What we think...
Stories
Now here’s a man who’s gone through some change in his life. Gerald Ratner gave a great speech recently to an audience of HR and Communications practitioners, with a word or two of advice for Tony Hayward as he grapples with the negative publicity BP is currently suffering.
Everyone enjoys a sports metaphor. The Boat Race is a good one. Rowing is often used in corporate literature as a metaphor for teamwork – we’ve used it ourselves in corporate films. The visual evidence is compelling; watching 8 oars in perfect time is dynamic, aesthetically pleasing and an obvious demonstration of the importance of working together.
Burns Night, Monday 25th January, saw many of our team, clients and associates participate in a very special whisky-tasting event at Century Club in Shaftesbury Avenue. This wasn’t just about an excuse to indulge in the amber nectar, nor simply an opportunity for a social; it was a superb, seamless piece of storytelling, delivered by the Ambassador of one of the UK’s most celebrated single malt scotch whiskies – The Balvenie – Dr Andy Forrester.
I’ve just received a really nice set of postcards from Two Sides Paper featuring six illustrations by Holly Sims.
Congratulations to Bill Bryson, whose book A Short History of Nearly Everything has been declared the top selling non-fiction book of the decade.
I loved this clip from the TED series which features Sir Ken Robinson giving a highly entertaining yet profoundly moving talk on creativity, and the effect on creativity that our education system has.
A wonderful piece of storytelling
It was a complete coincidence, but I started to read Animal’s People just a few days before I heard on the news that this week is the 25th anniversary of the Union Carbide chemical factory disaster in Bhopal, India.
Thanks to Helen Love at Intuitive Brands for this little gem. As I pursue my quest to de-jargonise business communications, please feel free to have a go…
I was touched by this poem ‘Lost Generation’ by Jonathan Reed. It speaks of the negative, cynical viewpoint of a Gen Y individual, yet on reaching the end – and you have to follow the instructions – a message of positivity and a statement of intent shines through.
Thanks to John Simmons, a leading writer from the writers’ group 26, who has generously contributed to our blog, referring to an interesting example of successful storytelling this month relating to the announcement that Rio de Janeiro has won the right to stage the 2016 Olympic Games – a ‘gold medal’ of prizes for the best story…
Unless you’ve been living on planet Zog, you can’t have failed to notice the huge publicity Susan Boyle, contestant on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent, has attracted. Famed for her bushy eyebrows and the voice of an angel, the singer is tipped to win the competition. But what if she had been an investment banker, or a politician? Would Britain be behind her in quite the same way? What has touched the hearts of the nation? Is it her looks? Is it her voice? Or is it her personal story which has propelled her into stardom?
I’ve just finished reading a great book called ‘Ghost’ by Robert Harris. It’s an engrossing thriller about a Ghost Writer employed to write the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister responsible for waging a highly controversial war in the Middle East. (The book is fiction but you would be entirely forgiven for assuming the PM is based on Tony Blair).
I’m looking forward to a whistle-stop visit to Dubai next week, where I am speaking on Engaging Employees Through Storytelling at the 8th Middle East Conference & Expo.
Martin and I recently ran a couple of workshops at the CiB conference in Brighton, which focused on employee engagement. How I am beginning to resent that phrase ‘employee engagement’. I would much prefer to use the term ‘connectivity’. Perhaps that’s a subject for another day.
I’m in the middle of Allan Leighton’s book on Leadership, which is refreshingly honest and down to earth. It gives some fascinating insights from some of the captains of industry on the qualities of a good leader, illustrated through their own stories, drawn from their own experiences. Sir Philip Green, Surinder Arora, Stuart Rose, Jacqueline Gold, Richard Baker, Justin King, James Dyson….the list goes on.
Hmmmm, having a bit of writers’ block today, but I’ve found a great quote…
“Australian Aborigines say that the big stories—the stories worth telling and retelling, the ones in which you may find the meaning of your life—are forever stalking the right teller, sniffing and tracking like predators hunting their prey in the bush.”
