I rarely address fiction in this blog. While many of the same concepts apply to storytelling in business, there’s still a gulf between the two disciplines. But Sarah Lafferty pointed me to a book of Kurt Vonnegut short stories published after his death. The introduction includes what Vonnegut calls “Creative Writing 101,” which offers sound …more
The title says it all, “Storytelling and Your Quest for Business Success.” It’s rare for a magazine to examine the power of storytelling in business. This particular article comes compliments of the trade book One +, which caters to more than 30,000 meeting planners. Before you scoff, consider the plight of meeting planners in …more
I introduced a regular feature called Moes Takes last month. As a refresher, I worked with Rob Moes who was VP of marketing for Philips in the mid 1980s. During an interview at COMDEX, a reporter pressed Moes for projections on how many CD-ROM drives would be sold looking out five years. Rob responded “That’s …more
I’m tired of reading how American students lag behind their international counterparts on the academic front. Johnny can’t write. Johnny can’t add. Johnny can’t spell. Even The Wall Street Journal has piled on with an article which highlights that only 23 percent of the 2009 high school graduates taking the ACT admissions test have the skills to succeed …more
This is a story within a story. A journalist named Paige Williams had the story. She just needed a publication to publish the story, a not-so-minor detail. After multiple rejections and finally selling the piece to The New York Times, only to have the opportunity go south, she took matters into her own hands. Specifically, …more
I shared half of my list of favorite posts from a cruise through the past yesterday. Here’s the remaining five. 6) Iron Reporter: Wall Street Journal Versus NY Times On A Russian Train I came up with the Iron Reporter concept for scrutinizing how two different reporters cover the same topic. In this case, my …more
I cruised back through my 2009 posts, flagging my personal favorites. Here’s half the list: 1) AIG Jumps Into Fray with Its Side of the Story This was my first time getting in touch with my inner smart-ass self: The power of empathy championed by Oprah and her ilk is not lost on Mr. Liddy. His …more
The power of storytelling is now being deployed in medicine. The Irish Times writes on the topic “Keeping the Narrative Going,” kicking off with the question: Why settle for role of tragic victim when you could have that of courageous survivor? It makes sense. If storytelling offers the means for more effective communications in life …more
There’s a reason that the official Google Blog is so well read and shows up on the Techmeme leaderboard. Beyond dominating search, the Google posts are crafted with a conversational tone and often contrast the old way with a new way. Take last week’s post “Go thataway: Google Maps India learns to navigate like a …more
