Storytelling is a Great Way to Transmit Tacit Knowledge
Deciphering the secret code of tacit knowledge
Why storytelling matters in business
STORYTELLING AT WORK: The Book
Idea Champions
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January 23, 2020ANYONE HERE FROM CLEVELAND?
If so, you are invited to register for my storytelling workshop, sponsored by the Institute for Management Studies, in your fair city, on June 10th. Click here for the particulars.
My bio
Storytelling at Work
Storytelling for the Revolution
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January 17, 202025 Quotes on the Power of Story
Looking for some inspiring quotes on why storytelling is such a powerful way to communicate your message, cut through the clutter, and awaken people's need for meaning? Here you go...
1. "The world is not made of atoms. It is made of stories." - Muriel Ruykeser
2. "A story is a way to say something that can't be said any other way." - Flannery O'Connor
3. "Telling someone about your experience breathes new life into it, moving it out of the inchoate swirl of unconsciousness into reality. It takes on form and allows us to examine it from all angles." - Mandy Aftel
4. "The most important question anyone can ask is: What myth am I living?" - Carl Jung
5. "Those who do not have the power over the story that dominates their lives, the power to retell it, rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change, truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts." - Salman Rushdie
6. "Inside each of us is a natural born storyteller just waiting to be released." - Robin Moore
7. "A lost coin is found by means of a candle; the deepest truth is found by means of a simple story." - Anthony De Mello
8. "We need to look hard at the stories we create, and wrestle with them. Retell and retell them, and work with them like clay. It is in the retelling and returning that they give us their wisdom." - Marni Gillard
9. "Although setbacks of all kinds may discourage us, the grand, old process of storytelling puts us in touch with strengths we may have forgotten, with wisdom that has faded or disappeared, and with hopes that have fallen into darkness." - Nancy Mellon
10. "In my life, the stories I have heard from my family, my friends, my community, and from willing strangers all over the world have been the true source of my education." - Holly Near
11. "The role of the storyteller is to awaken the storyteller in others." - Jack Zipes
12. "Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward, and we want to sit in their radius. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand." - Karl Menninger
13. "Everybody likes to tell a story. Little children do it effortlessly. Great artists do it with talent and years of practice. Somewhere in between stand you and I." - Sylvia Ziskind
14. "Become aware of what is in you. Announce it, pronounce it, produce it, and give birth to it." - Meister Eckhart
15. "Every story you tell is your own story." - Joseph Campbell
16. "From my perspective as a depth psychologist, I see that those who have a connection with story are in better shape and have better prognosis than those to whom story must be introduced." - James Hillman
17. "The real difference between telling what happened and telling a story about what happened is that instead of being a victim of our past, we become master of it." - Donald Davis
18. "As a storyteller, as a human being, each one of us is one of a kind. And until we learn to celebrate our own unique style, culture, and gifts, we cannot appreciate the wealth of diversity around us." - Doug Lipman
19. "To believe your own thought, to believe what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men -- that is genius.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
20. "A coherent life experience is not simply given. The thing must be made, a story-like production." - Stephen Crites
21. "When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others, too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
22. "A life becomes meaningful when one sees himself as an actor within the context of story." - George Howard
23. "All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them." - Isak Dinesen
24. "You could say that telling a story is the pretext for getting together in a personal way." - Nancy Rambusch
25. "The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." - Henry Miller
Storytelling at Work
Idea Champions
How storytelling can spark innovation
Useful storytelling links
Storytelling helps create the innovation mindset
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September 21, 2019Why Business Leaders Need to Pay More Attention to Storytelling
Here's why -- spoken as clearly as possible in a 60-minute radio interview, hosted by Dr. Wanda Wallace, Founder of the Leadership Forum. Wanda and I cover a lot of ground, including how storytelling can change team and corporate culture for the better. If you curious about how storytelling can be used, as a business tool to spark more teamwork, innovation, and engagement, this one's for you.
About me
My storytelling keynote
My book on storytelling
My innovation and storytelling workshop
"The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller." - Steve Jobs
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September 09, 2019The Perfect Want Ad
Simon Sinek cuts to the chase. This is all you really need to know if you are trying to attract the right people to your team, project, or organization. And notice how he used the Earnest Shackleton story to make his point. Telling the right story is a very powerful way to deliver a message that sticks.
Big thanks to Fazeel Arain for the heads up!
Idea Champions
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September 06, 2019Changing the Center of Power from the Boardroom to the Living Room
Since 1987, Idea Champions has been delivering innovation-sparking services to a wide variety of forward thinking organizations in just about every industry on planet earth. Along the way, we have learned a lot about what works and what doesn't work in regard to helping people go beyond the status quo and enter into the kind of mindset that is conducive to meaningful change.
One of the surprising things we've learned is just how powerful storytelling is. Stories carry with them the DNA of whatever it takes for human beings to wake up, tune into their higher selves, and turn wisdom into action.
While the boardroom is one environment where storytelling can work its magic, the living room, in our experience, is the wave of the future. Which is precisely why Idea Champions is in the process of moving the center of its operations from boardroom to living room.
Yes, we will still work with movers and shakers in organizations and, yes, we will still navigate the flora and fauna of the corporate universe, but we are increasingly finding ways to bring what we do into communities. And the center of any community is the home -- the "headquarters" of the people who inhabit planet Earth -- CEO's of their own lives.
The form our service will take? Wisdom Circles -- small group gatherings of friends and neighbors who get together, from time to time, to share their most meaningful, memorable stories with each other -- stories that connect, inspire, transmit wisdom, and build community.
Our role? Not to be the "experts" or the "traveling consultants", but the ones who train people how to facilitate Wisdom Circles in their own homes. In other words, we are increasingly moving away from the "sage on the stage" model in an attempt to spark a revolution of learning, community building, and wisdom-sharing -- one story at a time.
Imagine, if you will, every night, all around the world, millions of people getting together -- in small groups -- to share the very best of what they have understood about what it means to be a human being -- in a format that honors diversity, lowers stress, builds rapport, and makes it easy for even the the most reserved people to share the very best of what they know.
Stay tuned. We are now deep in the process of developing a low-cost, online training (and support services) that will turn our story of what we want to do into reality.
Want to get an email alert when our training schedule is confirmed? Email: info@ideachampions.com
Here's what people are saying about home-based Wisdom Circles.
Idea Champions
The creator of home-based Wisdom Circles
Storytelling for the Revolution
Storytelling at Work
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April 30, 2019WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT MY NEW BOOK
Storytelling for the Revolution
Storytelling at Work
MitchDitkoff.com
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March 28, 2019What Storytelling Themes Most Intrigue You?
IF YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPARE, please respond to my new online storytelling poll. I will be launching a series of Wisdom (storytelling) Circles in Woodstock, NY on April 10th and am curious to find out what storytelling themes people find most compelling.
PS: You do not need to live in Woodstock in order to respond to the poll -- especially since I will be taking this on the road in the Fall and also teaching people how to facilitate Wisdom Circles in their own homes, towns, cities, or organizations. Thanks, in advance, for chiming in. Much appreciated!
Here's what people are saying about their Wisdom Circle experiences.
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January 19, 2019INTRODUCING: The Wisdom Circles of San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende is famous for a lot of things -- its diverse culture, colonial architecture, hot springs, cobblestone streets, affordable living, great restaurants, town square, benevolent people, and Writer's Conference, just to name a few. One thing it is NOT famous for, at least not yet, is its Wisdom Circles.
If you have not heard of Wisdom Circles, you are in good company because they are a new phenomenon in San Miguel. Created by Mitch Ditkoff, organizational change agent, and author of Storytelling at Work, and Storytelling for the Revolution, Wisdom Circles are a fascinating, new way to build community, elevate the conversation, and transmit wisdom one story at a time.
The premise of a Wisdom Circle is a simple one: inside of each and every human being is a vast storehouse of meaningful experience, insight, inspiration, and life-affirming moments of truth. What's missing, all too often, however, is the opportunity to share this good stuff with people who are listening and present.
That's what happens in a Wisdom Circle.
