Comments

Thanks to RTodd for this suggestion. It's great!

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 15, 2008 10:03 PM

And thanks to TP for the immediate execution! Ed

Posted by Ed Di Gangi at January 16, 2008 9:06 AM

Very smart and creative idea to use new technology to have some fun.

Posted by Dan Schawbel at January 16, 2008 9:53 AM

Fun? Yes! But “excellent” stories (those that are multi-dimensional and multi-functional as Tom Peters on Implementation, X=XFX) have great impact; they are meant to as JFK said to “change the world.” (Are we too blasé today? We seem to have little passion for anything. I so appreciate Tom’s well-executed rants!) Great storytelling in business, literature and politics gets us to “march,” to execute, to create new solutions; Great storytelling gets us to NOT focus on the storyteller (though they are greatly honored---thanks Tom!) but on the mission at hand. This was the difference between Cicero’s speech and Demosthenes’ speech where the people proclaimed, “let us march.”

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 16, 2008 11:42 AM

Well said Judith - I love story telling so much I had one chapter in my first book called ‘The Power of Story Telling’ ... I loved writing that so much I wrote a whole book of stories called 'I Wanna Tell You a Story’ – this is a collection of 19 stories about management and leadership throughout my career.

My feeling is storytelling is one of the most under-used and undervalued tools that managers have in their box of tricks..... And you don’t need to go to business school for three years to learn how to tell stories (see below) ... we just need to listen to our Grandparents.

Crazy suggestion? - Wouldn’t it be great to see an MST? …. ‘Masters in Story Telling’

Question: Will a Business School somewhere in the world introduce that qualification in the near future?

Answer - Please tick one of the multi choice answers;

No

or

No

I’ll just carry on dreaming …… Pass me my pills Nurse :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at January 16, 2008 12:42 PM

A highly successful manager (in both the public and private sector,) passed me to a coach when I asked for advice. The coach said that my inclination to tell stories was off-putting to others.

Despite that, I believe stories are a great way to communicate!!

Posted by s g at January 16, 2008 2:00 PM

I talk about stories a lot, especially when planning presentations, but I'm not sure whether my telling of them is as powerful as it could be. I think the story idea works when it is kept to the topic and isn't metaphor heavy.

Am I on the right track here? What do people mean when they talk about stories?

Posted by Nathan Jones at January 16, 2008 2:16 PM

Hi Nathan
Check out The Story Factor by Annette Simmons. It was recommended by Andrea Learned in her Cool Friend interview.

Posted by Shelley Dolley at January 16, 2008 2:22 PM

SG—storytelling is not necessarily telling a story but weaving a plot. I would consider Tom on Implementation a story with a coherent theme. Stories do not need to be personal in nature. Many personal stories can be off-putting, as many promote self and not the greater idea, the purpose for the story. A little honesty and humility may distinguish between the storyteller and the story—no inference applied here. Listeners can be savvy folks. Have you ever winced listening to a speaker?

Trevor--I look forward to reading your book on storytelling. It is so vitally important to how we create, comprehend, and retain. Storytelling is communication; it is inviting, therefore, selling. Of course, many of the best stories are not written down, but instead passed on through generations through word of mouth. These stories are re-created throughout the years, making, in essence, the storyteller and listener co-creators. The two become interwoven.

It would be great for business schools to embrace the importance of storytelling. But I also wonder if certain skills are attained through various means, not necessarily in a classroom setting. Do our homes, religious institutions and neigbhorhoods foster community? Society has so devalued the importance of community. Most new subdivisions in America are without sidewalks. How do you even get to your neighbor’s house without cutting across their grass? Not very inviting, eh?

In addition to the introduction of storytelling to business schools, it might also be important to create a culture of listening in work environments--the sort of listening that values others. And, of course, these others need to be seeking that path of excellence, though perhaps through different means and functions.

When we really listen to others, even those who do not hold the same perspectives, stories evolve. (Tom's reading of Jacked Up is a great example. This Blog too!) Can a culture of storytelling be created in a work environment through active listening? How then can active listening be disseminated? Can it begin purposefully in small groups seeking to create solutions to a particular problem that will have impact on the larger culture? Stories will evolve, perhaps with significance upon the larger culture.

I “listened” to Nicky Gumbel as Trevor suggested on this Blog or some other and find him engaging.

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 16, 2008 2:35 PM

Trevor,
I took your little quiz above and ticked the "or" answer. I felt the "No" was too limiting. In my mind, there is lots of room for someone (or some thing) to create a truly business focused MST, but I'm not sure it is going to come initially from a traditional business school program.

When I was in business school we had the usual courses in business writing (boring drivel that we so often see in corporate memos, annual reports and executive presentations), but we also had a couple of professors who were much more interested in our ability to talk about business in "plain English." Unfortunately, most of the rest of the faculty did not embrace this philosophy.

