Anecdotally Speaking

When people don’t understand what we’re trying to convey to them we get frustrated. Sometimes we wonder why they aren’t getting something so simple. This is called the curse of knowledge.

An important part of leadership is taking care of your team. This story is a beautiful example of how taking care of others and helping them through tough times is beneficial for everyone. The focus of this story is U2 at their 1986 Tempe concert, and how a death threat almost led to them cancelling their second concert.

Putting the customer first and shifting your perspective to seeing how your design might be viewed by others is really important in today’s globalised, competitive market. It’s Mark’s turn to tell a story this week and the example he tells is particularly useful if you’re designing products, processes or services.

We’ve changed things up a little for this week’s episode of Anecdotally Speaking! We have Gerry Lynch, former General Manager of Mars New Zealand and now CEO of Delmaine Fine Foods tell the story this week.

Working in teams can be hard. In the process of working together, we can disagree, stall and face major setbacks. However, when a team comes together and gets across the finish line it can be great. The story Mark shares this week gives a useful analogy that can help teams get through the rough patches and understand that conflict is often a part of the creative process.

Small things can make a big difference. That’s the theme of this episode of Anecdotally Speaking. In Episode 20, Twists and turns of a flying fortress, we hear how a checklist saved Boeing from going under and offered a key advantage to the US Army in World War 2. It’s a versatile story, which makes it great for business.

It takes a lot of hard work and persistence to do something great. Naturally, if the goal is a big one it's going to be harder to achieve. You just don't want to give up and find out that you were close to achieving it. This week, Mark tells a story about the Colorado gold rush and how a decision to give up came at a huge cost.

Our story this week is a short one, but it has an impact. As you will see if you tell a story in an unexpected way, and the topic is possible death or injury, you will immediately generate interest from your audience.

The web is full of stories of dubious origins, which is the very definition of apocryphal, yet many can be used to make a business point as long as you make clear that the story is most likely false. We provide some examples of apocryphal stories and we dig into how to tell them, when to use them, and discuss the potential pitfalls.

In this episode of Anecdotally Speaking, we explain what it is that Mark and I do for work, why some stories work for some audiences and not for others and the difference between the typical ‘brand stories’ we see and the one we share today. Lots of companies have ‘brand stories’. The problem is that most of these aren’t actually stories - they’re simply a list of assertions. In the episode Mark r...

It’s Mark’s turn to share a story, and so he tells a great one of a man in Poland who wanted to come to Australia but didn’t think he had any chance of doing so. It’s a great example of persistence with a twist at the end. Shawn and Mark also touch on how it’s increasingly becoming expected of leaders to know how to use stories in a business context. However, as Shawn notes, many business leaders...

In this week’s episode of Anecdotally Speaking, an Irish principal demonstrates a powerful message to her school of predominantly African American students with one small action. It’s a fantastic example of how to lead through what you do instead of what you say. Shawn and Mark also unpack why even an action carrying a powerful message can be dampened by delegation.

In this episode, we hear how one of the founders of Flight Centre puts an employee first. It’s a story that we often tell when asked for a good example of leadership. We also talk about how you can build rapport within the first five minutes of a meeting using a connection story.

An organisation value is nothing more than an slogan unless it impacts employees’ behaviours. In this episode we visit a Harley Davidson factory and see their company values in action.

They say what a leader walks past without saying anything becomes the norm. So sometimes it really helps to see what your people will let slide or who will speak up. Today’s story should give you an idea for a little experiment you can do as a leader to see who will speak up so you then have the opportunity to reward that behaviour. Many of the stories we’ve shared on this podcast are not only use...

One of the most important stories a leader can tell is one that provides insight on how to tackle problems in new ways. I call them intervention stories and some of the very best ones are from outside the business world. In fact, if you look back on the stories we’ve already shared on this podcast you will see most are set outside the world of work yet make a good business point. A good interventi...

Today’s story illustrates the strong link between great work and what can been seen, heard, and felt in the workplace. You can tell this story to help your team understand how top performers appear and get a conversation going about what your workplace looks and feels like. It’s also a great model for an excursion you can take your team on to experience what great look and feels like. This is our...

Have you ever had an employee who just didn’t fit, who wasn’t quite cutting it, and your boss suggests you should let them go? Helping people find what they are truly good at is one of the many jobs of a leader and firing someone should be your last resort. So it’s good to have a story or two in your back pocket about those times when someone flourished when they found the thing they were made to...

We often get asked “does storytelling work with finance folk, scientists or engineers?” There's an assumption in their question that some professions only care about the numbers, the facts, and they don’t have time or an interest for stories. Well, nothing can be further from the truth, everyone tells and listens to stories--it’s a human condition. But as a business storyteller it’s important to u...

The way leaders react in times of high stress is a good measure of their character. And it is in these times of strain everyone is taking note of what the leader is doing. The leader’s reaction creates new stories that make the organisation’s culture. You can’t underestimate how important these moments are. Our story today is one of these moments. It happened in a law firm. So why do the stories o...

A story type we love here at Anecdote is the story of a scientific experiment. It has the double benefit of giving you a story with a good business point and it’s based on peer reviewed research. An experiment story has authority, especially with people who value evidence and science. This week’s story is the street corner experiment. It’s based on a study done in the 1960s by psychologists Stanle...

This week’s episode features a small story that’s versatile and really delivers. It’s about a bathroom renovation of all things. Sometimes business stories can come from your personal life and make a good business point. The beauty of many of our personal stories is that they are often relatable. Similar things have happened to the listeners so the story is plausible and makes sense. This story is...

With all the stories you'll learn here in Anecdotally Speaking you will need a place, and an approach, to keep track of them so you can find good ones when you need them. So in this episode Mark and I run through some tips to create your own story-bank and give you some important advice on what to do and what to avoid. Our feature story is about how a CEO helped his company focus on one big thing...

We’re reading The Power of Moments by Dan and Chip Heath and they talk about creating memorable first days. This episode features a story with a very memorable first day which you wouldn’t wish on anyone. And wrapped up in the story are insights about confidence, decision-making, the role of social networks and the limits of process and procedures. A terrific business story to share. Thanks for al...

Each week Mark Schenk and I will introduce a new story you could potentially tell at work, then we will describe why it works and share some ideas of how it might be used in a business setting. By the end of year you will have about 50 stories you can tell. Our first story is about the past chairperson of Mars Inc., Victoria Mars. We work with Mars a lot and get to hear many great leadership stori...