A small group of people (8-12) get together for two hours at a time, in a relaxed, skillfully facilitated forum (usually in someone's home), to share their stories with each other. Participation is voluntary. Some people, in the circle, are inspired to share their stories. Others are content simply to listen and take it all in. Both are needed. Both are fine. No pressure. No sweat. No problema. Just good energy.
And while participants in a Wisdom Circle may not necessarily perceive themselves to be sages, wizards, or keepers of wisdom, the stories they tell prove otherwise -- especially when their stories are "unpacked" for meaning and resonance by the other people in the circle.
Bottom line, San Miguel's Wisdom Circles are engaging, fun, healing, mind-opening, provocative, and enjoyable gatherings that enable each participant, through the medium of story, to embrace the totality of what it means to be a real human being.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: 7:00 -- 9:00 pm
January 23
February 6
February 20
March 6
March 20
April 3
COST: 200 pesos (1/23). 300 pesos thereafter.
TO REGISTER: mitch@ideachampions.com
Want to host a Wisdom Circle in your own home with your own circle of friends and neighors? It's possible. Just ask.
Illustration: PougetDigital
THE FACILITATOR: Mitch Ditkoff
A sample testimonial
PS: In a few months, I will be taking Wisdom Circles on the road, offering them in homes, communities, and businesses around the world. Details to follow. The simplest way to get me to your city is to set up a keynote or workshop for me with an organization. They will pay my expenses. Then, I will already be in your town or city and can do a few wisdom circles, too. Maybe, even, in your home. Whoo hoo!
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November 01, 2018HOW A SIMPLE STORY Can Elevate the Conversation
My storytelling blog
Storytelling for the Revolution
Storytelling Workshop
GlowDec
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September 30, 2018The Dark Side of Storytelling
MitchDitkoff.com
Storytelling for the Revolution
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September 03, 2018There Is Wisdom Inside You (and it is hiding in your stories)
All 7.6 billion people on planet Earth are composed of the same six elements: hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorous. And all 7.6 billion people, no matter where they were born or what language they speak, are composed of 75% water, 23 pairs of chromosomes, and approximately 37.2 trillion cells.
That's the measurable stuff of which we are made. But there is also some unmeasurable stuff -- that which is not immediately visible, even under a microscope. And this unmeasurable stuff is a clue to why our species has been named "homo sapiens" -- the "wise ones."
Hmmm... wise ones... really? Given the sorry state of the world these days, the "wise ones" seems like a misnomer, but in reality, it is our true nature.
Human beings are more than just carriers of viruses, projections, and DNA. We are also carriers of wisdom -- the ability to perform an action with the highest degree of adequacy under any given circumstance. "Truth in action," you might say. What Solomon was famous for. And Socrates. And a whole lot of other sages since the beginning of time. But not only known sages. Nope. Unknown sages, too. And unknown regular people, as well. Like your grandmother, for example... or your grandfather... parents... teachers... friends... neighbors... coaches or, this just in -- YOU!
Sages, Masters, and Elders may be the most historically recognized "keepers of wisdom" on the planet, but they are not the only ones. The rest of us are also keepers of wisdom. The thing is -- we don't always know it. Our wisdom is often invisible to us. Unseen. Unacknowledged. And unexpressed. Not only do we see the glass as half empty, we often don't even see the glass.
Where is our wisdom hiding? More often than not, in our stories -- much like water is hiding in underground springs and gold is hiding in mines. But just because our wisdom is hiding, it doesn't mean it's non-existent. Everybody has wisdom inside them. Everybody has something meaningful to share, based on what they've learned from the own life experiences. And the simplest, most powerful way to communicate this knowing is story.
Story is how the wisdom of the ages has been transmitted since the beginning of time. This is how our ancestors shared the best of what they knew. This is how all spiritual traditions pass on their knowledge. And this is how the best communicators on the planet communicate what is truly worth communicating.
YOU just happen to be one of those people. Your hidden stories are treasures. There is great wisdom, meaning, and inspiration in them. They need to be told. Especially these days, when the daily narrative that rules our lives is often so dark and depressing.
Are you ready? Are you willing? (I know you're able).
PHOTO: Gift Habeshaw
MitchDitkoff.com
Storytelling for the Revolution
Storytelling at Work
Creating the Innovation Mindset
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August 18, 2018Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Build Your Business and Your Brand
If you are available on August 20th at 4:00 pm PST and want to learn more about the power of storytelling to help build your business and your brand, click here. Nicolette Stinson will be interviewing me on the topic for 30 minutes. It's free. And if you register now, you will also have access to another 30 interviews with thought leaders in the realm of entrepreneurship, brand strategy, and healing.
MitchDitkoff.com
Storytelling for the Revolution
Idea Champions
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August 10, 2018STORYTELLING FOR THE REVOLUTION available as an ebook
GOOD NEWS! My new book, Storytelling for the Revolution, is now available for downloading as an ebook from Amazon. $9.99. Paperback also available.
If you are interested in the power of personal storytelling to build community, open minds, transmit wisdom, and elevate the conversation on planet Earth, this book is for you.
#1 rated in Kindle books for Performing Arts
The book website
11 Amazon Reviews
The media weighs in
A fun excerpt
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August 09, 2018The Power of Context and Timing to Deliver a Memorable Message
So much of our experience of life depends on context and timing. The above video is a delightful, surprise performance of Ravel's Bolero in a shopping mall. Even for shoppers who are not aficionados of classical music, the experience was a positive one. My first experience of Bolero was not a positive one -- mainly due to the fact that I was forced to listen to it blindfolded, for 14 hours in a roomful of sweaty 18-year old boys. Here's the story.
What are you attempting to communicate these days that can be accomplished with greater impact if you tweak the context and timing of your expression of it?
Another example of the impact of context
The full story + video + Joshua Bell playing
My Bolero story excerpted from this book
About the author
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August 08, 2018SPEAKER TUTORIAL: How to Stop Saying "Um", "Ah" and "You Know"
Very useful article from Harvard Business Review on the power of longer pauses when speaking in public.
MitchDitkoff.com
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August 07, 2018THE ART OF MAKING YOUR CASE: The Launch of the i-Phone and i-Pod
What follows is a slightly edited transcript of Steve Jobs' four-minute launch of the iPhone, how he transported his audience from what is to what could be. Notice how he used two classic elements of compelling narrative -- villain (old smartphones) and hero (Apple's new large screen, multi-touch technology). Also notice how he begins with the problem, then introduces the solution.
CHALLENGE: "The most advanced phones are called 'smart phones', so they say. The problem is they are not so smart and not so easy to use. What we want to do is make a leapfrog product that is way smarter than any mobile device has ever been and super easy to use. That is what iPhone is. So we are going to reinvent the phone and we are going to start with a revolutionary user interface."
QUESTION: "Why do we need a revolutionary user interface?"
STRUGGLE/NARRATIVE: "Here are four smartphones -- the Motorola Q, Blackberry, Treo, and Nokia E62, the usual suspects. What's wrong with their user interface? The problem with them is the bottom forty. It's this stuff right there (pointing to the keyboard). They all have these keyboards there whether you need them or not. They all have control buttons that are fixed in plastic. The buttons and controls can't change. How do you solve this?"
RESOLUTION: "What we're going to do is get rid of all these buttons and just make a giant screen. How are we going to communicate with this? We don't want to carry around a mouse. We're going to use a stylus? No. Who wants a stylus? You have to get them out, put them away, you lose them. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus. We're going to use the best pointing device in the world, a pointing device we are all born with. We'll use our fingers. And we have invented a new technology called 'multi-touch.' It works like magic. You don't need a stylus. It's far more accurate than any touch display that's ever been shipped. You can do multi-finger gestures on it. And boy, have we patented it."
And here's how Jobs used analogy to communicate the value of the iPod. "1,000 songs in your pocket."
In just five words, he translated technology in a way that people could understand in a personal way. He didn't talk about megabytes, gigabytes. or bandwidth. He talked about "songs in your pocket" -- a visual, memorable meme that everyone could relate to.
FOR YOUR REFLECTION: Think of a new product, campaign, or initiative of yours that you want to communicate in a way that ensures buy-in. How would Steve Jobs do it? In other words, how can you communicate the essence of what you are trying to say in a simple, compelling, memorable way?
