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The Myth Of The Gifted Storyteller
filed in Story Skills, Storytelling
Over and over again, we’ve heard people like Steve Jobs described as ‘a gifted storyteller’. We’ve come to believe that storytelling is an art reserved for the chosen few—that great storytellers are born, not made. How can that possibly be true?
What all great storytellers have in common is more than a talent for storytelling. They aren’t ‘naturals’ or ‘born storytellers’. What they are is ‘practised storytellers.’
Last weekend I was at an event where the legendary author Margaret Atwood spoke. When someone asked if she read fiction and why, she told the audience she reads to understand. ‘I want to know how they did that,’ she said. One of the best storytellers of our generation, a woman who has twice won the Booker Prize, whose books sell in their millions, reads other people’s stories to learn from them and make her stories better.
Storytelling is an act, something you practice—a skill you can learn and get better at.
*The Story Skills Workshop is back by popular demand. We open for registration on March 3rd. You can register for more information by visiting here.
Image by David Geller
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The Efficiency Paradox
filed in Meaningful Work, Worldview
The young woman got off the tram, carried along amid the throng on their way to the various law firms along Collins Street. She walked briskly, heels clacking, her big Beats headphones clamped over her ears. Two bags were slung across her body. One leather contained her laptop, the other made of cloth held a ball of the bright yellow wool trailing from the needles she held in her hands.
Her hands worked furiously as she walked—one plain, one purl, one plain, one purl. The needles continued to click in and out through the yellow wool as she knitted, listened and walked, walked, knitted and listened—without ever needing to stop or look down. She’d have a podcast and half a scarf under her belt before she reached the office.
This woman was making efficient use of her time, but I’m not sure that’s the same as making the most of it. Just because it’s possible to do two or three things at once doesn’t mean we should.
What are we trading for efficiency? What’s the cost to us?
Image by Ross Sneddon
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Promises Worth Keeping
filed in Meaningful Work, Success, Worldview
While I was out walking this weekend I came across a sign on a shop door detailing the opening times. It read:
MONDAYS—probably
TUESDAYS-probably
WEDNESDAYS—probably not sure Not SURE!
THURSDAYS—OPEN
FRIDAYS—OPEN
SATURDAYS—OPEN
SUNDAYS—OPEN
MAY BE LATER FOR OPENING (SORRY! LIFELONG HABIT)
BUT TRYING FOR 3 PM-9 PM
It’s easy for a sometimes probably, to become a maybe never.
What promises are you making to yourself and others that are worth keeping?
This is a photo of the sign.
Image by Richard Balog
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The Sliding Scale Of Ambition
filed in Meaningful Work, Success
There are many ways Leanne could leverage the success of her popular hair salon.
She could extend her opening hours or enter national competitions. She could hire more stylists and open more branches. She could create a line of hair products or franchise her business process and ideas.
But Leanne chooses to do none of these things—not because she isn’t ambitious, but because success for her is delivering the best experience in one exceptional salon, to earn the trust and loyalty of delighted customers.
We sometimes fall into the trap of shooting for someone else’s vision of success. We seize every opportunity because we can, and not because it’s what we really want.
Ambition is always on a sliding scale.
What does being successful mean to you? What do you want?
Image by Aw Creative
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On Strengths
filed in Meaningful Work, Story Skills, Success
If a friend or colleague asked you to list their strengths, I’m guessing you’d have no trouble coming up several of their attributes.
But if they asked you to share a list of your strengths you’d likely hesitate.
Why is that?
We don’t spend a lot of time reflecting on our skills and talents, because we’ve been conditioned to be humble.
We largely focus on our ‘areas for improvement—the things we lack confidence and competence in, to the detriment of our gifts and our genius.
Of course, we can improve our weakness. But we can also amplify our strengths.
What do you already bring to the world and how can you do more of that?