Robert Moss, Dreamgates
Today is World Storytelling Day, which started in Sweden in 2003, and is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling. It is celebrated every year on the Spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, the first day of Autumn equinox in the southern. On World Storytelling Day, as many people as possible tell and listen to stories in as many languages and at as many places as possible, during the same day and night.
Each year, many of the individual storytelling events that take place around the globe are linked by a common theme. The 2008 theme is Dream.
We are always delighted to hear of great business stories, so today’s the day for sharing them!
Ernest Hemingway once claimed that his best story was written in six words: ‘For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.’ Perhaps this takes clarity and simplicity to the extreme, but what a way to spark the imagination! The Guardian challenged some contemporary authors to put forward their own six-word stories, which are worth a read.
Our own work focuses on making an organisation’s strategic story clear, simple and memorable. Imagine writing a strategic story in six words – anyone up for having a go?!!! I’d love to see what’s out there!
Interesting article from Simply Communicate on why storytelling should be promoted in business…
Great article from People Management this month on how Storytelling can be used to engage employees…
While we talk about the importance of connectivity and alignment, let’s not lose sight of the use and power of stories in our work. Our proposition is to create the energy and commitment required to execute strategic change, by connecting people to the strategic journey, and storytelling is an important part of our solution.
The recent situation at Northern Rock is a great example of the power of stories and storytelling. When the Bank of England announced that they were underwriting Northern Rock’s finances, both banks believed that this would reduce the risk for NR’s savers. But as many risk specialists will tell you, risk is as much a matter of perception than statistical reality.
Business has lost a great storyteller in Anita Roddick. The Body Shop was founded on a great story, and through its evolution has inspired millions through the stories behind its products, its support and campaigns against animal testing and for human rights, ethical trading, the environment and the arts.
Whilst traveling to a meeting on the underground recently I came across a wonderful example of storytelling…
I recall a great story when a little boy, sick from eating so much sugar beet, was taken by his mother in desperation to Mahatma Gandhi for guidance. She walked for days to get there, but was promptly sent home again by the great man and told to return in a month. The reason? Gandhi needed a month of sugar abstinence himself before telling the boy not to eat any more sugar.
Articles like this one from Australia’s The Age are valuable endorsements for our approach. We agree wholeheartedly that storytelling is a critical and valuable component of change.
I’d like to pass comment on an excellent book – The Bard & Co, published by Cyan.
We are all natural born storytellers, so what does telling stories in business settings really feel like?
Business is often very formal, very structured, which is why presentations and events are often built around rigid agendas, charts, and of course the ubiquitous PowerPoint. These tools accentuate that rigidity. It all makes great sense to the presenter, as it is his or her thinking translated into a structure. However, what may work for the presenter very often fails for the audience. They don’t REALLY listen, and are very rarely engaged on an emotional level even if they might be on a rational one.
Honestly, the stories these banks are coming up with. Are they doing it just to get some PR? First RBS insists that its employees bank with them, or else…. and then HSBC opens a branch in Canford Cliffs, (Dorset) which will only serve people with large wads of cash or substantial mortgages. If I was an HSBC employee in Canford Cliffs I’d be wondering in eager anticipation whether or not HSBC will follow RBS’s example and insist that I bank with my employer. Hmmm, now would that involve a hefty payrise? Maybe someone could suggest it as a new recruitment strategy….
I couldn’t help but cringe with embarrassment for the PR lady widely reported this week to have written in a press release on behalf of her supermarket client that the tradition of giving Easter eggs represented the birth of Christ. Oops. Takes me back to my own early PR days when, on behalf of my confectionery and retail clients, Easter would herald the churning out of yet another consumer press release littered with Easter traditions and chocolatey facts and figures in our vain attempts to catch the eye of a sympathetic journalist who could no doubt recite every Easter tradition under the sun with his/her eyes shut. Except getting our facts wrong (and we didn’t have the internet to help us then!) was a complete no-no. Heads would roll.