"These days, we need our mythmakers, our
storytellers, as urgently as we ever have. Storytelling
is what turns the pedestrian - a plush toy, a newscast -
into something relevant, something moving."
--Charles Fishman in the March issue of Fast
Company
SIO SIG Updates
Welcome to the third 2004 issue of the SIO SIG
Newsletter! A lot has happened since the last
(April 2004) issue. We have experienced two
excellent "Lunchtime Learning Call Series" coordinated
by Paula Bartholme. Sara Armstrong has been working
on the PR for the Pre-Conference. Mary-Alice Arthur
has lined up a list of super speakers for the Pre-
Conference Agenda. Kate Dudding has updated our
website. For access information, please email Kate ([email protected]).Former Topica
list members (with permission) were moved to the
StoryWorks discussion list. And members Madelyn Blair
and Molly Catron headed the exciting LGE Company
storytelling project. Thanks to all for your hard work!
SIO SIG Active Volunteers:
Sara Armstrong - Co-Chair SIG - [email protected]
Paula Bartholome - Co-Chair SIG - paula@parallax-
perspectives.com
Jean Ryan - Treasurer - jf.ryan@sympatico.
ca
Kate Dudding - web site -
[email protected]
Kevin Brooks - membership -
[email protected]
Mary-Alice Arthur - pre conference -
[email protected]
Barb Gingerich - member publications -
[email protected]
Chris King - newsletter - chris@creativekey
s.net
Important Reminder
Urgent Needs
Mary-Alice Arthur needs plenty of volunteers for the
pre-conference: speaker buddies and introducers, and
all round logistics helpers. "Many hands make light
work!" If you want to join the fun, e-mail Mary-Alice at
[email protected]
Kate Dudding will be retiring as our webmaster
following the Conference, so we need someone who is
willing to take over the website. Kate has it set up and
will help with the transition, so please e-mail her at
[email protected] with your willingness to
help with this important job.
I will be relinquishing my role as SIO SIG newsletter
editor following the August/September issue, so if you
have an interest in writing, editing and learning all
about e-newsletters, please volunteer for this position.
I will help you with each step along the way. E-mail me
at
[email protected]
Chris King, Editor
Find out more about Story Telling in Organizations....
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Support the SIO SIG - Be a Sponsor |
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Support the SIO SIG - Be (or recruit) a
Sponsor
By Paula Bartholome and Sara Armstrong
The third annual SIO SIG pre-conference is just
around the corner! It promises to build on previous
success and continue the tradition of bringing together
people interested in using story in organizational
settings to get things done, help facilitate
understanding, inspire commitment and more!
We keep registration fees low to enable
the largest number and most diverse group of people to
attend. The budget is designed to just about break
even. Sponsorships help us ensure this SIG is on a
sound financial footing so we can continue our ork.
We are looking for organizations (or individuals)
who would like to support the SIG's efforts in
bringing such a group together to learn from each other
and increase the professionalism and knowledge base
for the use of storytelling in organizations. Being a
program sponsor provides visibility, the opportunity to
get their product or service information into the hands
of attendees and demonstrates the sponsor's
commitment to working creatively and
collaboratively.
If you know of an organization or individual
that you think would be interested in being a sponsor,
talk to them. Share your story of why you are a
member of the SIG and the power of story. Give them
the opportunity to help us continue our services and
programming! Please direct questions to Paula
Bartholome (paula@parallax-
perspectives.com) or Sara Armstrong ([email protected])
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Look for the Ladybug and Find a SIO SIG Member |
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Look for the Ladybug and Find a SIO SIG
Member
By Sara Armstrong
You can find fellow SIO SIG members this year
just by looking for the ladybug on their nametag.
This identifier will you meet and get acquainted with
members you've not met yet. And it will also help
prospective members find YOU so they can ask about
joining the SIO SIG.
