Welcome to the Story Rules Content Hub – the second best resource to learn all about storytelling techniques for work (after ‘Story Rules‘, my comprehensive book on the topic!).
In this Hub, Here’s where you get rich storytelling examples, analyses, viewpoints, interview nuggets, visuals, quotes, and much, much more. To find out how you can make the most of this resource, please watch this 12-minute video.
You can explore this (for now free!) resource in four ways:
It was early-2017. I had just started out as a Storytelling trainer and was reaching out to known folks for potential client references. One early reference I got was through my Dad. A close friend (and ex-colleague) of his ran a Surgical Training Institute, where they trained surgeons on the latest equipment, that was owned by a leading multinational company. My dad’s friend – a friendly, avuncular gentleman called Dr. G – asked me to come over to his office and showcase my work. This was just my second or third BD call and I was excited! Just before this, …
Say you have some non-flattering performance to communicate. The division you lead has had a terrible quarter and it’s up to you to present the bad news with the Executive Leadership team. Things could get ugly. As a default approach, most of us would tend to: Be defensive Sugarcoat the bad news Offer reasons why the performance isn’t as bad as it looks Pass the buck to another team, division etc. But perhaps we can learn from a fascinating story that played out in the US around 40 years ago. A horror story that unfolded in the fall of ‘82 …
It’s time for my content recommendations for Mar-21: a book, a podcast, articles and a video. Let’s get started 1. Book a. ‘Big Billion Startup: The Untold Flipkart Story’ by Mihir Dalal In late 2008, A and B ran into each other in Koramangala, Bangalore. A: ‘What are you up to?’ B: ‘Startup …’ A: ‘What kind of startup?’ B: ‘We sell books.’ A: ‘Abbe, who sells books? Where is your salary coming from?’ B: ‘How will we get a salary? We’re looking for funding.’ A: ‘Funding kaun dega be?’ (Who will give you funding, man?) A was Anil Kumar …
Till 2003, a weekly ritual would play out in the Amazon head office. Every Tuesday their S-Team (the seniormost leadership group) would meet for four hours to discuss progress on key goals. The team would select two to four S-Team goals and do a deep dive into their progress using PowerPoint presentations by the relevant team. Four hours being spent by a dozen-odd folks – that’s expensive leadership time. And it was not being spent well. “Too often, we found the presentations did not serve the purpose for which they were intended. The format often made it difficult to evaluate …
The stories you tell at work need to be aligned at three levels: What happens in case of misalignment? Let’s explore through three fictional stories: 1: Dan leads a business division in a large company. His division outperforms the others and he leads from the front. However, he can be abrasive and disrespectful to employees and peers. If someone commits even a genuine mistake, they are due for a massive tongue-lashing from him. And yet, recently during the company’s 50-year celebration, when Dan was asked to speak about the company’s values, he waxed eloquent about them. Especially about one value: …
This one is a short, slightly self-indulgent one on old Hindi music. 🙂 (It’s also got a cool gift!) I grew up listening to music from the late-80s and early 90s. We had a small radio cum cassette-player at home and my music-loving uncle would be the one to get all the latest movie releases. The reigning kings then were Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Saudagar, Hum, Tezaab, Ram Lakhan – they were the guys directors went to for the blockbuster, big-budget movies. But they were on their way out. A new crop of youngsters was vying for the crown. Anand Milind, Nadeem-Shravan, Jatin-Lalit. …
Hi folks, It’s time for my content recommendations for Feb-21 – a book, a podcast, articles and videos. Let’s get started 1. Book a. ‘The Body: A Guide for Occupants’ by Bill Bryson I used to abhor Chemistry in school – especially organic chemistry. In fact, it was one of the reasons why I preferred taking Commerce. And then many moons later, I read this passage in a book: “What sets the carbon atom apart is that it is shamelessly promiscuous. It is the party animalof the atomic world, latching on to many other atoms (including itself) and holding tight, …
After 4 chaotic years of shockingly divisive politics, the US is seeing a memorable transition in power. No one knows what the next four years would bring. But this moment – a historic one – deserves its story to be told well. And the responsibility of telling that story falls, disproportionately, on the shoulders of one guy. Joseph Biden’s speechwriter. (who, incidentally, happens to be of Indian origin). In today’s post, I will share 5 storytelling techniques used in the US Presidential inauguration speech. (You can quickly read through the transcript, if you haven’t heard it). A tough ask Speeches given to …
Hi there, This would be my last post in the Swara chronicles. 🙂 (For those who came in late, here’s the first letter about how we got her home and then this one shared some more stories.) As of today, it’s been about 2 months since she’s come home (although, it seems that she has been part of our life for longer than that)! She has integrated beautifully well with the entire family. (Touchwood!) In this post, I’m sharing four incidents over these couple of months (and four lessons) which might be useful for anyone with young kids (or about to have one)! 1. …
