pound cake and hot water

Fifteen dollars for a slice of pound cake and a cup of hot water. Would you do that? Me either but I did. I actually thought I would be getting a real breakfast. I suppose the old guard think fifteen dollars quite generous for the privilege of sitting at their elbows. Yes, I was surrounded by mostly old guys in suits. All I could think was, "Fifteen dollars for this?" Before that, I had to get out of bed early and be in town by the barely respectable time of 7:30 a.m. Why did I do that? For an inside chat with MWV and a bit of a discussion on their rebranding at the 1708 Gallery. Because it was sponsored by C3 and I expected something a bit edgy. Nope. Standard PowerPoint exhibiting all mistakes of your basic slide show (too many words, rehash of the speakers content, few images). That's the last time I pay for the honor of sitting in a recreational board room listening to someone spew corporate speak and talk about reaching the little people on the front lines.

As I sat there I wondered where all the vital young people were, the ones who are shaking it up, the ones making things happen. Making things happen elsewhere, obviously. This was old news no one wanted to hear. Most of those present had been involved in the rebranding or were business associates of those involved. What was the point?

I did learn two things. One, the "tried and true" method of rebranding has been inextricably married to organizational development. Two, the market has changed on a global scale and you'd better get on the bus. MWV has just managed to catch that bus.