This year the SIO SIG will offer a discounted
membership to individuals who join during the
conference. They will receive 20% off their first
year's dues plus a free gift if they sign up during the
conference. Please be sure to take the time to talk to
prospective members and answer their questions. As a
reminder, membership gives you:
- Access to the members only portion of the SIO SIG
website where there is member information and other
resources
- The bi-monthly SIO SIG E-Newsletter to help stay
current on what's going on in your SIG and in the world
of storytelling in organizations
- Periodic white papers (see related story in this
issue) taking a focused and more academic look at
topics from practitioners in the field
- Free Lunchtime Learning Calls where members share
with each other their experiences of using story in a
conversational atmosphere
We Need Your Help
Membership information and sign up will be available in
the conference registration area and we need
volunteers to man the SIO SIG booth during the
conference. Responsibilities will be answering questions,
taking memberships and welcoming new members!
Please give an hour of your time to staff the booth.
You will meet fascinating new colleagues and help the
SIG grow! To volunteer, contact Membership Chair
Kevin Brooks at Kevin.Brooks
@motorola.com
True story of how a second grade class helped make the ladybug the state bug of Massachusetts. »
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SIO SIG Pre-Conference Update |
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SIO SIG Pre-Conference Update
Mary-Alice Arthur and her committee have lined up
an impressive cadre of presenters for the SIO SIG Pre-
conference. Read all about them and their workshops
below. If you haven't yet signed up, this will be sure to
spur you on.
Embracing Uncertainty With Solidarity
North McKinnon and Janet Schatzman
"When faced with change or initiatives to create
something new, people in organizations respond best to
personal conversations. But talking about change is not
enough. To create shared meaning and alignment we
use the power of imagery and storytelling to provoke
authenticity as the conversation unfolds. We will
present a client case story of how we were able
to "draw out" the stories and instincts of both
leadership and the workforce as the catalysts to shift
resistance towards unification. We will describe and
show how we blend Visual Language, Strategic Imagery
with the Art of Facilitation to re-ignite authentic
participation, accelerate decision-making and fuel
transformation that is inspired by imagination and
passion.
North McKinnon and Janet Schatzman are co-
founders of Parnassus Consulting, LLC. Together, have
combined 40 years of experience into a mosaic of
strategic know-how, change facilitation, executive
coaching, organization development and fine arts. Their
clients include: ChevronTexaco, Deloitte, Hewlett
Packard, Towers Perrin Consulting, Unilever and other
Fortune 500 companies.
Using Stories in Product Positioning: the LGE story
Madelyn Blair and Molly Catron
Recently the SIO SIG had the opportunity to lead a project to provide consulting services to LG Electronics (LGE) a South Korean electronics manufacturer. Hear how the project took shape, was completed in a short timeframe and provided real value to a company positioning their products in the US market. Final work on the project will have just been completed at the end of June so this is a fresh example of using story to accomplish organizational objectives. Presenters and SIO SIG members Madelyn Blair and Molly Catron served as project leaders and will conduct a lively and interactive review of the experience.
Madelyn Blair is the president of Pelerei, Inc., a firm dedicated to helping clients turn vision into reality. She is a facilitator, designer of learning experiences, and expert researcher. She is a founding member of Goldenfleece, the storytelling-in-business group in DC. Her clients include Bank of Canada, The World Bank, Transamerica Reinsurance, American University, and the International Monetary Fund.
Prior to her work with Pelerei, she was a division chief in the World Bank. Dr. Blair also spent five years as Director of Institutional Research at the Universities of Colorado and Maine.
Molly Catron is a storyteller and private consultant with over 20 years experience in the corporate world. She works in all areas of organizational change; however, focuses her passion on using story to help individuals and groups unite heart, mind, body and spirit.
Some of her recent clients include St. Jude Research Center, United Way of America, Toray Plastics, and Pickens County School District.
How Non-profits Use Stories and
Storytelling
Cathryn Wellner
Stories capture snapshots in time, insights into the
heart of an organization, what it values, where it is
headed. This presentation explores how the ways we
can use stories to present what we know to a variety
of audiences, from the local Rotary to government
evaluators. Non-profits that can identify their defining
stories have an edge when it comes time to explain
their work to funders, policy makers, service providers,
clients and others. These stories are snapshots in time
that raise awareness, are the basis of evaluations, help
with fundraising, and support proposal writing.
