I just saw the movie Contraband. I absolutely love fast-paced films about intelligent, illicit activity. Plus, Mark Wahlberg is pretty convincing in criminal protagonist roles, so I have no complaints.

But there always seem to be elements of movies like this one that have gaps. You know what I’m talking about: parts of the storyline that simply seemed to be overlooked; jumps from one thing to another that don’t quite add up. I tend to leave the theater and start to get all riled up as I try to put the pieces together and recognize that a handful of them are missing.

I figure that I can write these ‘gaps’ off in one of two ways: 1) The writers and producers don’t have a clue, which is unlikely. Or 2) A number of scenes were cut out deliberately because the movie would run seven hours if all of the connections were forged, and people wouldn’t stay to the end anyway. (Sure, there’s the third option that I simply missed the connectors, but since I’m always right, that can’t possible be the case and I’m justified in overlooking it. Please sense the facetiousness here, and roll with me for the sake of argument.)

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We are enthusiastic about our new business strategy and have an opportunity to add a salesperson to our team. Hooray!

Are you energetic and self-motivated? Are you hungry to make sales and do you thrive on the rush they give you? Do you have a keen understanding of the social, branding, marketing and business space in Omaha and beyond? dd|a – an intensely strategic and creative, award-winning “brandscaper” – is looking for an outstanding salesperson.

So the question is: Do you fit the bill, or do you know someone who might? Read on … (more…)

As a follow up to our previous posts, especially this one here, asserting that HR and talent management decision makers must also own or, at least, drive the brand, here is the HR Ignite presentation encapsulating that concept, delivered at the HR Reinvention Experiment conference. For a primer on the Ignite format, take a look here.

Thanks to V180 Media for shooting the video and to Joe Gerstandt for organizing.

It is bright and festive at dd|a this morning: cheerful Christmas lights draped across every possible surface, the Pandora “Michael Bublé Holiday” station serenading us from the conference room, the scent of our nine-foot Frasier Fir wafting whenever anyone walks by … plus, a few empty wine glasses, abandoned cheese trays and wrapping paper shreds from last night’s open house – evidence that good times were had by all.

We celebrated the season with clients on Wednesday evening to say “thank you!” for such a memorable year. All of us had a great time decorating our space, wrapping National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation-themed gag gifts (requiring movie-viewing research, of course) and enjoying the company of those who make our world go ‘round. (more…)

“Work should ennoble, not kill, the human spirit. Promoting workers’ well-being isn’t just ethical; it makes economic sense.”

As Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer point out in this New York Times opinion piece, happy workers are not just some wishy-washy feel good fluff. Engaged employees drive the business bottom line. What is not to love about a humanistic capitalism, where the business and the person succeed not in spite of each other, but by fulfilling each other’s aspirations?

Face it: the brand is not just what the executives say it is, nor solely what customers perceive it to be. Enron had its values engraved in its building. You know how that ended. Employee’s don’t reach for a brand manual for values, culture or the elevator speech. Employees understand the company’s brand, its values, behaviors and actions at the water cooler, the canteen, in the corridors and cubicles.

dd|a’s brand process ensures that a company’s brand is inextricably comprised and expressive of not just external facing values, promise and attributes, but internal cultural aspects also. You can look at the internal view of the brand through these lenses: What we say, meaning executive expectations (Business); what we do, meaning company actions (Systems) and what we believe, meaning culture.

It is abundantly clear that a company’s success in its market must be strategically viewed from the inside out. This means that those responsible for human resources and talent management have an integral strategic role to play. Alex Edmans of the Wharton School of Business has shown that,

“Employee satisfaction is positively correlated with shareholder returns.”

HR Directors belong in the Board Room not just because of functional duties, but because they can directly contribute to employee engagement, actively manage the internal elements of the brand, and drive business success.