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©Anecdote Pty Ltd
ANECDOTE WHITEPAPER
INTRODUCTION
Just the other day my business partner,Mark Schenk, surprised himself and in theprocess learned a valuable lesson. Mark haddeveloped a strong belief that people don’tleave companies, they leave bad managers.Even in a poorly run company, if theemployee has an excellent manager, theyare likely to stay. Mark was expounding thispoint of view at a leadership developmentprogram that he was facilitating, when oneof the participants said, “I don’t buy it.”This challenge made Mark bristle inside.He knew the speaker was wrong and wasready to argue with him, but rather thanlose his cool, Mark said, “Can you give mean example of what you mean?”
“Sure,” he said. “I was working at [largeutility company] and it was one of the worstcompanies I’ve worked for—ruled by fear,with too many incompetent executives whowere unclear about where the companywas headed. And at the same time I hadthe very best manager anyone could hopefor. She did her best to shield us from allthe crap that was going on and also gaveme plenty of scope to do my job in theway I knew it needed to be done. She hadbeen with this company for 12 years andwas doing everything she could to makea change, but to no avail. In the end I leftthe company to seek out a more productiveworking environment.”
Immediately Mark realised he had torethink his point of view. His mind waschanged by a simple story describingsomeone’s real-life experience.Successful leaders are game changers:they can help people change the minds,feelings and ultimately their actions in waysthat convey the meaning and significanceof what needs to be done. So, by thisdefinition, anyone in an organisation canbe a leader. The man in Mark’s workshopis one. It’s about getting things done withthe support and help of your colleagues.But changing people’s minds and actionstakes more than persuasive argument.In fact argument alone can often merelyresult in people digging in their heels.Changing minds and actions also involvesempathy, listening, questioning and,in particular, stories. Harvard Professorand author of
Changing Minds
, HowardGardner, puts it this way: “The principalvehicle of leadership is the story: the leaderaffects individual behavior, thought, andfeelings through the stories that he andshe tells.”
[1]
 
WAYS LEADERS USE STORIESAND WHY THEY ARE EFFECTIVE
Leaders can tell stories to paint a vision orstrategic direction, share a lesson, conveyvalues or illustrate desired behaviours.Stories also have an ability to forge deeperconnections between people, so inspiringthem to focus their attention and take action.As Terrence Gargiulo said, “The shortestdistance between two people is a story.”
[2]
 Stories work for leaders as a successfulcommunication and engagement techniquefor several reasons.
Firstly, stories convey emotion effectively
,and emotion united with a strong idea ispersuasive. We remember what we feel.And our emotions inspire us to take action.
Why some leaders inspire actionwhile others are mostly forgettable
THE VITAL ROLE OF BUSINESS STORYTELLING
By Shawn Callahan
 
THE VITAL ROLE OF BUSINESS STORYTELLING
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©Anecdote Pty Ltd
www.anecdote.com
Secondly, stories are concrete
and havethe ability to transport us imaginatively toa place where we can visualise the eventsbeing recounted.
Thirdly, stories are memorable
: we are upto 22 times more likely to remember a storythan a set of disconnected facts (such aspresentation dot-points).
[3]
 
Lastly, stories represent a pull strategy
,unlike the push strategy used when weargue in a more traditional way. Storiesengage the listener, pulling them into thestory to participate in the conversation,rather than telling them what to think.
[4]
 