Cathryn Wellner is a professional seminar leader,
facilitator, communications consultant, storyteller and
speaker with a special interest in community
development. While living in British Columbia she led
initiatives in telecommunications, regional marketing,
infrastructure, health promotion, economic
development, and other issues. Her research and
facilitation work has included projects concerning
community equity and health issues and strategies for
community action. She recently moved to California's
Bay Area, where she is Storytelling Director for
Stagebridge, America's oldest senior theater.
Dancing With Garbage: The Art and Science
of Putting Stories to Work
Jo Tyler
Every organization is awash in stories. They are a
naturally occurring and often untapped resource. Jo's
session draws on her newly completed doctoral
research on storytelling in for-profit settings to explore
the practicalities of strategically unleashing the power
of stories for learning, knowledge transfer, idea
generation and more. In this session, she'll present the
distinguishing features of the strategic storytelling
model that emerged from her research, with a special
emphasis on what business listeners like. Participants
should bring along a business story based on their own
experience - as an employee or customer - that they
are comfortable sharing as part of the session.
Jo Tyler, Ed.D. brings to this workshop 25 years of
experience in organization development in companies of
all sizes. Her recently completed research focuses on
the use of storytelling in business as a strategic
element of learning and knowledge transfer. An
Assistant Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and
Pennsylvania State University, Jo is also an
independent consultant focused on delivering
organizational development solutions, including the
power of storytelling, that humanize business and
improve the bottom line.
When Stories Mislead: Collective Beliefs and
Corporate Decision-Making
Yusi Wang
How does an organization explore the unknown?
Almost by definition, new market entry, product or
service introduction, collaboration activities, or
governance policies (to name a few) are areas of
limited or patchy data. Companies facing myriad
choices about new opportunities usually rely heavily on
company-wide assumptions about 'how the world
works' and 'who we are' to support their limited direct
experience. These beliefs are part of a shared causal
map - a graphing of the relationship among people,
things, actions, places, and situations - heavily based
on years of accumulated narratives. While experience is
useful, rigid causal maps may also create blinders and
lead to lost opportunities for decision-makers who
believe they understand more than they do.
Yusi Wang is Alumni Program Director at Citizen
Schools (www.citizenschools
.org), a national non-profit organization that
educates children and strengthens communities through
hands-on learning and volunteer-based apprenticeships
after school. Prior to entering the non-profit world, Yusi
was a researcher at the Center for Business
Innovation, the think tank of global consulting firm Cap
Gemini Ernst & Young. Yusi is a storytelling hobbyist
and was delighted to merge business and pleasure at
the Center for Business Innovation through SIO
research grounded in corporate knowledge management
and decision processes. She presented a variant of
the "When Stories Mislead: Collective Beliefs and
Corporate Decision-Making" workshop at the
Storytelling, Self, Society conference in Florida in
March 2004. Yusi has been instrumental in bringing
fellow SIO consultants to her new organization, Citizen
Schools, to design and facilitate retreats and to create
more effective marketing materials. She is a co-founder
of an ongoing SIO discussion group in Boston. Yusi
graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University
in civil engineering and earned a masters degree in
technological innovation at the University of Sussex
(UK) through a Marshall scholarship.
Capturing Opportunity: Stories in
Organizations
Hilary McLellan
This workshop examines how to market story work
in organizations. In order to market organizational
storytelling effectively, it's essential to understand the
traditional access points: departments such as training,
human resources, marketing, planning, etc., and how
storytelling can enhance these functions within an
organization. For example, Xerox has developed
strategies for training and technical support based on
the concept of "bootstrapping" on workers' stories
about their experiences on the job. It is also essential
to touch the future - and to provide organizations with
strategies for adapting new strategies for best
practices.
Hilary McLellan Ph.D, is a consultant, storyteller,
media artist, and educator. She has a background that
encompasses the humanities, media design, and
business. She has taught a range of university courses,
including Organizational Storytelling, Mythology and
Modern Life, Digital Storytelling, and Stories and
Creative Leadership. She is the editor of
Situated Learning Perspectives, a book
about the story-centered training model developed at
the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. She serves on
the advisory board of the Saratoga Springs Heritage
Program and on the Executive Committee of the Digital
Storytelling Association. Her clients have included
General Motors, State Farm Insurance, and the
Metropolitan Transit Authority. She performs as a
storyteller, and recently had a small role in a local
independent movie.
