We had another great SVAMA program last night, with a very interesting keynote by Rohit Bhargava and an outstanding panel comprised of Michael Brito from Intel, Glenna Patton HP’s VP of Brand Strategy and Mario Sundar the Community Evangelist and Chief Blogger at LinkedIn.
Rohit made a compelling case for bringing back the humanity to large organizations many of which appear faceless to customers. He gave great examples of companies like Dole with bananas, “innocent” fruit smoothies from the UK and my favorite the new Intel ad that lets us inside intel with a fun take on their culture:
Each of the panelists spoke with passion about what it means to really connect with customers and also some insights into the challenges at making this happen in very large organizations. Intel with 85,000 and HP with 300,000 employees!
To summarize: social media is amplifing word of mouth and providing opportunities for businesses to put a real face on their companies in a way that is different, unique and valuable. By thinking more deeply about how to connect more meaningfully with customers, companies can build stronger and more profitable ongoing connections that are hard to replicate.
MarketCulture Blog - Using a Customer Culture for Competitive Advantage 
I think this will also help companies attract skilled employees in the competitive market place. If employees place importance to corporate culture, then a strategy that promotes authenticity and openness may attract key talent.
Corporate culture is often a secondary consideration for employees but it has a large impact on whether they will enjoy working in a company environment. I think most people want to know the truth, where they stand and want to be valued for their unique skills and experience. Unfortunately in my experience this is not the case in many organizations where politics and an internal focus hampers people’s ability to contribute effectively. Authenticity breeds trust and trust makes for a more fluid outcome focused organization where everyone is going after the some goal, creating value for customers, profitably….