What do you think most people have on their minds as they head into work each day? Do you suppose they're mentally preparing for how they can really blow that big presentation, miss an important deadline, forget to prepare for that big meeting or lose the company's biggest client?

Probably NOT.

But if they are thinking about work, they might be wishing they got a pat on the back from their boss or co-workers for rocking that presentation, getting the project done ahead of schedule, being one of the only people who prepared for the meeting or winning the company its newest client.

Some may be wondering how they can get management to notice the little things they do. After all, not everyone in the company is on the front lines or directly involved with the sales and marketing efforts. If they could just get others to notice, they wouldn't have to be so worried about whether or not their job is safe.

The reality is most people want to go to work each day to do a good job and help the company grow.

Leaders today, especially those who have cut staff to the bone, face a whole different challenge: getting employees re-engaged or risk losing performers at all levels. Many are looking for employees to make the commitment to ensure the job gets done and done right. What leaders fail to realize, especially in difficult times, is employees need more from each other, the company and leadership. It can be as simple as recognition for doing a good job, but must be organized in a way that illustrates what actually doing a good job looks like. And, most importantly, how it aligns with the overall business strategy.

Going Beyond Engagement

Based on recent global research workforce studies, aligning on-brand behaviors with company strategies is fast becoming a business imperative for many organizations. The Corporate Leadership Council conducted a study that shows a 50% decline in the level of discretionary effort put forth by employees; disengaged employees are 24% less likely to quit than they were three years ago. Combine these findings with a Towers Perrin study of nearly 90,000 employees worldwide which reveals nearly 40% of employees are disenchanted or disengaged.

Trust, is by far the most basic of human values. In fact it's critical to every type of relationship we have.

It goes without saying that many have lost trust in the value systems of corporate America as they are a haunting reminder of the broken promises and scandals that left thousands of people in a state of shock and despair. The very foundation of trust between organizations, employees and customers; wall street and main street, continues to deteriorate. Inevitably, it will take a great deal of time to restore confidence among an emotionally and economically damaged society.

For this very reason, real values must make their way back into the mindset of leaders. Only this time, company leaders must understand that the rules and perception around them have changed forever.

The impact and the return to personal values.

Individuals are re-prioritizing their personal values as a means to reconnect with what matters most to them. At the same time they are connecting with like-minded individuals and expanding their networks at warp speed. They're also more willing and able to voice their opinions within the safety of the crowds and this, in and of itself, is having a significant impact on businesses of all shapes and sizes not to mention the brands they depend on for survival.

Waiting in line for my Friday night latte, I overheard a guy jokingly say to his friend, "Look out. You know what they say about curiosity and the cat!".  Without knowing the full context of the conversation, I certainly have no clue as to the why he gave the warning though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. Then it hit me that we have been passing this saying down for generations as a subconscious reminder that we should avoid certain risks or meet our demise.  Then I thought, wow, all because a cat climbed too high into a chimney, fell and eventually died from its injuries. Seriously, when I got home, I looked it up to be sure. It must have been a slow news day on March 4, 1916 because that's when The Washington Post published the story-and it stuck.

Maybe the reason it took is because as humans, we're hardwired to be curious. Yet we've also got defense systems we count on to raise red flags & pull us back to safety if we're too close to uncertainty.  Like a yin-yang in our DNA. On one side we're driven to explore and keep learning and on the other, anxieties and fear of the unknown hold us back.

The reason I bring this up is because we've been doing a lot of listening to both mainstream and of course, the Twitter stream around the topic of why companies must Create Cultures of Innovation. There have been countless blog posts, news stories and CEO's jumping up to the soapbox on this one. Obviously we couldn't be happier about the buzz yet, we believe organizations need to keep in mind that they're asking employees to unleash their creativity right smack dab in the middle of the most uncertain, anxiety driven economies of all time.

Companies throughout the U.S. continue to lay off. Employees are still taking pay cuts and are now more overworked and underpaid than ever. Even while the economy shows slight signs of improvement, employers aren't exactly hiring at the rates required to refill positions that in some cases have just been wiped out.

So it's no surprise that marketing departments are beginning to shore up a lot of cash segmenting, analyzing and tracking trends around our behaviors to get better at engaging us, motivating us and ultimately getting us to buy more stuff.

Technology is absolutely advancing the brand managers' ability to understand exactly who we are, what our likes and dislikes are, what we want versus what we need, how we like/want to be communicated with and even where we are at this very moment - all to attract, recruit and retain us as long-term customers.

We're certainly seeing this unfold with social media. A weekly survey distributed earlier this year by the CMOClub, profiled also in BusinessWeek, shows that in 2010, CMO's are starting to put their money where the mouths are. They are beginning to allocate time, resources and precious branding dollars to win our affection.

It's become crystal clear that Marketing has finally caught on.

Sure they'll have their legal issues to deal with but the best will overcome this and many will make a great attempt at getting out of the gate. Some will do well, others will fail. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on 2010 to see what shakes out.

In the meantime, even as a firm believer in the customer first approach, there's one thing that continues to eat away at me:

Each and every day these same companies, spending billions on their external market, overlook the countless touch points with those who are just as critical as their customers: their employees.

You know, the people that wake up every day to "live the brand" spending more time with it than their own families. Then, after the day is done they talk about the experiences of their day: what was good, what sucked about it, whether or not they're on "the list".