Lead with a Story

Lead with a Story PDF

Author: Paul Smith

Publisher: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0814420303

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Storytelling has come of age in the business world. Today, many of the most successful companies use storytelling as a leadership tool. At Nike, all senior executives are designated "corporate storytellers." 3M banned bullet points years ago and replaced them with a process of writing "strategic narratives." Procter Gamble hired Hollywood directors to teach its executives storytelling techniques. Some forward-thinking business schools have even added storytelling courses to their management curriculum. The reason for this is simple: Stories have the ability to engage an audience the way logic and bullet points alone never could. Whether you are trying to communicate a vision, sell an idea, or inspire commitment, storytelling is a powerful business tool that can mean the difference between mediocre results and phenomenal success. Lead with a Story contains both ready-to-use stories and how-to guidance for readers looking to craft their own. Designed for a wide variety of business challenges, the book shows how narrative can help: * Define culture and values * Engender creativity and innovation * Foster collaboration and build relationships * Provide coaching and feedback * Lead change * And more Whether in a speech or a memo, communicated to one person or a thousand, storytelling is an essential skill for success. Complete with examples from companies like Kellogg's, Merrill-Lynch, Procter Gamble, National Car Rental, Wal-Mart, Pizza Hut, and more, this practical resource gives readers the guidance they need to deliver stories to stunning effect.

Maestro

Maestro PDF

Author: Roger Nierenberg

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2009-10-15

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 1101148896

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A conductor reveals powerful leadership lessons by explaining the inner workings of a symphony orchestra Roger Nierenberg, a veteran conductor, is the creator of The Music Paradigm, a unique program that invites people to sit INSIDE a professional symphony orchestra as the musicians and conductor solve problems together. He captures that experience in Maestro: A Surprising Story about Leading by Listening, a parable about a rising executive tough challenges. The narrator befriends an orchestra conductor and is inspired to think about leadership and communication in an entirely new way. For instance: • A maestro doesn't micromanage, but encourages others to develop their own solutions. There's a big difference between conducting and trying to play all the instruments. • A maestro helps people feel ownership of the whole piece, not just their individual parts. • A maestro leads by listening. When people sense genuine open-mindedness, they offer more of their talent. If not, they get defensive and hold back their best ideas. • Truly great leaders, whether conductors striving for perfect harmony or CEOs reaching for excellence, act with a vision of their organization at its best. For more information, visit: www.MaestroBook.com

Story Dash

Story Dash PDF

Author: David Hutchens

Publisher: BenBella Books

Published: 2021-08-24

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 1953295444

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Storytelling is humanity’s oldest way of connecting to others. But for businesses and managers, it can also be a powerful tool to help organizations grow and thrive. A leader’s role is to create engagement and belief so that people will act. And there’s no more powerful way to grab attention, be remembered, and engage action than by telling stories—about who you are, what you do, and why you do it. Today, “storytelling” is a hot topic in organizations… but most leaders still struggle to act upon it. How do we find and tell our stories quickly, in an environment of urgency where we can hardly pause to catch our breath? For more than a decade Hutchens has tested his method of rapid and strategic story development with innovation teams in Silicon Valley, across global Fortune 100 leadership teams, and more. Hutchens has honed a unique process that is active, potent, and strategically focused . . . and also a lot of fun. In Story Dash, Hutchens shares a repeatable process to find, develop, and deploy your “narrative assets”—that is, your urgent core stories that hold value. Even better, he will help you do it FAST; often in less than a day. Story Dash will help you to: Access your natural capacity for storytelling Find your stories—and figure out which ones to tell Build your narrative so it lands with unforgettable impact Find your own voice of authentic leadership Bring more of who you are to your teams and your markets Fully illustrated and written in a clear, sharp voice, Story Dash shares the fastest way to find lots of stories that will create action around the work you care about most.