National Storytelling Network 2004 Conference Information »
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The Winning LGE Storytelling Project |
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The Winning LGE Project
By Madelyn Blair and Molly Catron
With competition at its highest, wise
companies are seeking to understand their customers.
One such company is LGE, a Korean electronics
company, who wished to better understand their
American market. They asked NSN to partner with them
through the SIO SIG to collect stories about
experiences with their products and those of their
competitors.
Madelyn Blair stepped up and coordinated the
project. Storytellers were asked to select a
product line (microwave, cell phone, refrigerator, TV, or
washing machine), go out and find it, experience it and
write the story of the adventure. Ninety four stories
were collected from 34 storytellers. Each storyteller will
receive a small stipend for her or his work. While
varying in style, the stories were full of information
about finding the products, dealing with the sales
people, and impressions of knobs, shelves, ringers,
latches, and other features of the products. Some of
the tellers used their research to make a decision about
buying one of the products!
Madelyn Blair and Molly Catron read the
stories, looked for the patterns, and summarized
the general themes. At the request of LGE, Karen Dietz
skillfully created a story capturing the essence of the
94 stories in one person's adventure with LGE
products.
We will be writing a description of the
process and our work with LGE capturing what
worked and what didn't for collecting and processing
the stories hoping we can provide a model for future
work in the area of market research. We should all keep
a look out for great projects like this one. We were able
to showcase our storytellers, the SIO SIG, and the
power of storytelling all while helping LGE Company
better understand their customers. What a WIN!
Exciting news! Madelyn and Molly will be
presenting this information during the Pre-Conference.
You don't want to miss it.
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Review of Teleclass and Special Offer for SIG Members! |
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Review of Teleclass and Special Offer for SIG
Members!
By Sara Armstrong
The SIO SIG's second Lunchtime Learning
session held May 20th was another resounding
success! With Mary Wacker in the role of session
moderator, Evelyn Clark shared some of the stories
from her new book, Around the Corporate
Campfire: How Great Leaders Use Stories to Inspire
Success. For her book, Evelyn researched
companies that believe in the power of storytelling and
use it in their corporate cultures. CEOs from
Northwestern Mutual, Medtronic, The Container
Store, Mary Kay Company and others spoke with
Evelyn, relating their practices. Participants in the
Lunchtime Learning session were intrigued with roles
companies have developed, such as the Director of
Corporate Heritage (Mary Kay Company) and Director of
Corporate Education (Nike) to acknowledge and
promote storytelling in organizations.
When the prime value of a company is
love, or, as is the case with The Container Store,
sales managers are expected to share success stories
every day, and a company-wide email is sent the next
day with a selection of these stories to inspire
everyone in the company, it seems obvious that the
power of story, communication, and caring about each
other can make huge differences in work and the rest
of our lives.
You'll want to get ahold of Evelyn's book
to read the full story on some amazing companies and
their practices. And Evelyn has generously offered to
donate $2 to our SIG for each book sold to SIO SIG
members. You can put in a pre-publication order for
Evelyn's book by sending her an e-mail at
[email protected], or call her (toll free) at 1-
866-818-8079. The book costs $19.95 and will be
available later this month. You can also order your book
at Evelyn's Web site: www.corpstory.com
. Note: be sure to read down to the Business
Profile to learn more about Evelyn's Approach.
Our able moderator, Mary Wacker, SIO SIG
member from Milwaukee, WI is president of M. B.
Wacker Associates, a firm specializing in leadership
development, team performance coaching, customer
service strategies and organizational change
consulting. She has worked with clients across
industries and is the co-author of Stories
Trainers Tell: 55 Ready to Use Stories to Make Training
Stick, available at www.mbwacker.com
.
Join us in July for a conversation with Molly
Catron. Watch your email for details.
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SIO SIG to Offer White Papers to Members |
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SIO SIG to Offer White Papers to Members
By Sara Armstrong
The SIO SIG will be offering white papers on
different aspects of storytelling in organizations to
our members in the form of PDF files on our Web site.
Elizabeth Doty, President of WorkLore, a consulting firm
that focuses on social processes for knowledge
discovery and learning. She has recently presented
at "Systems Thinking in Action," NASAGA, and the
Story in Organizations SIG of the National Storytelling
Network, is our first author.
