Applied Poetics

Brand, culture, design, voice–Applied Poetics is about finding clarity and meaning in our organizations.

Getting your brand story heard in a social media world

Leave a Comment Posted by on October 24, 2011

This article was originally written for and published in IABC’s CW Bulletin, September 2011. Brand communicators today have a unique opportunity: We can get our messages into the marketplace at a cost and speed that would not have been possible a few short years ago. However, we are also not alone anymore. Today everyone is [...]

Brand, Voice , , , , ,

When authenticity matters most

Leave a Comment Posted by on March 26, 2011

March madness and the spirit of the NCAA basketball tournament are everywhere. But there’s one particular bracket no one wants to be on. For the past six years, the website The Consumerist has held a tournament for readers to decide the Worst Company in America. The site takes nominations to determine the initial selection of [...]

Brand, Culture , , , , , ,

Time to chase a new kind of dream

2 Comments Posted by on February 1, 2011

Last week the time had come for me to say goodbye to Red Hat. I joined the company on the third day of the year 2000. Red Hat was 350 people then. Today the company is over 3500 and is the largest and most recognized open source company in the world. I may have left [...]

Brand, Culture, Design, Voice , , , , , ,

When it’s time for change: Recycling and Redesigning Logos

Leave a Comment Posted by on December 19, 2010

Branding is about articulating the clearest, truest expression of who you are. For most brands, that expression is summed up in the logo identity. If you’re a new company, a new logo is a chance to introduce yourself to the world and make a good first impression. But when your logo and brand are already [...]

Brand, Design, Voice , , , , , ,

Discovering desire lines: How to break down barriers and let paths emerge

Leave a Comment Posted by on December 16, 2010

The story is told like this: A university constructs several new buildings on its campus. But rather than build sidewalks between buildings, they plant grass, let people walk, and wait. Pedestrians choose the most efficient paths–and over time the lines worn in the grass reveal where sidewalks should be.

Culture , , , , , ,

5 reasons why rapid prototyping works for creative projects

Leave a Comment Posted by on December 2, 2010

The open source community has a phrase for the principle of rapid prototyping: “Release early, release often.” The theory is sound: Don’t wait until a project is perfect to share it. Instead, keep producing work so more people can experience it, react to it, find bugs, and improve it.

Culture, Design , , , , , , , , , ,

Sharing the story of Red Hat’s brand and culture

6 Comments Posted by on November 28, 2010

Last week I was asked to speak about brand and culture to a group of visiting MBA students from the Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary. They came to Red Hat to learn more about the company, and I gave a talk on how brand and culture align at Red [...]

Brand, Culture, Design, Voice , , , , , , ,

Comparing leadership cultures and creating change

Leave a Comment Posted by on October 27, 2010

Yesterday I attended a panel on cultural leadership at the Coach K Leadership Conference at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. The panel featured our own Senior VP of People and Brand at Red Hat, DeLisa Alexander, and Mark Reuss, President of General Motors North America.

Culture , , , , ,

Inside the culture of Wikipedia: Q&A with the author of “Good Faith Collaboration”

Leave a Comment Posted by on October 1, 2010

Wikipedia is among the world’s most widely recognized examples of mass collaboration. Most people also know Wikipedia is open for anyone to contribute. But what does open mean? What are the rules? Who writes them? And how do they solve inevitable disputes over content?

Culture , , , , , ,

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.