Inspiration Conversation

"When people know us, they love us. And they love us as much as they can."

Matt Ryan, SVP Corporate Brand Management, The Walt Disney Company

You remember how awkward dating was back in middle and high school? And college. And your 20's. And...

Kidding.

But remember what our moms and teachers always told us?

"Just be yourself."

The idea is what Matt Ryan is getting at. If you're yourself, then the girl or boy will know you, and if they know you, they'll love you. Then, they'll love you as much as they can, you'll live happily ever after and one day you'll get all teary-eyed as you take a family photo in front of Cinderella's Castle.

Here's the thing. Being yourself only works if the real you is cool. Or likeable. Or encouraging. Or funny.

Remember Biff Tannen from Back to the Future? Biff's mom could not have given him the "be yourself" advice and realistically expected exciting results.

Lucky for you, you're not Biff. You've got something going for you; you're either likeable, smart, resourceful or a combination of a lot of great things.

But that's just you. What about the company you work for? What's your corporate culture like? What's your brand's reputation? Can your company be its collective self and expect exciting results?

This post would need to go in several different directions in order to contine to be relevant to you, depending on the role you play. Are you a recruiter? Marketing manager? Compensation specialist?

The question that we ask ourself and the question you've got to ask yourself as it relates to the responsibilities you have within your organization is this, "If people know us, will they love us?"

If the answer is no, there's some serious work to be done because nobody wants to work for or do business with Biff.