Search Results - confused

Topic: A Chink in My Chain of Insanity: o the sounds of nature: roosters crowing, coconuts falling or children laughing in the surf. No alarm clocks, as a matter of fact, most mornings I refused to even look at a clock. Sometimes, I woke at 6am, sometimes later. The demands of daily work, a necessary job, the pressures of deadlines and laundry, the anxiety of an empty refrigerator or the dread of school meetings were nowhere to be found. I also, amazingly, took two weeks off from writing. I did make notes and took pictures but I let go of a challenging routine that I have adhered to for over two years. And after 33 years of never leaving my house without makeup on, ever, I took a chance. I decided I would let that habit rest for two weeks also. I did not wear makeup the whole time I was away, other than a barely tinted lipstick or an SPF lip balm. The first day, it was really strange. I constantly felt like something was missing. But by Day Two, I was digging it and I never once missed it again. It was so freeing. I didn’t wear a whole lot of makeup to begin with, but I did always wear it. Upon my return, I dreaded having to start wearing makeup again, so I didn’t. I have worn a little mascara on my top lashes, but that is about it. Probably as my tan fades, I may wear a bit more. But here’s the thing, that part of my rest and relaxation came home with me. My morning routine is easier and quicker now. I am happier in the mornings and I can’t really explain why. It may have something to do with the after effects of an actual vacation, a real break from real life. But I like it, one more chink in the chain of insanity. It may seem unimportant to men and even some women. All I can tell you is that I have an unfamiliar sense of freedom and a newness in my life; my life that can be sane, that allows me to remember two weeks of infusing peace. We all have an anchor that keeps us tied close to the depths of a crazy sea. You may have several anchors, I certainly did. An anchor represents stability and/or immobility. What if that stringent immobility is what is keeping you from reaching your true potential? What if it keeps you from getting the rest you need? Of feeling the love you deserve? Of getting to know the most important people in your life better? And we sometimes confuse anchors with walls. We should stay figuratively closer to our homes, family and friends, and the ties that keep us there. Often, we build walls, thinking they will keep us close. Too often we build those walls on the wrong side, they end up separating us from those we love or want to love. I am certain that I am done building walls. I am certain that the peace and rest I experienced will continue to change me, mold me into the better person I want and need to become. We so often sit anchored to our pasts or to our desks, when all we really need sometimes is a new wind blowing across the bow or to enjoy the view from the other side of the boat or even to simply look up and see the view. I do now. And I will tomorrow, my quest to mainline sanity will be lifelong. by rayannethorn …; Added by Rayanne at 5:07pm on May 15, 2011

Comment on: Topic 'Employment Branding? HA!': believe it's a mistake to write off employer branding as a fad or a joke: 1. From a brand standpoint, the distinction between "the company brand" and "the employer brand" is a misnomer. There's one master brand--call it the company brand, whatever, it doesn't matter. The employer brand is simply an extension of that brand into the employment space. I agree with Maren: "Company culture is the fulfillment of the employer brand." So where, to use Jerry's example, we may think of Starbucks as a place to get good coffee--the company brand--the role of the employer "brand" is to extend our perception of Starbucks from a place you get coffee to a place where someone like you might enjoy working. Same brand, but the extension means instead of a focus on the differentiating product elements that brings you in for a "coffee transaction," like a good place to fire up your laptop, the focus is on the differentiating elements of the employment offer--like benefits at 20 hours and a pound of coffee every week. 2. Employer brand and employer branding are different. The brand--or brand extension--is a clear, relevant, resonant, differentiating and energetic statement of shared value. It's the unique give and the get that underlies the employment experience. It's the articulation of what makes a place like this right for a person like you. Rayanne, you confuse this with branding. And I agree, it's confusing. Moreover, that confusion is completely unnecessary. It's a byproduct of the fact that in recruitment advertising, most employer brand work is done by the same recruitment ad agencies that develop the creative. And sometimes, what's passed off as an "employer brand" is nothing more than a creative brief. But there really is a difference. The Nike brand is "everyone's an athlete." We may not know that, but so long as Nike does, and so long as they maintain their respect for the athlete within all of us as core to their business strategy, it doesn't matter. The point of the brand--or the employer brand--is to keep the company attuned to delivering on the key business differentiators they need to win. Employer branding the way you describe it is more like recruitment advertising. And as Jerry says, that's often not memorable. But Jerry, be fair: that's also a function of budget. Let's face it: if they threw as much money at, say, the Coca Cola employer brand as they throw at the master brand, we'd all know it, wouldn't we? Then again, what would be the point? Coca Cola only employs tens of thousands of employees--and that's if you throw bottling in. But they market product to billions. So they're putting their money where they need the transactions to happen. Want examples of strong employer brands? Consider the armed forces. Wal Mart. Even Google. 3. The employer brand doesn't exist because we say it does: we simply name what exists already. If you're prepared to accept that a company can differentiate itself in the marketplace, you must accept that differentiation can also exist in the workplace. (Microsoft and Google are different. And they're different places to work.) Developing an employer brand is just the process of (1) documenting those differences; (2) determining which of them are important (they drive productivity in ways that drives the business, they make people decide to work here or stay here, they inspire people to shop here, etc.); (3) determining which of these are ownable by the business (as opposed to intrinsic to the employee; (4) distilling this all down to brand elements. Of these steps, the only voodoo is in the last step. Everything else is research. And while we might not agree that this or that phrase is the best expression of "what it means to work here," it's pointless to argue that the experience we're "naming"--the unique, business-driving elements of the experience of working here--aren't real. As Shakespeare's Juliet observed: What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Your employer brand: same sweet smell, no matter the title.…; Added by David Kippen at 3:51am on December 19, 2009

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