WHAT IS A STORY ANYWAY?
At this point you might be thinking, “Sowhat do you really mean by a
 story 
?” Inbusiness a story is simply the recountingof an event that happened to you or tosomeone you know, or even a story fromanother source such as a movie or a book.An effective story is surprising, emotionalbut most importantly it must be credible.For example, you might be the leader of abusiness unit facing a terrific opportunityto launch a new major product but you’reunable to raise enough capital to fund theventure into profitability. To get your sponsorson board, you could recount this storyabout Ted Turner and the launch of CNN.
[5]
 When Ted Turner was planning tolaunch CNN in 1979, he knew he didn’thave enough funds to see it through toprofitability, but at the same time heknew he had to move quickly, althoughno-one was going to lend him the moneybecause of his inexperience in deliveringTV news. So he drew on his knowledgeof military history and likened the CNNlaunch strategy to Erwin Rommel’s desertcampaign during World War II. On severaloccasions, the German general hadlaunched an attack despite having too littlefuel to conduct an entire offensive: heintended to strike when the British weren’texpecting it, overrun their lines, and thencapture their fuel dumps in order to refuelhis Panzers and continue the offensive.Turner’s vision for financing CNN wassimilar: if they had enough cash to get onthe air and could somehow survive theirfirst year of broadcasting, people wouldsee it was a viable and valuable service.Once the concept was proven, he wouldhave easier access to capital. Even in theworst case, Turner figured that if he ran outof money after launching the channel andgetting some distribution, he would havecreated a valuable asset that he could sellto a competitor.Our stories, collectively and individually,have a profound effect on what we believeis possible. Therefore the challenge forleaders is both to understand the storiesaffecting individuals and groups andto know how to define and tell (ideallythrough wide participation) new storiesthat set the direction for the company.But that’s not all. The vital element in thischallenge is to help people hear, rememberand believe where the company is headedand then to inspire people to act in linewith that belief.Aligning everyone’s actions to thecompany’s strategy is equivalent tofinding the corporate Shangri-la. Yet itcan be done. Take IBM’s turnaround, forexample. Lou Gerstner arrived as the newCEO in 1993 at a time when IBM was onthe endangered species list. Gerstnerhad been CEO at Nabisco and AmericanExpress, and before that he was a directorof McKinsey Consulting. He’d seenhundreds of strategies and knew that mostare the same—it’s extremely difficult tohave a unique strategy. What makes thedifference, however, is the execution of thestrategy. Gerstner set about turning aroundIBM by telling new stories about theirdirection, such as the new emphasis onservices and the growth that would comefrom software. And of course he didn’t dothis alone. He worked hard to develop astrong team who understood the storiesand could act in ways that created newones which reinforced the strategy.
[6]
 
Stories engage the listener,pulling them into thestory to participate in theconversation, rather thantelling them what to think.Our stories, collectively and individually, have aprofound effect on whatwe believe is possible.
 
THE VITAL ROLE OF BUSINESS STORYTELLING
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©Anecdote Pty Ltd
www.anecdote.com
FINDING YOUR OWN STORIES
The first step to become a storytellingleader is to develop an awareness of thestories that swirl around you every day.Whenever a set of events strikes you asremarkable, take notice of what happenedand ask yourself, “What does that set ofevents say about the behaviours I wantto instil or dispel in my group?” Say, forexample, you are a leader at FedEx, thecompany that promises to deliver yourpackage “absolutely, positively” overnight,and you hear the following:
“In St Vincent, a tractor trailer accidentblocked the main road going into theairport. Together, a FedEx driver andramp agent tried every possible alternateroute to the airport but were stymied bytraffic jams. They eventually struck out onfoot, shuttling every package the last mileto the airport for an on-time departure.”
[7]
 This story is packed with the behavioursyou want everyone in your company toexhibit. So instead of merely pleadingfor people to be persistent, innovative,collaborative, tell this story as an exampleof what can be done.The second step is to move your style ofspeaking away from being predominantlyrational and argument-based to being agood mixture of stories and argument. Buthere’s the secret. We humans are afflictedby what psychologists call the confirmationbias, which results in us digging in ourheels whenever someone tries to convinceus to change our minds with sophisticatedrationale. In fact we often come awayfrom these exchanges doubly convinced ofour own opinions. Think about how mostpresentations normally flow: we outlineour argument, and then follow on withexamples, having already unwittinglyactivated that pesky confirmation bias.We can avoid triggering this bias bystarting our presentations with examplesinstead. Specifically, it’s beneficial tostart with a negative story to grab theirattention. We are hardwired to noticenegative stories, but negativity rarelychanges our minds. So we follow thatwith a positive story of what’s possible.These two examples give the listener theopportunity to gain a new perspective andshift their position, without telling themwhat to think. At this point, a rationalargument can now be effective.Finally, where possible, ask for feedbackabout what people infer about you fromyour stories. Each time you recount anexperience you’re conveying your values,whether you like it or not. Sometimes it’shard for you to detect what’s really beingconveyed. You might think your storyconveys the importance of persistence andattention to detail, but your listeners couldinfer you’re inflexible and a nitpicker. Youneed trusted advisers to give you this frankfeedback.Good leaders are good storytellers. Forthe lucky few it is a skill that has stayedwith them despite organisational culturesfavouring rational argument. Everyoneis inherently a storyteller, though someget it beaten out of them. Consequently,storytelling is not the exclusive domain of anaturally gifted few. Rather, it is a skill thatevery leader can, and should, re-discoverand develop.
Each time you recount anexperience you’re conveying your values, whether youlike it or not.The first step to becomea storytelling leader isto develop an awarenessof the stories that swirlaround you every day.
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ataligk

i agree to a point, every situation are not the same, as in every day is different.

reply05 / 18 / 2009
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