Just Story It

The author David Lee does a great job here explaining not only why stories should be used during employee orientation trainings, but which stories will lead to participants having a successful experience.

And begin to build pride in the company they have just joined, and increase their personal integrity.

Orienting new employees to the company is one of the place where all great corporate storytelling begins -- yet is mostly underutilized or ignored.

So Lee gives us both a reminder to not forget this area for applying business storytelling, and tips for which stories to tell.

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it

Love this post about consciously choosing which stories to tell that is slanted toward organizations.

This article comes from Britain, with British references. And some of the examples given are British companies. Hooray! We need more international examples. 

Sustainable storytelling for the author here, Ed Gillespie, is all about telling stories that sustain us. 

When I use the term 'sustainable storytelling' I mean paying attention to all that is required (i.e. structures and processes) within a business to keep storytelling alive as a sustainable activity over time.

Semantics aside, I really like what Gillespie has to say:

"...stories that empower us as heroes and capture our imaginations inspire and galvanise us into action more effectively than psychologically passive-aggressive narratives that try to guilt or brow-beat us into change."

So true, so true. Leaders and marketers -- take a lesson here.

Enjoy digging into all the links in this article and the examples of sustainable storytelling via Great Britain.

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it

Well here's a thoughtful piece as we wind up 2012 that gets me thinking about the role of storytelling in business.  

This article is all about the ongoing shifts occuring in business and I think story dynamics and narrative work are both shaping/influencing these shifts, as well as being a vehicle for finding meaning. I am not sure if the popularity of biz storytelling is the cause, the effect, or a combo of both -- but it is fascinating to think about.

What I love about this article by Alex Pattakos and Elaine Dundon is they coin a new word -- anthrocapitalism -- and talk about how this is more than just 'corporate social responsibility'. And they educate us about the origins of the word 'philanthropy' and its role in rethinking capitalism. They go on to talk about how our economy is shifting away from transaction to engagement and what this really means.

Great food for thought. They also give examples of companies who are embodying 'anthroeconomics', creating meaningful work, promoting a deeper purpose, and increasing their profits at the same time.

As the authors say at the end: "The shift towards anthrocapitalism represents a new role for leaders and a new role for organizations. It’s time to ask what you as a leader and inspirational role model can do to focus on both doing well and doing good, making the world a better place."

So what is the role of storytelling here and its meaning-making abilities? Is storytelling the impetus, the vehicle, or both? Or are there better questions to ask? What do you think? Hmmmmm....... 

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling atwww.scoop.it/t/just-story-it

Now here is a thought-provoking piece on how the language we use to describe our story activities can either constrain us or set us free.

I swear there are days when I experience being in a story war just like Jonah Sachs (Winning the Story Wars) says -- particularly when it comes to politics.

But that metaphor need not apply all the time and this article by Douglas Van Praet is a good counterbalance.

For Van Praet, using the language of war closes down our creativity. Makes sense. In response he has developed a 7-step process on how to inspire change that directly relates to organizational story work. And marketing. And branding. And leadership.

So go read the article and let your creativity flourish!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

Here author and story practitioner David Lee tackles how to connect employees and customers around storytelling to build engagement, enhance customer service, and build both branding and corporate culture efforts.

Like David's previous article on employee orientation and storytelling, articles about the specifics (not platitudes) of how to link customers and employee together so stories are generated are few and far between.

There are both good insights and good tips here. Particularly about addressing the common 'line of sight' problem. Enjoy!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it

Bill Harley is one of my storytelling heros. A professional storyteller, Bill is extremely eloquent and inspiring as he talks about the power of  telling a story live, in person.

Even my software engineering husband Tim stopped his work to listen to Bill's video as I was reviewing it.

So what has this got to do with business? It's simple:

1. Everytime Bill says "teacher" substitute "leader."
2. Everytime Bill talks about telling stories to audiences of students, think about your last presentation and the folks who remained silent and looking like they could care less.
3. Everytime Bill talks about in-person storytelling think about what you are doing technology wise with your biz stories.

Bill explains to us what is really going on.

I can't tell you how many times when I work with leaders, they just want to get a story down so they can video tape it.  Wrong move!!! And again, Bill tells us why. Technology has a place, and Bill helps us keep it all in perspective.

Thank you Bill for this terrific 13 minutes! I'm going to use this in my MBA classes and my work with leaders. Woo hoo!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it