Bitching about your firm…

yesterday i was telling Fart that nobody likes to bitch about his or her own firm because that would reduce their personal brand equity. Fart responded that it is rather the function of how dependent your personal equity is upon the equity of your workplace.

now my argument is that most graduates of premier B-schools end up with firms which are big brands in themselves, and which go a long way in defining them. which implies that they would rather not bitch about their firm and pull themselves down.

“It has something to do with confidence”, says Fart. “A confident person, irrespective of his/her firm’s brand equity, won’t hesitate to tell the truth about his/her job”. Linking this with his other statement, I am wondering if there is any implication involved. Is it that being confident de-links your personal brand from your firm’s brand? Or is it that having enough other things than your workplace that define your brand makes you confident? (hope i got that right, i’m sorry for the extremely long and confusing sentences)

The practical deal here is how do you actually know whether a firm is a great place to work? Ask an average guy working there and he is likely to be someone whose brand is defined by the firm’s brand – and he praises the firm sky high. It’s not always that you can find people who are willing to tell the truth. And you find that out the sad way, after you’ve joined!

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