Image by Annie Spratt
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Opportunity Knocks
filed in Meaningful Work, Success
There was a talent show on television when I was a child called, Opportunity Knocks. It wasn’t unlike some of the reality talent shows broadcast on TV today. It was lower budget and had a lot less glitz and glamour.
Prospective contestants wrote to the show’s producers via snail mail pitching to audition. I doubt anybody knew the criteria for being picked to appear on the show. I know I didn’t have a clue how to improve my chances when I sent off a letter to the address that flashed across the screen at the end of the show. Luckily my pitch wasn’t successful because I was equally clueless about what my winning act would be if I were chosen.
Opportunity is defined as—a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.
It’s believed to be that fortuitous moment when the stars align. Conventional wisdom reminds us that the chance of success occurs when opportunity knocks. This implies that opportunity is a happening that’s out of our control.
The truth is we don’t simply wait for opportunity to arrive at our door, we invite it in. We start walking down the road to greet it, one foot in front of the other.
Image by Kelan Chad
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Say It Like You Mean It
filed in Marketing, Meaningful Work, Story Skills
Empathy is an essential skill for anyone who wants to make a living by serving others.
A big part of our job is to show those people that we see, hear and can help them.
But there’s a fine line between fake intimacy and genuine sincerity in a sales conversation. We’ve all been subjected to both.
The good news is we each get to choose which posture to adopt.
You can say it like you mean it, or better—you can mean it before you say it.
The integrity of sincerity wins in the long run.
Image by Adam Jang
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The Best Stories Are Lived
filed in Marketing, Meaningful Work, Story Skills, Storytelling
It’s Sunday afternoon, and I’m visiting the smallest branch of my favourite chocolate shop. It’s a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated business, and it shows.
The enthusiasm of the assistants is palpable.
‘I’ve never worked for a company like this,’ the woman behind the counter says. ‘I’ve been here for five years, and I love it!’
When I ask why she talks about how much the owners care.
‘They’d do anything for us. They even get up on a ladder to change our lightbulbs. They remember our birthdays. They want the best for our customers and us.’
As the conversation progresses, ‘they’ becomes ‘we’.
‘We don’t export. We’re just proud to sell a beautiful Australian product at home.’
Storytelling is more than clever copy. It’s the act of showing up, with intention.
Your story is more than a tagline or a positioning statement—it’s not only what you say—it’s what you do.
The best stories are not just told, they are lived.
Image by Avant
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Better For Your Being Here
filed in Meaningful Work
In our rush to make a living, we sometimes lose touch with the reason our work matters.
In our impatience to make other people care, we often lose sight of why we started.
In our eagerness to make an extraordinary impact, we forget it’s in ordinary moments that we leave the world better for our being here.
Image by Adrià Crehuet Cano
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Simple Questions To Ask When Your Marketing Isn’t Working
filed in Marketing, Storytelling, Strategy
My marketing isn’t working.
This sweeping declaration leads us to draw (sometimes incorrect), conclusions that influence our future marketing plans and business strategy. We can’t fix our marketing when we don’t know why it’s broken. But where do we start?
Here are seven questions to ask when your marketing isn’t working as well as you’d like.
7 Questions To Ask And Answer When Your Marketing Isn’t Working
1. Why isn’t this marketing working?
Not necessarily why, in fact, but why do you think—what’s your best guess as to the reasons you’re not achieving the results you want?
2. Did we reach enough of the right people?
How many people do you need to resonate with to achieve the numbers of sales or attract the clients you want?
3. How clear is the message?
Does your message clarify how exactly you solve your prospective customer’s problems, unmet needs or unspoken desires?
4. How well does the message resonate?
Do you know enough about your ideal customers to craft a message that resonates with them and calls them to act?
5. Are you meeting our prospective customers where they are?
Did you use the right medium, in the right place at the right time?
6. Did you give it enough time?
Is the marketing broken, or are you impatient to see results?
7. What would you change given your response to the first six questions?
What one thing can you do today to improve your marketing?
All marketing is testing. Rinse and repeat.
Image by Tim Mossholder