I’ve written several posts on how storytelling seems to be MIA when it comes to the humble job description. Even in Silicon Valley where deviating from the status quo is supposed to be the status quo, virtually all companies still borrow from the same HR document called “Deadly Dull Job Descriptions.” It makes no sense. …more
In the world of startups, there’s truth to the cliché, “Ignorance is bliss.” If the founders truly understood what was ahead of them — the agony of pushing the boulder up the hill only to have it backslide over one’s toes — many wouldn’t choose such a path. The founders’ combination of smarts, energy, optimism …more
The typical process that guides a company in evaluating PR agencies and ultimately choosing a winner is broken. It was broken when I participated in my first new-biz meeting — wicker furniture, of all things; we did not win — in 1983. It’s still broken today. In the vast majority of PR agency reviews, the …more
The Agency opened its doors in Asia on Oct. 20, 1996. It has been an amazing, fun, torturous, weird, satisfying, frustrating and enlightening run. I made my first trip to Asia in 1994 as part of a press tour for Hyundai Electronics (now known as Hynix). After researching PR resources in that part of the …more
PR under utilizes illustration as a form of visual storytelling. Yet, one could make an argument that no visual form better suits PR. After all, anything is possible with illustration (literally). Still, the idea of engaging with an illustrator can seem daunting — if not downright scary — for those steeped in the world of …more
Many business professionals today accept storytelling as an effective means for communicating … in theory. Whether they actually embrace the act is a different story (retaining my reputation for bad puns). Of course, many books promise to recast you with Ira Glass’s gift for narrative and Jimmy Kimmel’s wit. I wrote about one such a …more
Earlier this year, The New York Times celebrated the 20-year anniversary of its website. My Tuesday post shared a back story leading up to the site’s launch, compliments of Pete Lewis who was the paper’s foreign correspondent for cyberspace at the time. Today, we look at the actual words from Jan. 22, 1996 (my takes …more
Earlier this year The New York Times celebrated the 20-year anniversary of its website. Prior to the launch, the paper’s online reach depended on that “pioneer of online media,” AOL. Friend, colleague and periodic co-trainer for our storytelling workshops, Peter Lewis, wrote the introduction story. But before taking a look at his words from …more
As a storyteller, I often combine sad stories with one another. Mostly with a positive outcome, but often I use stories without a happy ending. Stories where listeners really have to think about what they just learned. Stories where there is no gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s amazing when such stories evoke …more