Her paper, "Transforming Capabilities: Using
Story for Knowledge Discovery and Community
Development," will be available soon.
The abstract of the paper is as follows:
Most leaders know when they need to mobilize their
organizations around a new set of competencies or a
new value proposition, but sometimes struggle to
activate new practices in their organizations. The
paradox is that often the necessary knowledge is
already there, but hidden in isolated pockets of
innovation, or inaccessible because people do not know
what they know, do not know it is valuable, or cannot
describe it effectively. Through an exploration of two in-
depth examples and four common barriers, the author
demonstrates how story-sharing can be used to
surface, translate, and apply the latent knowledge
hidden within organizations, while simultaneously
building relationships and cultivating communities that
learn. She concludes by outlining how leaders might
apply story-sharing activities for knowledge discovery
and community development in their own settings,
providing sample agendas, guidance on pitfalls, and
options for less formal applications.
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Use of Story in Business and/or Organizations |
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In each issue, we plan to profile a SIO SIG member
or members so that we can share the unique ways
others in our group have used and are using the power
of story in business/organizations.
My Approach
A Live Profile of Corporate Storyteller, Author and
Consultant, Evelyn Clark
Editor's note: We want your profiles! Let us
know how you use storytelling in business and/or
organizations. Just e-mail me at
[email protected]
I view organizational storytelling from the
perspective of a marketing communication and public
relations consultant. When I created my Corporate
Storytelling workshop in 1993, it focused on helping
organizations to identify core values as a basis for their
marketing messages. It was a way to reposition my
work and to describe a deeper approach to the
practice of PR. Gradually my focus has shifted to the
internal use of storytelling as a tool for communicating
corporate values and desired behavior.
David Armstrong's Managing by Storying
Around was my inspiration. After writing the
case studies/stories for a colleague's book,
TechnoBrands, we delivered two presentations
at BookExpo America, and a number of publishers
expressed interest in a book on corporate storytelling.
As I mulled over what a former news writer could
contribute to the then-obscure practice of storytelling,
it struck me that a collection of stories from a variety
of well-known companies would be instructive, fun to
read, and useful as a reference. The hope is that my
book also will add credibility to the practice.
Identifying a target audience for storytelling
can be challenging, especially in the beginning.
Because the use of stories can be applied to any
industry or type of organization at many levels, a
number of practitioners have asked, How do you
identify a target market for selling the service? The
standard advice on marketing applies, at least for
starters: focus on an industry you already know.
Beyond that, in my experience, people either "get it"
right away or they don't. You simply need to get your
message out and keep it circulating in the marketplace.
There's no need to fear the request
for "bottom-line" evidence that storytelling works.
David Armstrong told me, "Anyone who asks that
question doesn't get it, so just move on and find
someone who does." He's right, in that most executives
I interviewed for my book don't even try to measure
results. Like David, they "see, taste, and feel" the
results: high morale, superior customer service, strong
teamwork, low employee turnover, etc. But there is
solid evidence, too. As reported in my book, studies
show that 70% of workplace learning is informal and
takes place through story swapping in the lunchroom or
hallway. Also, at last year's conference Steve Denning
shared some powerful facts on the value of
communication based on GNP. And my book includes a
chapter on The Container Store, where increases in
sales can be measured according to the stories
told.
My work naturally overlaps with organizational
development. Because communication is an
essential element of any interaction, my Corporate
Storytelling process has been effective in helping
organizations with strategic planning, change
management, and teambuilding, as well as sales
management and its original purpose: message
clarification. In today's chaotic workplace, the people
who survived downsizing are juggling enormous
workloads, and they find it more difficult than ever to
step back, take a breath, and refresh their minds.
Storytelling is one of the tools that can help them do
that. It's very rewarding work!
To learn more about Evelyn's approach,
read her book, Around the Corporate Campfire:
How Great Leaders Use Stories To Inspire
Success. Evelyn will contribute $2 to the SIO
SIG for every pre-publication order from SIG members-
and you'll save shipping charges. Go to www.corpstory.com
now to reserve your copy.
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Quick Links to Useful Storytelling Sites |
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