This blog is geared to explore how storytelling techniques can be applied to brand building. But what about the story that a company doesn’t necessarily want to tell? Like when things go wrong. We’re about to enjoy a front-row seat to such a case study with the Justice Department calling out Oracle with the news …more
Newsweek’s cover story on “The Creativity Crisis” caused me to reflect on the forces that have shaped my own approach to creativity. Here’s my top-five list with a touch of psychoanalysis: Self esteem from Mom and Dad: Hate to start on a syrupy note, but my parents stayed on message until I moved out for college: “Anything is possible with hard work.” …more
Are we really at the midway point of 2010? In honor of the milestone, I’ve captured my personal eight – lucky in Chinese numerology – favorites from the first half of the year. 1) Communicating with Fresh and Compelling Language This was my first edition of “Moes Takes,” a vehicle to call out clever quotes in stories …more
I noted earlier in the month that we got the SlideShare religion, using the social media site to tell our story through an unconventional credentials deck. After evangelizing SlideShare as an ideal platform for storytelling, it occurred to me that we should develop a deck on the power of storytelling in business. So that’s what we’ve done. Taking …more
The typical product review has a happy ending. By that, I mean the end of a review usually calls out one product as the best choice. In spite of the “happily every after” – at least for one company – you don’t associate the product review genre with storytelling. Instead, these articles strive to clinically attach a value to …more
There’s no question that photos like the one above that accompanied a New York Times article on China’s surging demand for coal accentuate storytelling. In some cases, we’re actually seeing storytelling revolve around visuals like the seafood charticle in WIRED Magazine. I think The New York Times does a particularly good job in building their stories around a …more
I spoke at the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing on storytelling a couple weeks ago. The talk triggered interest from a Chinese publication which asked me two questions via e-mail: How does storytelling impact today’s traditional media as well as social media? How does storytelling benefit business executives and their respective companies? …more
Back in 2008 I wrote it’s not enough that Warren Buffet has become one of the richest men in the world. He’s also a world-class storyteller. (If it makes you feel any better, at least he’s not handsome.) Nowhere does this gift go on public display more than in his annual letter to shareholders. It’s …more
Michael Margolis originally penned this post for his online property called Get Storied. It offers a practical framework for applying storytelling techniques in the world of business. He also knows how to turn a phrase: “So while you might be convinced that you’re the Cat’s Meow, if others don’t believe that same story, there’s going …more