Storytelling for the Revolution
Idea Champions
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July 26, 2018Why Jeff Bezos Has Replaced Powerpoint Presentations in His Meetings with Narrative Memos
Here's something to consider. The richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, has banned powerpoint in all Amazon meetings. In it's place? Narrative storytelling. Here's why. Big thanks to Doug Robinson for the heads up.
Learn how to be a better storyteller
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July 04, 2018Storytelling that Creates Monumental Change
Here's a refreshing, 36-minute podcast/interview on the power of storytelling to spark big, positive changes in organizations. Especially relevant to business people engaged in Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma projects. The interviewers are Elisabeth Swan and Tracey Roarke -- two movers and shakers in the world of LeanSixSigma.
Idea Champions
MitchDitkoff.com
Storytelling for the Revolution
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June 20, 2018How to Spark Innovation in Your Company in 10 Minutes Per Week
Do you work in an organization that is trying to raise the bar for innovation, teamwork, storytelling, and leadership, but doesn't have the budget to pay for trainings, keynotes, and workshops? Here's an alternative -- Idea Champions' Micro-Learning for Innovators service. It all happens online. At your own pace.
The price? YOU decide on the value of our service and make us an offer. 95% of the time we go with what our prospective clients suggest. 5% of the time we decline. Interested? mitch@ideachampions.com
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2018STORYTELLING FOR THE REVOLUTION: The Introduction
"Those who tell the story, rule the world." -- Hopi Indian saying
If you are wondering why I chose to call my book: Storytelling for the Revolution -- a title some people might think is incendiary, inflated, or overly dramatic, here's the reason: We need a revolution. We do. But the revolution I'm inviting you to join is not a political one. It has nothing to do with a change of government, laws, sanctions, or social structures. It has to do with a change of mind and a change of heart and a change in the way we communicate to each other.
It doesn't take a genius to recognize that the collective narrative occupying the airways these days is a dark one -- not all that surprising when you consider the sorry state of the world and the "if it bleeds, it leads" mindset of the media: 
Bad news sells. It's true. But bad news is not the only thing worth reporting on. Indeed, here is another kind of story that also needs to be heard -- one that rarely makes it to the evening news. And that story is revolutionary -- or could be -- the story of how each and every one of us is a broadcast station of insight, wisdom, and love, three phenomena that have the power to transform what is happening on planet Earth.
I am not suggesting you airbrush out the bad news to contemplate your navel. I'm not asking you to become apolitical. All I'm asking you to do is pay more attention to another kind of news -- one that can never be dominated by troll farms or spin doctors. And do you know what the reliable source of that story is? You. Yes, you!
Inside of you, there is another kind of story going on, another narrative, one that exists far beyond late breaking and this just in, one that too rarely gets told. I'm talking about the story of your life -- or, more specifically, the absolute Ground Zero of what you have learned and what you are learning, what you have felt and what you feeling, what you have seen and what you are seeing, even while the world burns down: Essence. Lessons learned. Insights. Moments of truth. Breakthroughs. Obstacles overcome. Personal tales of inspiration, kindness, resilience, love, meaning, vulnerability navigated, and the undeniable wisdom you have gleaned from your own life experiences. In other words, what makes you truly human, a homo sapien -- "the one who knows."
Sages, Masters, and Elders may be the most historically recognized "keepers of wisdom." but they are not the only ones. The rest of us are, too. The thing is -- we don't always know it. Our wisdom is often invisible to us. It is hiding. Unseen. Unacknowledged. And unexpressed. And where our wisdom is hiding, more often than not, is in our stories -- much like water is hiding in underground springs.
Everyone has wisdom inside them. Everyone. Everyone has learned something profound, soulful, and timeless in this life. Everyone has something meaningful to share and when they share it in the form of story, they have the potential to spark wisdom in others. Like, for example, the following story -- a brief retelling of an old Zen tale.
Once upon a time, in feudal Japan, there was an old monk living in a monastery deep in the mountains. Ever since he was a small boy he had lived in this monastery and was considered by his fellow monks to be a most extraordinary soul. Every morning he would awake at 4:00 am and meditate for two hours. Then he practiced calligraphy and prepared breakfast for the other monks. Every afternoon, he read the sutras and, when he wasn't chanting mantras or writing haiku, he worked in the garden. Silently, of course.
Years passed. Seasons came and went. And so did his youth. But no matter how much effort he made, the enlightenment experience he was so diligently seeking never came. And so one day, in his 70th year, he decided to leave the monastery and return to the world. "Why should I continue with all these spiritual practices," he asked himself, "if they are not helping me reach my ultimate goal?
Needing to earn a living, he soon got a job as a sweeper in a local cemetery. Every day he went to work. And every day he swept.
And then, one sunny day, three years into his new, non-monastic life, a stone he had just swept off the path smashed into a tree and split in two. And when it did, something in him split in two, cracked wide open -- the kind of open that never closes again. Everything, suddenly, became totally clear to him. The enlightenment he had been seeking for 50 years had finally happened. Just like that.
The 40 stories in Storytelling for the Revolution are 40 stones splitting in two -- 40 examples of spontaneously occurring moments of truth -- awakenings, both large and small, none of which have ever made it to the evening news. Some of them are from my own life. Some are from the lives of others. They are, metaphorically speaking, a kind of DaVinci code that offers clues to the encrypted wisdom lurking just beneath the surface of our life -- the hard-to-communicate essence that ultimately defines what it means to be fully alive.
My book is not an autobiography. Nor is it a memoir. I share my stories not to call attention to me, but to call attention to you. All I'm doing is getting the party started -- your party -- a chance to take a look into the mirror of story and see, reflected back to you, parts of yourself that may have been hidden from view.
This is why I have written this book. Rather than give in to the despair, despondency, and disillusionment that has become the world's default position these days, I've decided to do everything within my power to reclaim the collective narrative for the greater good -- to revolve around a different sun -- the one that lights up our lives from the inside. And it all begins with story
You don't need to be an anthropologist to figure this out. Deconstruct any scripture, sermon, or TED talk and you will find story. That's how most meaningful messages are conveyed. Even the neuroscientists agree. When storytellers share their experiences, the same parts of the brain that light up in the storyteller upon telling their story, light up in the listener upon hearing it. "Mood contagion" it is called. "Somatic states". "Neural coupling"-- the phenomenon of one person transmitting not only information about X, Y, or Z, but also the experience.
The question isn't whether or not storytelling works. It does. The question is: "Are we going to step up and tell our stories?"
Every day, when a friend passes you on the street and asks "Whassup?" you have a choice to make. You can talk about your aching back, the weather, or the latest political catastrophe, or you can elevate the conversation by telling a story that matters. All you need to do is be yourself, choose wisely and seize the moment.
To help you make your way towards the front lines of storytelling, I've included, in PART ONE, 40 stories for your inspiration and delight -- 30 memorable "rock splitting moments" from my own life and ten classic teaching tales, many of which have been told for centuries. Each story is followed by a question to consider so you can apply its message to your own life. PART TWO is a Field Guide, complete with tips, tools, and techniques for how you can become a better, more confident storyteller. Or, if you really want to go for it, how you can become a storytelling revolutionary on the front lines of your own life -- a sacred activist of insight, wisdom and love.
Ready? I hope so. It's time to gather around the fire and begin...
PS: The book will be published in early June and will be available on Amazon then, both as a softcover and a downloadable, digital version.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2018Micro-Learning for Storytellers
Time-crunched as you are, I know you don't even have two-minutes to read this. So thanks for your 119 seconds.
I'm not going to sell you on the power of storytelling. You already know it's powerful. What you don't know is how to make it real in your organization. I know how to do that. That's what my Micro-Learning for Storytellers service is about. And all it takes is 15 minutes a week.
What you will get is 52 weeks of my content (i.e. videos, podcasts, stories, and articles) to distribute to your workforce one bite-sized piece of wisdom at a time. Mind openers. Thought starters. Tips. Tools. Techniques. Guidelines. And just enough inspiration for people to make the effort they need to become storytelling masters on the job. Or in the class. Or wherever.
