So many companies tout people as their most valuable asset. Logically, this would make the recruitment of people one of their most important undertakings. Yet, companies typically pay scant attention to the writing of a job description. I posted on the value of applying storytelling techniques to job descriptions some time ago. Moving from the …more
Customer case studies that examine the deployment of technology tend to be dull. Most follow a formula: Here’s the problem It was a horrible Fortunately, ACME Technology came to the rescue Snapshot of the product(s) from ACME It was easy to install Here’s how we did it Quantify the benefits We’re thrilled Not exactly scintillating …more
We’ve been trained to craft a lead sentence that grabs the reader by the scruff of the neck. It seems logical that the sooner you interest the reader, the better, especially in business communications where you don’t have the luxury of developing a narrative over 200 pages. To test this theory, I looked at the …more
The media and Wall Street have dissected every consonant and statistic in the Facebook S-1. Plug the phrase “Facebook S-1” into Google covering the past week and more than 150,000 hits appear. But as far as I can tell – didn’t look at all 150,000+ mentions – no one has examined the storytelling techniques in the …more
Many people dread Wednesday, the “hump day” of the work week. I, on the other hand, can’t wait for Wednesday and cruising through the Dining section of The New York Times. For my money, the best storytelling in daily newspapers can be found here. Sure, the journalists are skilled writers, but it’s their expertise in both finding …more
Here’s a headline you don’t see every day: How A Startup Grew 600 Percent By Telling The Story Behind Products I’d call this an endorsement for the power of storytelling. The article captures the essence of AHALife and its founder Shauna Mei. Her team of curators travel the world looking for cool stuff that you won’t find stocked …more
The New York Times recently wrote about Bloomberg TV’s quest for a larger audience. Trevor Fellows, an exec with Bloomberg Media Group, brashly stated: “We want to be the most influential business television station there is.” He goes on to say, “We’re fiercely independent, fiercely rational.” Somehow, I don’t think this was a dig at …more
There are certain storylines that never go out of style. David slays Goliath. Greed isn’t good. (Sorry, Gordy.) Etc. Variations of these themes serve as springboards to business stories all the time. While I don’t think it’s going to become a classic, Alcoa deserves credit for coining a phrase that demands attention: Smog-eating building One …more
Steve Farnsworth and I tag-teamed on discussing social media and storytelling at an IABC lunch last month. Thanks go to Meta Mehling for putting together the talk. It would be presumptuous of me to say a good time was had by all. But I can say both Steve and I enjoyed what proved to be a very interactive …more
