When I share with people what I'm up to lately, my answers are often phrases like this:
- "Working on 2.0'ing EMC."
- "Building community and connections, aimed to better connect the people with the strategy."
- "Furthering the employment brand, and the EMC culture."
Why?
- "Because people who feel engaged, respected, and connected build better relationships with customers and prospects, ... which furthers profit, revenue and shareholder value."
- "How can people salute the flag, if they don't even know the colors of the flag? (aka: How can we expect new employees, or acquired companies, to have loyalty or passion for the company and its mission, if they don't yet know the culture, and what is important to us as a company?"
With certain people I've known for a long time, especially those who see me still as the Investor Relations VP, I might also toss in this reply:
- "I feel as though I'm helping to make EMC a better place." When I say this, I have in my mind "little" things that I've been involved with ... things that can mean a lot to the people of the company, and things that I believe our Founder would smile upon if he were still here.
Today I wrote a comment on a blog about "Personal Brand and the Humanization of the Corporate Brand," by Shel Israel. His thoughts echo my own. I then started to wonder about people arriving at this blog for the first time. Would they know what I found to be important?
When doing a quick read of recent posts, perhaps I have been too subtle. The highlights tell a story, I hope, that ties to a transformation afoot -- one that truly values people in the workforce, and one that results in a better company for all concerned.
Highlights from several of posts are below, starting with what might be a good umbrella post for the rest -- written on June 24th:
Culture Contrast: Harnessing the Power of People -- thoughts on the shift taking place today, and the power that can be gained for business when people are treated like adults and the environment is tweaked a bit so that they can willingly DO, and BE more. June 24th.
Culture and Innovation -- the inverted pyramid, the shift away from command and control, and some of the benefits to be expected for both the people of a company, and the company itself. October 13th.
Work is Getting Personal -- people being people, at every level of the company, helping one another. Oct 9th.
Information to the Brain -- people connecting with one another, including on social platforms, is becoming a major factor in driving business results. This blog features some recent articles/books/happenings which with more insight on the science behind this. Oct 7th.
Learning, Innovation and Career Choices -- innovation case studies are buried in this folksy post, outlining the huge benefit to the business when people are engaged-- in this case, global voluntary innovation. Sept 30th.
EMC HR says "Yes" to doing Personal Business at Work -- executives/companies are realizing that the walls are blurring between work and home and that it no longer makes sense to try to keep people from being their own person (in addition to being an employee) while at work.Sept 24
What's New? -- consumerism, personal brands, diverse professionals as true friends, and the now humorous look on how the command & control model got started in business. Sept 17
Facebook can be an asset -- rethinking the "personal network" of Facebook to actually being an asset in "match making" of person and opportunity. Sept 10th
Does an MBA Matter ... plus the next 6, "get a job and career tip" posts -- a series providing tips to people if they, or someone they know is looking for a job, leveraging the insights of EMC's recruiters. July 20th through Sept 10th
It isn't the smart idea, it is the addition of passion and connection that bring success -- evidence of people connecting with one another in unexpected and wonderful ways, facilitating an atmosphere for future success.
Initiative, Passion and Cultural Evolution; We Run EMC -- EMCers at every level coming up with ideas and driving the business, and connections, forward. July 8, July 10
Themes in my blog tend to come in story form. It is my hope that by reading the blog, you get introduced to some of the latest thoughts relative to the blog's banner title: "Building and Branding Careers, Culture and Cool." In the case of 2009, "cool" often relates to the impact of 2.0 business behavior models!
----------------------- Talk Back ---------------------
Does it make sense?
Do you see business value in this work?
-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
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