Your Leadership Story

Your Leadership Story PDF

Author: Tim Tobin

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 2015-03-16

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1626562954

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Many leaders use stories as a tool, but the author says most have no idea what tale their own leadership is telling. Tobin shows how, by thinking of your career as a narrative-with a plot, characters, and an arc-you can increase your awareness of yourself as a leader and become more effective, insightful, and inspiring. Using story as both a metaphor and a process for self-development, he offers activities and questions that help you better understand your own leadership and how others perceive it. What is the plot of your leadership story-your overall goals and purpose? Who are the main characters and what roles do they play? How have the settings of your story influenced it? What are the conflicts that you need to resolve to move toward the ending you intend? He gives advice on framing your message, finding ways to communicate it, and understanding the role others play in furthering that message. --

Edge!

Edge! PDF

Author: Bea Fields

Publisher: Writers of the Round Table

Published: 2008-06

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780981454535

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Edge! sharpens your management vision and cuts right to the heart of a leader's challenges. When Global Trade Management Corporation's shining star, CEO Mitchell James, begins to lose his luster, key members of the executive team head for the door. With a not-so-subtle nudge from the company's Board Chairman, Mitch reluctantly accepts the help of executive coach Kate Nelson. The diminutive dynamo strikes at the core of Mitch's obstacles and navigates him through a step-by-step process to lead more dynamically. Faced with a crisis, his leadership rebirth is put to the test. Can he regain his "Edge" and become the leader his company needs? Chapter by chapter, the authors guide you through Mitch's journey. At the end of each chapter, real-life leadership coach Bea Fields provides her insight with thought-provoking questions and a summary to engage you in finding your own edge, as well.

Do Story

Do Story PDF

Author: Bobette Buster

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2018-05-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781452171463

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Do Books provide readers with the tools and inspiration to live a fulfilled and engaged life. Whether it's mastering a new skill, cultivating a positive mindset, or finding inspiration for a new project, these books dispense expert wisdom on subjects related to personal growth, business, and slow living. Written by the movers, shakers, and change makers who have participated in the DO Lectures in the United Kingdom and the United States, Do Books are packed with easy-to-follow exercises, bite-size tips, and striking visuals. Practical, useful, and encouraging, each book delivers trustworthy, empowering guidance so readers can succeed in whatever they choose to "do." Do Story teaches the art of telling powerful stories. The book includes short stories on a variety of subjects; taken together they demonstrate a range of effective narrative techniques. Vivid, enlightening, and brimming with practical tips, Do Story unlocks the secrets to becoming a captivating storyteller.

Turn the Ship Around!

Turn the Ship Around! PDF

Author: L. David Marquet

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2013-05-16

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1101623691

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

“One of the 12 best business books of all time…. Timeless principles of empowering leadership.” – USA Today "The best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.” —FORTUNE Since Turn the Ship Around! was published in 2013, hundreds of thousands of readers have been inspired by former Navy captain David Marquet’s true story. Many have applied his insights to their own organizations, creating workplaces where everyone takes responsibility for his or her actions, where followers grow to become leaders, and where happier teams drive dramatically better results. Marquet was a Naval Academy graduate and an experienced officer when selected for submarine command. Trained to give orders in the traditional model of “know all–tell all” leadership, he faced a new wrinkle when he was shifted to the Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered submarine. Facing the high-stress environment of a sub where there’s little margin for error, he was determined to reverse the trends he found on the Santa Fe: poor morale, poor performance, and the worst retention rate in the fleet. Almost immediately, Marquet ran into trouble when he unknowingly gave an impossible order, and his crew tried to follow it anyway. When he asked why, the answer was: “Because you told me to.” Marquet realized that while he had been trained for a different submarine, his crew had been trained to do what they were told—a deadly combination. That’s when Marquet flipped the leadership model on its head and pushed for leadership at every level. Turn the Ship Around! reveals how the Santa Fe skyrocketed from worst to first in the fleet by challenging the U.S. Navy’s traditional leader-follower approach. Struggling against his own instincts to take control, he instead achieved the vastly more powerful model of giving control to his subordinates, and creating leaders. Before long, each member of Marquet’s crew became a leader and assumed responsibility for everything he did, from clerical tasks to crucial combat decisions. The crew became completely engaged, contributing their full intellectual capacity every day. The Santa Fe set records for performance, morale, and retention. And over the next decade, a highly disproportionate number of the officers of the Santa Fe were selected to become submarine commanders. Whether you need a major change of course or just a tweak of the rudder, you can apply Marquet’s methods to turn your own ship around.

