“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
~ William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

The story behind a name often adds to its meaning.  So it was with the name of this blog.  Some years ago, while working in a professional services firm, the graduates parodied me in their annual revue.  This revolved around my teaching/training/advising role and my surname – Bird.

They created skits involved the lyrics, “the bird is the word” from Surfin’ Bird. If you are not familiar with the song check out the original version  by the Trashmen (1963)!

In the quiet of the following January, I was playing with words to find a Twitter handle and recalling the words “the bird is the word” as I replayed the performance in my head.  And then – voilà – “word from a bird” lit up like a light bulb in my mind as my Twitter identity.  It works for me.  It carries fond memories of working with some great people whose sense of humour I appreciated.

Now it works for me more broadly, for this blog and my consulting business. The power of words, the way they shape our world and the impact they can have on others are key to developing people – and my consulting services.