WHO AM I?: Mitch Ditkoff, President of Idea Champions, author of the award-winning Storytelling at Work and the forthcoming Storytelling for the Revolution. My clients.
Intrigued? Email me today with the word STORYTELLING in the subject line: mitch@ideachampions.com and I will get back to you with more details.
Micro-Learning for Innovators
Photo: Sidney Perry, Unsplash
MY NEW BOOK ON STORYTELLING WILL BE PUBLISHED IN MAY, 2018
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March 03, 2018JEAN HOUSTON on the Need for Transformational Storytelling
MitchDitkoff.com
Storytelling at Work
My storytelling blog
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March 02, 2018Storytelling for the Revolution
Here is a possible cover of my forthcoming book on storytelling to be published in May. To pre-order and/or learn more about where I'm coming from, click here.
"The world is not made of atoms. It is made of stories." - Muriel Ruykeser
"A story is a way to say something that can't be said any other way." - Flannery O'Connor
"The most important question anyone can ask is: What myth am I living?" - Carl Jung
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2018The Path Is Made By Walking On It
Back in the late 1990s, in New York City, there lived a world-class architect who had just spent the last two years of his life designing and building what many people were claiming to be the best inner city housing project ever conceived.
Although the world stood up and took notice, the architect's friends were totally baffled why a man of his stature would have taken on such a seemingly mundane project. After all, this was a man who had designed some of the world's finest museums. This was a man who had designed more than 20 celebrity mansions and a yacht club on the French Riviera. Why he had chosen to design an inner city housing project was absolutely inconceivable to them.
But not to him.
As the son of immigrant parents, he had grown up in a two-room, cold water flat. His bedroom was actually the hallway. He had no TV. In college, he had to work two jobs to pay his tuition and in graduate school, three. Housing was always an issue for him -- a mix of couch surfing, rat infested tenements, and ridiculously small studio apartments.
So when he heard about the inner city housing project, his ears perked up. To him, this was an opportunity of a lifetime, a message from God, a chance to give back.
With great delight, he threw himself headlong into the project. It took every ounce of energy he had, what with the corrupt labor unions and the crazy New York politics, but he pressed on and, in 18 months, had created something so extraordinary that the press was calling it "The Taj Mahal of Inner City Housing".
When the big day came to officially dedicate his creation, everyone was there -- the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the Assistant to the Deputy Mayor, the Assistant to the Deputy Mayor's Assistant, his parents, wife, kids, therapist, and 500 housing project residents.
Wine was plentiful. So was the cheese and crackers. There was even a reggae band. The Mayor, as you might expect, was the first to speak. Then came the Deputy Mayor and then the Head of the Tenant's Association. Finally, it was the architect's turn. At the end of his talk, he raised a magnum of champagne high over his head and, in the grand tradition of sea captains christening sailing vessels, smashed it on the corner of Building #1.
People were cheering. Flashbulbs were popping. Champagne was guzzled. Everything was as upbeat as humanly possible. That is, until the architect noticed a very large woman, in the back of the crowd, pacing back and forth. She wasn't clapping. She wasn't cheering. She wasn't drinking champagne.
"HEY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Something is wrong here -- very wrong. And with that, began hurriedly making her way forward.
The architect, tapped his mic, quieted the crowd, and invited her to join him on stage.
"Yes, my good woman?" he began. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Please don't get me wrong, sir", she began. "I love what you've created here. And I love that I now have a beautiful home I can afford. But..."
"Yes?" the architect replied."But what?"
"But.." she continued, with a dramatic sweep of her hand in the direction of the courtyard. "There are no sidewalks! Where are the sidewalks? Millions of dollars have been spent on this place and I don't see a single sidewalk."
"Ah..." the architect replied, "a most astute observation. Yes, you are absolutely right. There are no sidewalks. Not a single one. And do you know why?"
"No sir, I don't," she replied.
"There are no sidewalks, because I don't yet know where people walk. So, I've decided to wait a season, notice the paths people naturally make when walking from building to building -- and then pave over them."
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The Path Is Made By Walking On It
In what ways does the architect's choice to wait a few months before adding sidewalks relate to a project of yours? What patterns or feedback do you need to pay more attention to? Where might you need to let things organically unfold rather than making an arbitrary decision that has no correlation to the real needs of the people you are serving? Where might improv be the path to improvement?
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2018Welcome to the Wisdom Revolution!
Click here for Mitch Ditkoff's (that's me, folks) first article published in Arianna Huffington's recently launched, cooler-than-the-Huffington--Post publication: THRIVE GLOBAL. It's my inspired rant about the emerging storytelling revolution on planet Earth. If you haven't heard about it, you will. The book will be published in May.
MitchDitkoff.com
Idea Champions
Wisdom Circles coming to a city near you
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2018Why I Wrote Storytelling at Work
In the past few weeks, quite a few people have asked me for the "elevator speech" about the book I wrote in 2015. I get it. These days, if you can't deliver your message in 60 seconds or less you're screwed. So here goes. Consider this my elevator speech (though the building you are riding in is a hundred stories high).
I wrote Storytelling at Work because I wanted to do everything in my power to unleash what I have come to realize is one of the biggest untapped resources on planet Earth -- and that is the collective insight and wisdom of human beings everywhere. No matter what our education, culture, or profession, each of us has a storehouse of brilliance inside of us -- a deep knowing (hiding in our stories) that, when expressed, has the power to uplift, inspire, and transform.
I'm not talking about the rote communication of book learning. Nor am I talking about the transmission of data, facts, and information. I'm talking about the communication of the very best of what human beings have to share with each other.
Look at it this way: If you want to transport water to a thirsty person, you need a container -- a cup, a bottle, or canteen. If you want to transport wisdom, you also need a container. And the best, most available, container we have is story.
This wisdom conveyance phenomenon has been going on since the beginning of time. It's how our species is wired. It started with cave paintings. It continued around the tribal fire. And it eventually found its way into the wisdom teachings of every civilization on earth.
In modern day business, this storytelling phenomenon has morphed into various, more commercialized forms, all considered to be ways of furthering an organization's success -- branding, advertising campaigns, leadership pep talks, and the sharing of "best practices."
Fine. No problem. But what I'm inviting people to share is not just new ways to sell products, convince others to work harder, or "continuously improve". I'm inviting people to dig deeper and share their "tacit knowledge" with each other -- the harder to express stuff about what they've really learned about themselves, life, and what it means to be a human being -- on or off the job. The juicy stuff. About adaptability. About resilience. About risk taking, courage, creativity, trust, failure, perseverance, passion, intuition, humor, commitment and whatever else they've experienced that is truly meaningful to them.
Without the expression of this wisdom, work can never be more than a job and life can never be more than thanking God for Friday.
Awesome quotes on storytelling
Why your brain likes a good story
Storytelling as a strategic business tool
Why my book matters + excerpts
The shortest elevator speech ever (book excerpt)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:47 PM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2018The Best of My Huffington Post Articles on Storytelling
You may not know this, but I have been a Huffington Post blogger for the past five years. During that time, I've published a number of well-received articles on storytelling, with a special focus on storytelling in the workplace. Below are links to some of them. Each one will take you less than four minutes to read unless you are multi-tracking, catotonic, or heavily sedated.
Why Create a Culture of Storytelling?
The Art of Using Story to Communicate Big Ideas
The Secret Code of Tacit Knowledge
Storytelling is the Trojan Horse of Wisdom
Why Tell Stories?
How to Tell a Good Story
What Kind of Stories Will You Tell Today?
The Power of Personal Storytelling
The book these are excerpted from
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2018A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY TO CLOSE A SALE
Anyone who owns a business, whether they've been to business school or not, knows one thing: You need customers. No customers, no business. How you get customers, of course, is the question.
In my business, one of the main ways to get business is responding to RFPs -- requests for proposals. Here's how it works: a company hears about you, checks out your website, contacts you, schedules a call, tries to figure out if you're the real deal and, if you pass their sniff test, asks you to submit a proposal.
In the beginning of my career, I would get very excited whenever anyone asked me to submit an RFP. It meant I had a big one on the line, a horse in the race, my hat in the ring, or whatever other metaphor I could conjure up to reinforce my belief that I was actually going to make a living. Like a beanie wearing college freshman, I dove into the proposal writing process with great zeal.
