see that for the last 25 years I have been playing […]

I look forward to your feedback.

Why should you think more like an anthropologist? Well, no brand can survive without feeling, sensing, and talking to their people. The anthropologist understands the development of humans in societies or cultures, which is what happens when people come together. That sounds like the sort of thing every employer brand pro should aspire to be.

If you know me at all, you know I love metaphors. Lovelovelove them!!! So when I see an article by Bud Caddell (my favorite organizational management thinker) with his 8 favorite metaphors for organizations, I eat that up like it's dessert.

Finally, if you're looking for a list of great brand articles to help you think bigger and bolder when you get the year kicked off right, here's a great one.

When it comes to transforming recruitment marketing, I don't know anyone who knows more (or done more) within tech or large companies than Allyn Bailey. As she is someone who truly knows how to turn the biggest boats around, this series on how to think through your own recruitment marketing situation is going to be epic.

There's a chance I've linked to this before, but in case I haven't, here are ten ways to encourage workplace transformation (yes, transforming your company is kind of your job). Focus, the experience, advocacy, influencers and metrics should all be very comfortable subjects in your vocabulary.

Here's your big read for the week. From fellow talent nerd Liz Lembke's Transforming Talent, this week's newsletter got my head spinning. Why? Because we don't talk about social contracts much at all and we really should. Over the last 50 years, what we expect from each other, from our governmental institutions, and from our jobs has changed. But the systems that support our relationships with our jobs really haven't. What do you expect from your colleagues? What's worth complaining about (and what isn't)? When is it okay to ask for help and when are you expected to buckle down and figure it out? Liz collects a series of recent articles on the topic, and they are very much worth your time.

This article should arm you with a better argument with tech recruiters and tech hiring managers at to why their normal way of hiring is deeeeeeply flawed. I point it out because tech recruiting is one of those places that doesn't always embrace the power of employer brand, and when you read this article, it should become pretty clear where the disconnect it.

Remember, your brand is less a set of words, images or concepts, but of the stories people tell themselves and (obliquely) each other about why they work there. So here's a great piece on how you can use narrative to as a means to influence decisions.

Introduction to a Three-Part Series.

Apropos of nothing, I really liked this list of the 50 ideas that changed their life. Reading it will make you smarter.

One of the challenges EB is grappling with in the face of mandated remote work is how to collaborate, brain-storm or just workshop an idea together. EB, because it connects all the parts of the company, is inherently collaborative, and Zoom (et al) doesn’t really get many people’s creative juices flowing. So here are some ideas on how to brainstorm when no one can share a room with a white board and those massive post-it notes.

Look, this is something I am grappling with because I really want employer branders to think… deeper. It’s not just putting out little videos and polishing up career sites, but helping leadership think better about their brand. One of the ideas I haven’t gotten my arms around but think is special is the concept of cognitive dissonance. We want what we want, but what we want might not align with our stated values. A company who can help its customers overcome that cognitive dissonance is one who can win a long time customer. Like i said, I’m not sure how we can use this idea, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

As mentioned earlier, it does feel like so many companies have the same pillars and recruitment messaging. To be fair, so many companies are structured the same and have the exact same perks and org chart, so it probably shouldn’t be surprising. Which is why I loved this article equating a company’s branding elements to ingredients in a basket on TV cooking show Chopped. The chefs get the same ingredients, so the skill is in how you bring them together and build something far bigger/better than its components.

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.

While we’re talking podcasts, if you feel like getting smart in a hurry, the two-parter of Adam Robinson on The Knowledge Project is something I go back to on a semi-regular basis. They are very long meandering conversations, but I swear, I come up with work ideas every time I listen to them.