True Story

True Story PDF

Author: Ty Montague

Publisher: Harvard Business Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1422170683

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Is your company a storyteller--or a storydoer? The old way to market a business was storytelling. But in today's world, simply communicating your brand's story in the hope that customers will listen is no longer enough. Instead, your authentic brand must be evident in every action the organization undertakes. Today's most successful businesses are storydoers. These companies create products and services that, from the very beginning, are manifestations of an authentic and meaningful story--one told primarily through action, not advertising. In True Story, creative executive Ty Montague argues that any business, regardless of size or industry, can embrace the principles of storydoing. Indeed, our best-run companies--from small start-ups to global conglomerates--organize around a coherent narrative that is then broadcast through every action they take (from product design to customer service to marketing). Montague shows why storydoing firms are nimble, more adaptive to change, and more efficiently run businesses. Montague is a founder of the growth consultancy co: collective and the former president and CCO of J. Walter Thompson, the largest advertising agency in North America. He brings his depth of creative business experience to the book and provides a clear framework and proven process for bringing you and your customers together in the creation of your brand story. Montague introduces five critical elements--what he calls the "the four truths and the action map"--that are the foundation of storydoing: - the participants (your customers, partners, and employees) - the protagonist (your company today) - the stage (the world around your business) - the quest (your driving ambition and contribution to the world) - your action map (the actions that will make your story real for participants) The book is filled with examples of how forward-thinking organizations--including Red Bull, Shaklee, Grind, TOMS Shoes, and News Corporation--are effectively using storydoing to transform their organizations and drive extraordinary results.

Leadership is Half the Story

Leadership is Half the Story PDF

Author: Marc Hurwitz

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2015-01-01

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1442650133

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Can you imagine a choreographer only training one dancer to lead while his or her partner sits in the lobby staring at the wall? Yet we do this all the time in organizations. Half the partnership is missing. Leadership is Half the Story introduces the first model to seamlessly integrate leadership, followership, and partnerships. This research-backed, field-tested book contributes many new ideas and practical advice for everyone in an organization – from CEO to HR director to front-line manager to consultant. All of us lead, not just those with the formal title. All of us follow, not just front-line staff. In great collaborations, one moment we are leading and then we flip to following; in other words, the relationship between leadership and followership is dynamic, context-specific, and ever-evolving. This empowering perspective opens up leadership to everyone, normalizes followership, and enables more productive and innovative collaborations. Candid discussions about both roles allow for better coaching, mentoring, skill development, and interpersonal agility, and result in stronger teams. Marc and Samantha Hurwitz give us a category-busting book that “practically glows with energy and vision,” according to Marshall Goldsmith, executive coach and best-selling author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.

Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins

Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins PDF

Author: Annette Simmons

Publisher: AMACOM

Published: 2007-05-09

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0814400841

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Stories have tremendous power. They can persuade, promote empathy, and provoke action. Better than any other communication tool, stories explain who you are, what you want...and why it matters. In presentations, department meetings, over lunch-any place you make a case for new customers, more business, or your next big idea-you'll have greater impact if you have a compelling story to relate. Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins will teach you to narrate personal experiences as well as borrowed stories in a way that demonstrates authenticity, builds emotional connections, inspires perseverance, and stimulates the imagination. Fully updated and more practical than ever, the second edition reveals how to use storytelling to: Capture attention * Motivate listeners * Gain trust * Strengthen your argument * Sway decisions * Demonstrate authenticity and encourage transparency * Spark innovation * Manage uncertainty * And more Complete with examples, a proven storytelling process and techniques, innovative applications, and a new appendix on teaching storytelling, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins hands you the tools you need to get your message across-and connect successfully with any audience.