In time, however, responding to RFPs made me cranky. I came to learn that only one in ten proposals would make the grade and that the other nine, which I had so diligently crafted, were merely my response to bogus fishing expeditions from the client. Either they had already decided on their vendor, were testing the waters, wanted to get free insights, or were merely on the hunt for the low cost provider.
So when MTV Networks called, I was betwixt and between. Do I play the game and spend the better part of my day writing a proposal or do walk my talk and do something different?
Since I'd already done some work for MTV, I decided the time was right to experiment, so I asked myself a question: "How can I radically reduce the time it takes me to write a proposal that gets results?" The answer came quickly -- the TWO WORD proposal. In 200 point type, I wrote the words "TRUST US" with an asterisk after the "S" -- and, at the bottom of the page, in 8 point type, noted our fee. That was it. Two words and a bottom line.
On the day my proposal was due, I walked into the office of MTV's CFO, Jim Shaw. After the ritual chit chat and cup of coffee, he asked me if I had the proposal.
"Yes, I do, Jim. But first let me ask you a question. 'Do you get a lot of proposals?'"
He laughed, pointing to a huge stack on his desk.
"And do you like reading proposals?"
Jim looked at me as if I had asked him to stick forks in his eyes.
"Good!" I said. "Then there's a good chance you will love my proposal. But in order to give it to you, I need to get further away from you."
And with that warning, I began backing away across the room. When I got as far away as possible, I stopped and held my proposal in the air.
Even from across the room, Jim could read my two words: TRUST US! Smiling, he beckoned me forward, took the proposal from my hands, lowered his eyes to the bottom line, and extended his hand.
"You got a deal," he said.
Two words in big bold type and a bottom line. That's all it took. Two minutes. Not two hours.
FOR YOUR REFLECTION: "We have 60,000 thoughts per day," said Deepak Chopra. "Unfortunately, all of them are ones we had the day before." That's how most human beings roll. Creatures of habit, we find a groove and stay in it until it becomes a rut. Then it's so deep, we have a hard time getting out of it, so we decorate our walls with Dilbert cartoons and pictures of our last vacation.
Sometimes, we need to do something different. Will this "something different" work every time? No, it won't. But it will work sometimes. My two-word proposal was the perfect thing for MTV. It wouldn't have been the perfect thing for a new client or the IRS, but for MTV it got the job done.
NOW WHAT? Think of a proposal, pitch, or presentation you need to make in the next few weeks. On one side of a piece of paper, write down all the reasonable things you can do to get the gig. Then, on the flip side, write down all the unreasonable things -- new approaches, new ideas, and new ways to make your case. After you write your first wave of unreasonable approaches, write your second wave. Then pick one of them and go for it. Inspiration for you.
Excerpted from Storytelling at Work.
Idea Champions
Mitch Ditkoff
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)
January 06, 20185 Ways to Raise the Bar for Storytelling in Your Organization
If your organization is looking for an engaging, flexible, cost-effective way to raise the bar for storytelling in the workplace, I'm your man. Below are five ways I can help you stir the storytelling soup:
1. WORKSHOPS
- Creating the Innovation Mindset
- Storytelling at Work
2. KEYNOTES:
- Scroll down to the third keynote
3. WISDOM CIRCLES
- Small group storytelling gatherings
- Train the Trainer also available
4. MICRO-LEARNING:
- Short blasts of online innovation-sparking content,
- A yearlong curriculum of my original content (52 links)
- Can be focused on storytelling or include 11 other topics
- Learn more
5. MY STORYTELLING BOOKS
- Storytelling at Work (bulk discounts available)
- Storytelling for the Revolution (to be published in May)
MitchDitkoff.com
My clients
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2017How to Leverage the Power of Storytelling in 15 Minutes Per Week
Once upon a time there was a forward-thinking organization that understood what a powerful culture-building tool storytelling was. THEY GOT IT. But what they didn't get, was the fact that the effort to turn theory into practice was way easier than they imagined.
In honor of the fact that a goldfish's attention span (9 seconds) is one second longer than a human being's (8 seconds), Idea Champions is now offering a bold, new, online, micro-learning curriculum for time-crunched people for who want to leverage the power of storytelling in the workplace. Like YOU, for example.
Fifteen minutes a week is all is will take. Or, if you are caffeinated, ten.
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS
1. You and I have a 15-minute phone conversation about WHY you want to bring more storytelling into the workplace.
2. Based on your needs, I create a customized Leveraging Storytelling in the Workplace curriculum for you -- a landing page of links to 52 engaging articles and videos of mine on the topic.
3. Each week, for the next year, you forward one link to your team (or whatever part of your workforce is participating in the program.)
4. Participants read/view the link in preparation for a weekly meeting that you or one of your surrogates facilitates. All you need to reserve on your agenda is 10 minutes for the storytelling topic. NOTE: This is micro-learning, not head-banging.
5. You (or your designated meeting moderator) facilitates the storytelling-topic-of-the week conversation. This deepens the learning, ensures accountability, quickens the sharing of best practices, sparks creative thinking, and establishes a robust, intrinsically motivated learning community.
OPTION #1: I send you a simple "Moderator's Guide" that includes powerful, conversation-starting questions for each of the 52 topics in the curriculum. Helps ensure that your weekly storytelling meetings are as effective as possible.
OPTION #2: I participate on your launch call to help you set the context, inspire participation, and answer any questions people might have about the value and purpose of the program.
FEE: $695 for an annual license.
WHO CREATED THIS PROGRAM? Mitch Ditkoff, Co-Founder of Idea Champions, Author of the award-winning Storytelling at Work and the forthcoming Storytelling for the Revolution. Creator of a wide variety of storytelling workshops, keynotes, and trainings. Innovation Blogger of the Year, two years running. And Master storyteller. His clients.
Interested? email Mitch today: mitch@ideachampions.com
Why Create a Culture of Storytelling in the Workplace
Radio interview on storytelling in the workplace
Great Quotes on the Power of Story
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2017Storytelling Webinar, with Mitch Ditkoff, on November 22th
Please join me (Mitch Ditkoff) for a 60-minute "Power of Storytelling in Business" webinar -- hosted by PatSnap -- on Wednesday, November 22nd. Click here to register. It's free.
If you are looking for simple ways to leverage the power of storytelling in the workplace, this will be a good use of your time. Upbeat. Authentic. And entertaining, too. "He that tells the stories, rules the world." - Hopi Indian Saying
My book on storytelling
My blog on storytelling
16 brief videos on storytelling
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2017The Growing Relationship Between Storytelling and Lean Six Sigma
These two Lean Six Sigma practitioners walk into a bar. Wait... no... I mean three Lean Six Sigma practitioners walk into a bar. The first is wearing pink tights. The second is mumbling something about a fishbone diagram. The third is just back from a 10-day vacation in Croatia. Now that I have your attention, click here for a rousing 60-minute webinar on the relationship between storytelling, innovation, and Lean Six Sigma. The interviewer? The fabulous Elisabeth Swan, Managing Partner of GoLeanSixSigma. The interviewee? Mitch Ditkoff, President of Idea Champions and author of Storytelling at Work. Enjoy!
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:16 AM | Comments (0)
August 29, 2017How I Won a Contract from AT&T By Teaching One Man to Juggle
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a good story is worth a million. Here's a five-minute story about how the company I co-founded, Idea Champions, won a large contract from AT&T by teaching the Director of Training and Development how to juggle in five minutes.
Read the full story in this book
A priest, a penguin, and a newspaper reporter walk into a bar
Me speaking about storytelling in business
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2017A Simple Way to Get the Word Out
MitchDitkoff.com
My HuffPost articles
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:42 AM | Comments (0)
July 06, 2017Time to Let It Rip!
MitchDitkoff.com
Idea Champions
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:28 AM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2017On Building the Case for Storytelling
One of the biggest challenges that internal change agents have when it comes to fostering a culture of storytelling in the workplace is building the business case -- why it matters and what the impact can be. The quote below, from John Kotter, author of Leading Change, will help. If you need help building your case, shoot me an email and I will send you some more "grist for the mill" -- links to compelling articles and videos on the topic.
