Culture is how we act, based on what we know about who we are. It isn’t about fitting in, it’s about understanding where we belong and why. Culture is a reminder that if we believe this, then we do or don’t do, that. It’s about saying this is who we are, then living up to that ideal. The leader’s job isn’t to tell us what to do. It’s to remind us who we are, so we can live that story.…
The difference between an $800 pair of Jimmy Choo sandals and those you can buy in Target for $20, isn’t only the quality of the materials. The prices we pay or charge are not just stories about value. They are stories about intentions and expectations—not just on the part of the customer, but also on the vendor. Customers make assumptions about what they’re buying based on what they pay, and sellers make assumptions about the kind of customers they will…
There’s a difference between a good story and a great story.A good story gets our attention. A great story changes us. Successful marketing campaigns and brand stories don’t convince us.They move us. A good leader gets our vote, and sometimes, our respect.A great leader gains our loyalty, and often, our love. We don’t have to be smart enough to manipulate people to act.We have to be sincere enough to move them to act. Image by Nevada Halbert <!– <rdf:Description rdf:about="https://thestoryoftelling.com/move-me/"…
There is an element of the mundane in every job. Consider the cabin crew who work on long-haul flights. The majority of their work is the repetitive, and strenuous task of wheeling trolleys full of food and drink down narrow aircraft aisles while repeating the same script, ‘chicken or beef’, to the three hundred passengers on board. Many people who choose these roles do so because they tell themselves a story about travel perks and seeing the world. It’s unlikely…
My mum, (who is in her late seventies) wanted to negotiate the renewal of her internet and phone contract. She dialled the customer support number listed on her bill and was placed on hold for 30 minutes. When she finally got through to a human being, she was transferred to the ‘loyalty department’. She waited on hold for a further 40 minutes before being connected to someone who could help her. The duration of the call was 1 hour 37…
The most common reason people give for contacting me to work with them is to raise brand awareness. Conventional wisdom dictates that if only more people knew about our products and services, or our ideas and our work, then we would be more successful. There’s only one problem with this worldview. More people knowing your product or service exists does not necessarily translate to more customers. More awareness doesn’t always make for a more viable business. And crucially, having the…
We mistakenly believe that changemaking and persuasion are only about getting someone’s attention by creating awareness of an issue or option, and then presenting people with rational arguments that will convince them to make choices we find desirable. But both the science and what we witness in the world around us prove otherwise. Research in the fields of psychology and behavioural sciences demonstrates that people make irrational decisions all the time. We are not driven only by reason and logic.…