Once upon a time… Once upon a time there was data… and it didn’t change the world. …and then there were stories… Karen Eber has spent her career helping leaders develop the culture of their organisations. She has learn that stories are the foundation blocks of building culture. Further Story Resources What is a … Read more
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell Someone has shared the documentary film “Finding Joe” on YouTube. It is a fantastic introduction to the life’s work of Joseph Campbell… who first articulated the common structure to mythological stories: The … Read more
What makes them so effective in moving audiences to commit to action? Why is there currently an explosion of story courses, story gurus, business storytellers? If you are reading this via email, you can watch the video on the blog: Why do Stories work in Persuasion? What is a Story? We think of stories as … Read more
Here’s June Cohen, Executive Producer at TED Media, sharing her answers to What makes a great TED Talk? What are the elements of a great TED Talk? and What makes a TED.com talk? She passionately outlines her experience of what types of talks will “go viral”. The Ingredients of a Great TED talk In this … Read more
A team can be heaven, a team can be hell: what makes the difference? This is a story I shared a few months ago during the ACE16 conference at Harvard. The story of Heaven and Hell There’s a man that all his life he’s had one singular worry. He wakes up every morning with this … Read more
On success, there is no one right answer: You cannot learn absolute rules from another person. You cannot take the life recipe of another person. You can learn from their stories, but only you will take what you take from a story. Seek out Stories Tribes, civilisations and families have found that life lessons are … Read more
“What if a writer is trying to tell a story and nothing much happens, nothing is resolved…” How to Tell A Boring Story Use: “and then this happened”. The essential ingredient of a boring (it is going nowhere) story is the “and then this happened”… “and then this happened”… “and then this happened” structure. There … Read more
Today I am sharing a post from John Zimmer… There is a small group of blogs that I always read. One is John Zimmer’s Manner of Speaking. This week he shared a video he found of Kevin Spacey (the actor) talking to an audience of online marketers. Kevin Spacey talks about 3 ingredients of compelling … Read more
Storytelling is the most important tradition humans possess. Stories teach us to love, to forgive others, to be just and to strive for better than we have. Stories share and reinforce our values as human beings living together in society. In business, stories are the building blocks of culture. Peter Drucker says “Only 3 things … Read more
I am currently reading “The Power of Story” by Jim Loehr. In the introduction he puts a name on the widespread condition of “presenteeism“: “Without investing high-quality, focussed energy in the activity before you, whatever it may be, setting time aside simply takes us from absenteeism to presenteeism – a condition increasingly plaguing American business, a … Read more