Storytelling at Work: the blog
Storytelling at Work: the book
The author of both
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2017STORYTELLING WORKSHOP DESIGN: One Size Does Not Fit All
If you are looking for a simple way to leverage the power of storytelling in your organization, but haven't found an "off the shelf" solution, I know why: it doesn't exist. And WHY it doesn't exist is because your organization's needs are unique. One size fits all does not fit all. That's why Idea Champions' storytelling workshops are all customized. We mix and match from a broad selection of modules to create the perfect fit for you. All we need to know is what topics you'd like to see us address and in what ratio. Simple. And we don't charge for customization.
THE MODULES
-- Building a business case for the benefits of storytelling
-- Improving listening and feedback skills
-- Activating the innovation mindset
-- Sharing in-house best practices
-- Communicating tacit knowledge (i.e. insight and wisdom)
-- Going beyond your organization's old story
-- Generating new ideas and solutions
-- Increasing trust and teamwork
-- Improving idea selling skills
-- Inspiring action and meaningful follow through
-- Fostering a culture of storytelling in the workplace
TWO EXAMPLES:
Creating the Innovation Mindset
Storytelling at Work
OTHER RESOURCES FOR YOU
We wrote the book
We also wrote the blog
The workshop is taught by this gent
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)
May 01, 2017What Cortisol, Oxytocin, and Dopamine Have to Do With the Impact of Storytelling
There's a quantifiable reason why the most successful Superbowl commericials are all structured like stories. Neuroscientists and neuroeconomists agree. And what they agree on is that it has a lot to do with the chemicals that stories trigger in the brain. Here's a well-written Harvard Review article on this fascinating phenomenon.
MitchDitkoff.com
How to change innovation mindset via storytelling
My award-winning book on storytelling in the workplace
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2017The Art of Using Story as a Way to Communicate Big, Hairy Ideas
A priest, a penguin, and a newspaper reporter walk into a bar. The penguin orders a shot of Red Eye. The priest starts juggling three flaming chain saws. The newspaper reporter turns to the bartender, smiles and says: "I know there's a story here somewhere."
And yes, there is. There are stories everywhere. As the poet, Muriel Ruykeser once said, "The world is not made of atoms. The world is made of stories."
Almost everyone in business these days -- at least the people responsible for selling big, hairy ideas -- knows that the difference between success and failure often depends on what kind of story is told -- and how well. Content may be King. But it is Story that built the kingdom. Or as Steve Jobs once put it, "The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller."
The question, these days, isn't whether or not storytelling works. It does. It's worked for thousands of years. If you have any doubt, just ask your local neuroscientist. The question is how do you tell a really effective story -- one that not only informs and entertains, but gets results -- the kind of results that opens minds, influences behavior, and is remembered.
And this is precisely where the proverbial plot thickens. Why? Because most people don't think they know how to tell good story. At least, that's the story they keep telling themselves -- that they don't have the chops or experience to tell a good story. Spoiler alert! Not true.
Social scientists tell us that 65% of our conversations boil down to story -- narrative accounts with a beginning, middle, and end. Throw in a likable hero, a setting, some obstacles, a few juicy details, plot twists, and a resolution, and voila, you've got yourself a story!
Simply put, storytelling is "an unconscious competency" -- something human beings naturally do. The thing is -- we don't know how we do it. Like breathing, for example. Or thinking. Or riding a bicycle. But just because we can't explain how we do it, doesn't mean we're not good at it. Kapish?
You already know how to tell a story. You do. You've been telling stories ever since you were a child. In fact, you tell stories many times a day. On the job. Off the job. Hanging out with your friends. Wherever. Story is in your DNA. Indeed, neuroscientists like to say that the human brain is "wired for story." It's how we make sense of our lives. It's our communication default position. We are storytelling animals. And the more we practice, the better we get.
The simplest explanation of what story is? A narrative -- an account of what happened or what might happen. That account, of course, can be utterly boring ("I woke up. I picked up my dry cleaning. I returned home.") Or it can be utterly captivating -- what every movie you've ever seen or novel you've ever read has tried to accomplish. To capture your attention. To deliver a meaningful message. And to influence what you think, feel, and do.
For the moment, think of storytelling as a big, yummy pot of soup. It smells good. It looks good. And it tastes good. But at first glance, you can't tell what the ingredients are -- or the spices. Do you really need to know every single ingredient if you're being served a bowl of soup from a reliable source? Probably not. But if you're making the soup, you most definitely do. So let's sit down with our penguin, priest, and newspaper reporter for a few minutes and see if we can demystify what this whole mumbo gumbo story thing is all about.
First things first. If you want your story to pack a wallop, you've got to know your audience. If they're allergic to eggplant, don't put eggplant in the soup. If they're vegetarian, lose the chicken. And know your end game -- what it is you're attempting to communicate -- what you want your audience to think, feel, or do differently after listening to you. Whatever message you want to leave them with, be able to boil it down to 10 words or less.
Years ago, this would have been known as your "elevator speech". These days, if you can't deliver your message upon entering an elevator, you're screwed. Think about it. When Steve Jobs launched the iPod, he cut to the chase by distilling his message down to just five words: "1,000 songs in your pocket." That's what the iPod was. Technobabble? No. Overwhelming factoids and data? No. One clean soundbyte surrounded by a compelling beginning, middle, and end. When you think about the story you want to tell, be sure you can distill it down to a memorable meme -- what screenwriters do when they pitch their idea to a movie studio.
Just like the iPod has a shape, so does a story -- the beginning, the middle, and the end, as I've said before, but I'm saying again because I want you to remember just how important structure. It's the spine of your intended result.
The beginning is where you set things up -- the place where you hook the attention of your audience, the place where you set the scene and introduce your hero -- hopefully a likable one. Then you introduce the Big Bad Wolf -- the obstacle, the conflict that begets the drama -- which, in your case, if you are trying to sell a product or service -- might be the competition, a government regulation, or the cost of entering a new market. Get the picture? Someone or something exists and that someone or something wants to move forward towards an inspired goal, but his/her/its path is blocked. Time for nail biting and some popcorn. Hooray for adversity! Without it, there is no story. No Star Wars. No Rocky. No Three Little Pigs.
And the broth of the great story soup you are concocting? What might that be? Passion! Your passion. Your passion for the message you're communicating and your passion for the act of storytelling itself. No passion, no power. No passion, no presence. No passion, no purchase order. It's that simple.
Bottom line, story is all about "emotional transportation" -- the journey you take people on from here to there, from known to unknown, from no can do to what's the next step?"
No matter how logical, linear, or analytical your audience might be, unless you can speak to their heart, you will never win their mind. Yes, of course, if you are making a business presentation, you will need to spice up your story with the fruits of your research, but only enough to keep the story moving, only enough to soothe the savage beast of the left brain. Data is the spice. It is not the main ingredient. If your audience isn't feeling what your saying, it doesn't matter how many statistics you throw their way. As Einstein said, "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted, counts."
It's Little Red Riding Hood on her way to Grandma's house we care about, not her shoe size or SAT scores.
Other things to be mindful of as your prepare your presentation? Keep your stories short. Speak in the language of the people, not the technologists. No one wants to hear an epic poem. What you're trying to do by telling a story is create an opening to drive the Mack truck of possibility through and maybe pick up a few hitchhikers along the way. You are building a bridge, not a shopping mall.
Lose the complicated back story. "The world doesn't want to hear about your labor pains, they want to see the baby," said Johnny Sain, an American right-handed pitcher for the Boston Braves, born in 1917, who was the runner up for the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in 1948 after leading the league in wins and compiling a lifetime ERA of 3.49 -- the last pitcher to face Babe Ruth). See what I mean? Your team may have put a lot of effort into the project. Months of work. That's great. That's nice. Show us the baby!
And please don't read from your PowerPoint slides. Not only is that boring, it's rude. Borderline, inhuman. There's no way in the world you can build rapport and "read the room" if you are staring at a screen. If you want your audience to look into the future, you've got to look into their eyes, not one boring slide after another.