Since then (oh these many years) I have constantly tried to write things in as plain and simple a language as I can. What I run into, though, are institutional barriers and beliefs of people who somehow feel that if you do not use the latest jargon, buzz words and company specific terms that what you write has no merit. Forget about trying to truly tell a story. (If you want to see this in action, look at most company's vision and mission statements and then ask anyone -senior executives included - to tell you the story of why the statements matter. Better yet, ask ten people in that company and see if you get the same story twice.)

Maybe the the issue is not only to teach story telling, but also as Judith suggests, "active listening" in business schools. Somehow, between the time we first learn to read and the time we get into the corporate world we have lost our ability to understand the universal impact of stories. Business writing has become purely about facts and figures and anything that might slightly resemble prose is frowned upon as not giving the customer the "content" they are looking for.

Posted by Andrew Hayden at January 16, 2008 3:54 PM

Judith – send me an e mail (trevor.simplicty@gmail.com) and I will send you a copy of the book. I absolutely agree with you about not writing down the story – word of mouth is far more effective for the vast majority of the world’s population after all. We owe much to science for our development over the centuries but I suggest we owe much more to story telling. Glad you liked hearing Nicky Gumbel – we are going to see him talk again this coming Sunday in London – he is simply inspiring.

Andrew – Maybe you and I should develop the first MST in the world – I agree it will not emerge from a traditional business school - we can share the profits :-)

I like the sound of your two professors who advocate simplicity – there is hope! Why do we continue to train bright young people to write reports using undertaker language that no one wants to read?

Needless to say I agree with your every word about simplifying the language – have you see my simplicity test for organisations on report writing? – happy to send it if you want.

And finally ….Who in their right mind would ever suggest that customers want to see facts and figures and don’t want stories? …Must have been an academic rather than a front liner who really knows what customers want.

Posted by Trevor Gay at January 16, 2008 6:39 PM

Trevor-Wow! Thanks! I'll shoot you an email. I'm not sure if I'm advocating the oral tradition only. I do, however, like the idea of the storyteller and listener co-creating a product in the act, in the process (maybe it's the process that needs some thought?) or co-creating the desired work environment. In this sense, how can a storytelling culture be developed in work environments? How can consultants take this concept to a client and re-create an environment that produces X=XFC-cross-funtional co-operation?

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 16, 2008 8:26 PM

Thanks Judith – I’ve always struggled to understand why co-operation is such a problem. I am realist and I know that it is serious problem in many organisations. I think it’s actually about looking in the mirror as individuals and asking ourselves some basic questions such as:

*WHY would I NOT want to co-operate across functions?
*What added value is there for the organisation through non-cooperation between departments?
*What does non-cooperation tell our customers about us?
*Where is the leadership to knock heads together?

how to get free viagra As regards your question:

‘how can a storytelling culture be developed in work environments?’

As a starter … leaders telling stories … if leaders are not comfortable telling stories (because some people struggle with it) then leaders should display explicitly active listening to good storytellers on the front line who deal with customers direct every day.

Posted by Trevor Gay at January 17, 2008 3:45 AM

Thanks Trevor.This is good stuff. I also wonder if there are other ways of storytelling. Visual? For me, Tom Peters on Implementation is a well- told story with imagery (color, fonts) and text (prose, quotes, and axioms.) I guess I'm paying homage to a new cross-functional medium for training that brings about great systemic (connected things- similiar and dissimiliar- working together) change.

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 17, 2008 9:23 AM

Interesting exchange Judith – thanks. Like most people on this Blog I’ve probably seen thousands of PowerPoint slides at conferences over the years … I don't remember one slide. I do remember stories, well told, by a good presenter – like Tom Peters for example. I could be way off mark but for me a good story, well told, will always beat a sexy PowerPoint presentation. Fifteen months ago I had the immense pleasure of listening (that’s the key word) to Professor Charles Handy speaking in Birmingham, England. He used no PowerPoint slides and spent most of his 90 minutes strolling around the stage telling the spellbound audience of 500 executives, a series of stories. It’s the person and the story, not the whistles and flutes and high tech that engages me. Sorry if that upsets the techie’s but it’s my opinion. I love the technology – and I use PowerPoint of course - but it’s the cart before the horse if the speaker does not engage the audience. Gimmicks won’t turn a poor presentation into a good one.

Posted by Trevor Gay at January 17, 2008 9:55 AM

Beautiful indeed. Without engaging the soul (this word may be forbidden in business jargon), there is no hook --no real communication. I have not heard Tom Peters live, but what I have read is very engaging, provoking execution. I can only imagine what a live presentation would be like. Thanks, Trevor. Your wisdom shines through.

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