The following is the original post in Fast Company Now, Fast Company magazine's excellent blog, and my comment there. Follow the link at the end to read more comments.
ORIGINAL POST:
Mark Didriksen of Jack Morton Worldwide offers a thoughtful study of "brand training." Instead of giving such exposure to a company's brand short shrift by relegating it to new-employee orientation -- or leaving it to HR rather than the marketing department -- Didriksen suggests that organizations put more thought behind customers' interactions and how employees represent the company and everything it stands for.
This isn't just for event marketers or field sales people, either. It's for everyone. Just look at the impact that Fred Harvey, his restaurants -- and his Harvey Girls -- had on the Santa Fe Railroad in the late 1800s. And think about the old-school stereotypical IBM employee and the lasting impression they leave.
How do you -- and your company -- inculcate brand values in employees? Do you pay attention to how employees reflect and represent the core of your business?
Posted by Heath Row at November 18, 2003
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MY COMMENT:
Posted by: Steve at November 19, 2003
> How do you... inculcate
> brand values in employees?
A company should hire people who "represent the company and everything it stands for." In my experience, trying to "inculcate," or reprogram, employees to fit the mandated corporate culture is largely a futile effort and a disservice to everyone involved.
On the other hand, if a company hires good people who fit in with the goals of the organization, these people will naturally move in the direction of those goals and everyone -- employees (and their families), management, clients, and stakeholders -- will be much happier and more successful for it.
I don't like the growing popularity of the word "inculcate" in corporate speak, especially when it is used true to its etymology (see immediately below).
inculcate:
ETYMOLOGY: Latin inculcre, inculct-, to force upon : in-, on; see in—2 + calcre, to trample (from calx, calc-, heel).
1. To impress (something) upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition; instill: inculcating sound principles.
2. To teach (others) by frequent instruction or repetition; indoctrinate: inculcate the young with a sense of duty.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
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