Here's something to think about: If you really want to get the attention of your audience, "violate expectations." Like what Bill Gates did when, in the middle of a keynote presentation on malaria, he released a bunch of mosquitoes into the room. Talk about buzz! At the very least, infuse your presentation with some visual buzz -- analogies and metaphors that paint a picture for your listeners -- something they can see, not just hear about.
And when you want to crank things up, ask a compelling question or two. Then pause... and listen to the response. The more you listen, the more your audience will listen. Know that a good story is also a good performance. So, unhinge yourself from the dead zone -- the spot on the floor to which you have nailed both of your feet. Move around the room. Vary the lengths of your sentences and the volume of your voice. Gesture. Make facial expressions. Speak to one specific person at a time, not the generic "audience." But above all, trust yourself. If you don't trust yourself, no one else will.
Of course, you can only trust yourself, if you are prepared. So practice your ass off. Know your talking points. Write out a script. Understand the flow of what you want to say, the key milestones along the way and whatever anecdotes and facts you want to include. Then distill the whole thing down to few main points on note cards. Get the story in your bones. Then throw your note cards away. Or, if you absolutely need to hold onto your note cards, glance at them only occasionally. Otherwise, they will become a rectangular 3x5 PowerPoint show in your hand, yet another slow leak in the bucket of your storytelling brilliance.
Remember, there is no formula for telling a good story. Only guidelines. And there is no one right way to tell a story. There are thousands. Maybe millions. Or billions -- each one according to the style and personality of the teller. Your job is not to tell a story like Steve Jobs or Garrison Keillor or Winston Churchill. Your job is tell a story like YOU! And while it is perfectly fine (and often, useful) to read books on storytelling, study TED videos, and attend cool workshops, in the end, all you need to know is this...
You are sitting around the tribal fire with the elders. They want to hear from you. You've been on a big adventure for days, weeks, or even months. You've got important news to share with them, vital insights to reveal, memorable experiences to convey. The survival of the tribe depends it. You're not trying to get promoted. You're not worried about being cast out of the tribe. The only thing that matters is telling your story in a way that informs, inspires, and enlightens.
End of story.
Penguin Photo: Ira Meyer
Storytelling at Work
The Storytelling Workshop
Spark the innovation mindset with story
60 minute radio interview on storytelling at work
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:34 AM | Comments (2)
April 13, 2017The World Storytelling and Innovation Tour
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:39 AM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2017VIDEO: The Power of Storytelling in the Workplace to Spark Innovation
Click here for a 33-minute interview of Mitch Ditkoff talking about the power of storytelling to ignite innovation, insight, and wisdom in the workplace. This link will expire on April 9th. Enjoy!
MitchDitkoff.com
IdeaChampions.com
BOOK: Storytelling at Work
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2017You Have Stories to Tell
Here is the retelling of an old tale I first heard from Prem Rawat. The story can be interpreted in a number of ways. For this particular moment, I am telling the story to draw your attention to the fact that within you, hidden from sight, there are many wonderful stories still to be told. I encourage you to tell them.
MitchDitkoff.com
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:15 AM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2017KEYNOTE: Storytelling at Work
THIS JUST IN! There is a very good chance that the dominant story being told in your organization these days is an old one -- a narrative that binds your enterprise to the past. Not a good idea.
As Steve Jobs once said, "The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, value, and agenda for an entire generation to come."
Clearly, Jobs walked his talk. The stories he told ended up shaping the lives of millions of people around the world. Well, then, what stories are your people telling? And if the stories they're telling are not setting the vision, values, and agenda for an entire generation to come (or at least your business or industry), then something needs to shift. And I can catalyze that shift in 90 minutes or less.
Storytelling at Work is the simple, compelling way to open minds, build community, spark innovation, and accelerate the sharing of tacit knowledge -- the hard-to-communicate brilliance that is the DNA of your organization's success. My keynote includes copies of my award-winning book Storytelling at Work and at least a few "off the record" stories I will tell at the bar later that night.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:47 AM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2017Share Your REAL Best Practices
mitchditkoff.com
Storytelling at Work
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:29 PM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2017The Fine Wine of Storytelling
I have always been a big believer in serendipity -- that magical moment when something "out of the blue" shows up in our lives to amaze and delight us -- an occurrence beyond logic. Well... here is one of them. Last week, I facilitated a three-day conference for Nations Roof, a great organization highly committed to becoming the "Mercedes of Customer of Service" in their industry. A key element of the conference was storytelling -- not just my stories, but the stories of nine of their key movers and shakers -- memorable "moments of truth" on-the-job that revealed big insights, wisdom, and best practices worth sharing.
A few minutes ago, Larry Morgan, Nation's Roof highly committed (and very entertaining) Director of Sales, sent me the above photo. As Larry tells it, a couple of days after the conference, Larry and his wife went to a wine event and there, on the first Pinot table, stood this bottle of wine. Front and center! Ta da! Makes for a good story, no? And one more reminder of how storytelling is everywhere.
Thanks, Larry, for being alert to the clues and taking the time to share this delightful reminder with me.
We Are All Storytellers
Storytelling as a Way to Transmit Tacit Knowledge
13 super short videos of mine on the topic
My award-winning book on storytelling
MitchDitkoff.com
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2017Storytelling is a Powerful Way to Transmit Tacit Knowledge
My book on storytelling
MitchDitkoff.com
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2017Free Online Innovation and Creativity Summit 2017
Here's Nick Skillicorn introducing the upcoming, online Innovation and Creativity Summit 2017. I am happy to announce that I will be one of the 45 presenters. My topic? The power of storytelling to spark innovation. Cost? Zero. Zippo. Zilch. Click here to register. Summit begins on April 2.
MitchDitkoff.com
Storytelling at Work
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2017The Power of Personal Storytelling to Deliver Real Meaning
Storytelling at Work
Our new storytelling workshop
Storytelling infographic
Storytelling at Work
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2017Have Pluma, Will Travel
I will be on a 10 week writer's retreat in San Miguel de Allende working on my next book, Storytelling for the Revolution. During that time I will have about 7 hours each week for free lance writing and editing projects. Contact me if you have the need: mitch@ideachampions.com
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2016Tis the Season to Tell Your Stories
'Tis the season to tell your stories, folks! Your families are gathering. Your friends are coming to visit. The tribe is reconvening, whether it's around the fire, the dining room table, or the turkey in the kitchen. Wherever you find yourself, you will have lots of opportunities to share with others -- not just the gifts you bought at the mall, but the stories of your life -- memorable moments of truth that have moved you and are likely to move others.
THIS is what people will remember, not the device you give them, not the card, not the pumpkin pie. So tell your stories! And when others tell theirs, stop what you're doing and listen. Stories, well-told and well-listened, are one of the best ways to connect with others and REMEMBER what's truly important in this life.
My new book on storytelling
My new storytelling blog
The storytelling and innovation workshop
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2016The Wisdom Circles of San Miguel
Every human being, no matter what path they walk, skip, hop, or jump is a fountainhead of wisdom -- a deep well of insights, brilliance, and lessons learned. This wisdom, however, is often buried beneath the flora and fauna of our daily lives and, because it is, the full value of what we know to be true often remains unexpressed.
The good news? Our deepest wisdom is always available to us. It's just hiding. And where it's hiding is in our stories -- those memorable moments of truth we've all had that have, contained within them, meaning and inspiration worth sharing.
One of the simplest ways to get back in touch with the deepest part of who we are is a Wisdom Circle, a lightly facilitated sharing of life stories that provides the safety, guidance, and inspiration for participants to reconnect with best of who they are.
Lead by Mitch Ditkoff, author of the award-winning book, Storytelling at Work, LifePath's first-ever Wisdom Circle -- to be offered on January 18th in San Miguel de Allende -- promises to be a fun, engaging, life-affirming experience for everyone. Two hours long. Enrollment limited to 15.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2016Why Storytelling is So Powerful
Storytelling at Work: The Book
Storytelling at Work: The Blog
Storytelling podcasts, videos, interviews, and articles
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2016How to Create a Culture of Storytelling in the Workplace
Want to bring meaningful storytelling into the workplace -- to share insight, wisdom, and tacit knowledge? Want to spark a culture of innovation, caring and collaboration? I'm your man.
Why create a culture of storytelling?
