“Jack? . . . No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations . . . I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity any woman who is married to a man called John. She would probably never be allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment’s solitude. The only really safe name is Ernest.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
In my endeavour to find out whether the Bible can be used as management handbook, I recently came across a mug at the back of my cupboard which I took from the company I worked for many many years ago. I remember they changed their logos and corporate identity constantly; recently even their name from Proudfoot Consulting to Alexander Proudfoot. It was a very turbulent time back then and probably still is.
My mind wandered off to one of my last entries on here, the SALT one, where I wrote about Abram who later became Abraham and Sarai, his sister and wife, the future Sarah. They did so after they have received the call from God; a new direction meant a new start with a new name, whether it concerns consulting companies or Old Testament saints.
Let me look at other religious figures that have undertaken a name change: The most prominent one is St Paul, who changed from Saul after his epiphany on the way to Damaskus. We are all glad he did that, as St Saul would have been just too awful to pronounce. Unlike with modern corporate name changes, this one was probably more coincidental. Well, having said that, since this name change came by divine intervention, I guess, no, I'm sure, God thought about "pronounceability" of one of his most important apostle's names. It was a major godly rebranding exercise that worked. Corporate Identity by divine intervention, I like that!
And then there are other religious leaders like the popes who usually change their names when taking up their office. The most interesting one is our current pope. He named himself after St Francis of Assisi who dedicated his life to God by living an impoverished and modest life. Similarly, Pope Francis refused to move into the papal palace and got rid of many other of those privileges his position would offer. Of course by doing so, he sets a precedence for his papal successors. I bet, the future world will see many popes bearing his name, just to jump on his bandwagon of papal modesty and humility. The power of names!
There is a troublesome English name; and that's Charles. It is not so troublesome for most men bearing that name, but for the current Prince of Wales it most certainly is, or at least seems to be. He wants to turn into yet another George when succeeding to the throne. There have been 2 Charleses on the English throne - the first one was beheaded in 1649 and the second one was once described by the 2nd Earl of Rochester as
Alright, I see the point why Prince Charles doesn't think too highly of his name as his "job title" of being King Charles III. But being yet another George? Seriously?
Other than name changes, there are name additions people gave themselves, probably a pre-stage to having or bearing a title. Back in the times of early Christianity, when the religion was still illegal in Rome, Christians called themselves "com pane", which means "with bread" and classifies us Christians as the ones who consume bread, like Christ and his disciples did at the Last Supper in the Upper Room in Jerusalem shortly before his death on the cross. One doesn't have to study etymology in order to see that "com pane" is the predecessor of our "companion".
Elizabeth I called herself "The Virgin Queen" after her very own epiphany moment and many others did similar things. Name changes work. And the Bible was the first book ever to demonstrate this to us. In this case I would say that very book of books can give us all a lecture in marketing, rebranding and changing any corporate identity. Well done!
I started my blog entry with Oscar Wilde's Importance of being Earnest and would want to finish it with another quote from that book:
“I'll bet you anything you like that half an hour after they have met, they will be calling each other sister. Women only do that when they have called each other a lot of other things first.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
In my endeavour to find out whether the Bible can be used as management handbook, I recently came across a mug at the back of my cupboard which I took from the company I worked for many many years ago. I remember they changed their logos and corporate identity constantly; recently even their name from Proudfoot Consulting to Alexander Proudfoot. It was a very turbulent time back then and probably still is.
My mind wandered off to one of my last entries on here, the SALT one, where I wrote about Abram who later became Abraham and Sarai, his sister and wife, the future Sarah. They did so after they have received the call from God; a new direction meant a new start with a new name, whether it concerns consulting companies or Old Testament saints.
Let me look at other religious figures that have undertaken a name change: The most prominent one is St Paul, who changed from Saul after his epiphany on the way to Damaskus. We are all glad he did that, as St Saul would have been just too awful to pronounce. Unlike with modern corporate name changes, this one was probably more coincidental. Well, having said that, since this name change came by divine intervention, I guess, no, I'm sure, God thought about "pronounceability" of one of his most important apostle's names. It was a major godly rebranding exercise that worked. Corporate Identity by divine intervention, I like that!
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| El Greco's version of St Paul |
There is a troublesome English name; and that's Charles. It is not so troublesome for most men bearing that name, but for the current Prince of Wales it most certainly is, or at least seems to be. He wants to turn into yet another George when succeeding to the throne. There have been 2 Charleses on the English throne - the first one was beheaded in 1649 and the second one was once described by the 2nd Earl of Rochester as
"Restless he rolls from whore to whore
A merry monarch, scandalous and poor."
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| Rupert Everett as Charles I. Irresistible, even seconds before his film death. |
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| "from whore to whore" |
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| King Charles III? |
Other than name changes, there are name additions people gave themselves, probably a pre-stage to having or bearing a title. Back in the times of early Christianity, when the religion was still illegal in Rome, Christians called themselves "com pane", which means "with bread" and classifies us Christians as the ones who consume bread, like Christ and his disciples did at the Last Supper in the Upper Room in Jerusalem shortly before his death on the cross. One doesn't have to study etymology in order to see that "com pane" is the predecessor of our "companion".
Elizabeth I called herself "The Virgin Queen" after her very own epiphany moment and many others did similar things. Name changes work. And the Bible was the first book ever to demonstrate this to us. In this case I would say that very book of books can give us all a lecture in marketing, rebranding and changing any corporate identity. Well done!
I started my blog entry with Oscar Wilde's Importance of being Earnest and would want to finish it with another quote from that book:
“I'll bet you anything you like that half an hour after they have met, they will be calling each other sister. Women only do that when they have called each other a lot of other things first.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
Interesting and refreshing as always! And instructive, too. I hope you will keep on posting as your contents and style are so different from most blogs!
ReplyDeleteStarting my day with a good laugh and some new ideas! Cheers, Roland
Thanks for your comment. You are making me blush! ;-)
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