Storytelling at Work
What people are saying about it
Videos, podcasts, and interviews on storytelling
Storytelling at Work blog
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2016It All Began With Balls
Here's a fun, 7-minute story about Idea Champions big breakthrough soon after we started the business -- inspiration for YOU to do something different, provide your clients an EXPERIENCE, and have some fun along the way. "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."
This story in the Huffington Post
Excerpted from this book
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2016Do You Need a Storytelling Coach?
ED NOTE: This just in from Jeri Dube, a delightful new Oracle client of Idea Champions. Jeri engaged our phone coaching services to help her become a more skillful writer and storyteller -- two ways in which she is helping Oracle's sales force raise the bar for success.
"Working with Mitch was a privilege. As a professional writer, I rarely get the opportunity to have someone guide me on how to improve. Mitch had great insights into storytelling. More importantly, he could apply his knowledge and wisdom to where I needed improvement. Even if I knew something such as "ask open-ended questions" or "read your story out loud", it was useful to have a knowledgeable outsider reinforce the things that slip. And it's a gift to hear ideas that I hadn't considered or thought of before.
We covered a wide array of topics from how to make run-of-the-mill "win" stories for a sales audience more readable and impactful to how I could pull elements that lead to better storytelling out of a 1/2 hour interview with predominantly left-brained, short-on-time, interviewees.
Despite how much I learned, Mitch never made me feel like I wasn't proficient already. The time I spent with him was for sharpening my skills and creating a more enriching read for my audience. It made a difference in my process and in the results of my work."
Other client testimonials
Mitch's award-winning book on storytelling
Idea Champions
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
September 11, 2016What Kind of Story Will You Tell?
The Joy of Heckling
More about the power of story
The book
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
July 30, 2016Why Your Organization Needs to Create a Culture of Storytelling
Why create a culture of storytelling?
Storytelling videos, interviews and articles
Sparking innovation via storytelling
Idea Champions
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2016Cavemen with Briefcases in Need of a Wise Person's Story
Storytelling at Work: The Workshop
Storytelling to Create the Innovation Mindset
Storytelling at Work: The Book
Storytelling in the Workplace: The Radio Interview
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:22 PM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2016COMING SOON! The Woodstock Story Festival: April 30 and May 1
Q. What do Alice B. Toklas, Willie Nelson, and the Woodstock Story Festival have in common?
A. They were all born on April 30th.
Alice was born in 1877. Willie was born in 1933. And the Woodstock Storytelling Festival was born in 2016 -- or should I say will be born in 2016 -- just 33 days from now. It's long awaited birth (April 30th and May 1st) will take place at the Mountainview Studio and you are invited to attend.
No need to bring a gift -- just yourself and your appreciation for the power of story to transform lives.
Billed as a "celebration of story in The Arts, Education, Therapy, Business, Mythology and Medicine", the festival promises to be an extraordinary gathering -- an inspired weekend of storytelling, musical performances, community building, fun, and reflection on our planet's most ancient form of communication.
Presenters come from a wide range of disciplines and include Peter Blum, Goia Timpanelli, Elizabeth Cunningham, David Gonzalez, Mitch Ditkoff, Doug Grunther, Barbara Mainguy, Paul McMahon, Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Richard Schwab, and Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas.
Tickets? $150 for both days or $95 for either Saturday or Sunday. Due to the cozy size of the venue, advanced ticket purchase is encouraged.
Woodstock Story Festival website
WSF Facebook page
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2016What Do LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Mary Lou Retton & Mitch Ditkoff All Have in Common?
Give up? They are all Bronze Medal winners -- LeBron, Michael, and Mary Lou in various Olympics and Mitch in the just announced 2016 Axiom Business Book Awards competition in the Success/Motivation/Coaching category.
The Bronze Medal, in case you've been in a coma since 1904 (when it was first bestowed at the St. Louis Olympics) is awarded to the third place finisher. I must admit that when I first heard that I was a Bronze Medal winner, I was disappointed, hoping for the Gold or, at least, the Silver medal.
But then I read about some research done by social psychologists, in 1995, that showed that Bronze Medal winners were significantly happier than those who had won the Silver Medal -- comforting, indeed, as I highly value happiness, one of the key themes of my Bronze Medal winning book, STORYTELLING AT WORK: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life.
Further research revealed that one of my favorite comedians of all time, Jerry Seinfeld, shed light on this topic in 2008. Seinfeld's rant on this little understood phenomena, I am thrilled to say, is more proof that my winning of the Bronze Medal is something to be happy about.
Silver Medalists, you see, are usually depressed about not winning the Gold, but Bronze Medalists are happy they didn't come in fourth and be completely ignored -- not that I am looking to walk through life with an Axiom Book Award medal around my neck, BUT... I am glad that my recently published Storytelling at Work has gotten some recognition because this may translate into more sales which, of course, will lead to more income and the increased possibility of doing keynotes on the power of storytelling OR, if my clients choose a Gold or Silver Medal winner instead of me for their keynote, then my chances of delivering either of my two storytelling workshops: Creating the Innovation Mindset or Storytelling at Work: The Workshop will have increased.
In any case, I tip my hat to the good people of the Axiom Book Awards for their kind recognition of my book. And I also tip my hat to the Gold and Silver Medal winners in my category, as well as the author who tied for the Bronze Medal. I'm sure they are great people with their own increased optimism that their books will have increased visibility.
If you are interested in how this newly crowned Bronze Medal winner (that's me, Mitch Ditkoff, folks) and his company can spark innovation in your company, let me hear from you (mitch@ideachampions.com) or just log onto Amazon and buy my book to see what all the fuss is about.
Below are some links that will give you a better understanding of why Storytelling at Work won an Axiom Book Award, how storytelling, consciously done, can spark innovation, wisdom, and massive amounts of renewed employee engagement.
Three minute video: why storytelling matters
Voice America radio interview
Amazon reviews of the book
Harnessing the Power of Storytelling
Storytelling at Work podcast
Book of the Month selection:
Other articles on storytelling
What my clients say
My new storytelling blog
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:42 AM | Comments (1)
January 26, 2016Story as a Leadership Tool
Here's a lovely animated intro to why STORYTELLING is such a powerful communication and business tool -- by the author of Circle of the 9 Muses.
Storytelling at Work
More useful links about storytelling
And more
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:44 PM | Comments (0)
January 21, 2016One Stop Shopping for Great Links on the Art & Science of Storytelling
If you are interested in the power of storytelling to engage, inspire, and spark the transfer of insight, knowledge, and wisdom you have come to the right place. Below are links to a variety of recent articles of mine and other story-mavens who inspire me on this most important topic.
Awesome quotes on storytelling
Storytelling is the trojan horse of wisdom
How to use storytelling to foster employee engagement
How to spark massive employee engagement in 90 minutes or less
The irresistible power of storytelling as a strategic business tool
Harnessing the power of storytelling
Jean Houston on the urgent need for transformative storytelling
Why your brain likes a good story
What stories will you tell?
How to tell a good story
Why create a culture of storytelling?
Radio interview: Storytelling as a way to change a culture
New storytelling blog
Wisdom circles
My recently published book on storytelling
The roots of fairy tales go waaaaay back
Why did I write my book on storytelling?
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2016How to Use Storytelling to Foster Genuine Employee Engagement
Let's assume, for the moment, that you are a forward-thinking business leader charged with the responsibility of accomplishing extraordinary results. Although your strategy may not yet be completely clear to you, one thing most definitely is: You cannot do this alone. You know, in your bones, that if you want to achieve extraordinary results, you will need the full participation of a highly engaged, focused, and collaborative workforce.
The sobering reality? It's unlikely that your company's workforce has reached this lofty realm yet -- closer, in profile, probably, to the staggering 62% of American workers (according to the US Department of Labor) who are dissatisfied and disengaged.
In other words, corporate slackers.
Yes, they have potential, but it is not potential you need. You need kinetic -- the full throttle expression of the very best of what your people have to offer. You've tried carrots. You've tried sticks. You've given pep talks until you're blue in the face, but nothing seems to work. It's time for something else. But what?
Enter Idea Champions' ALL HANDS ON DECK workshop.
Based on 27 years of research and in-the-trenches experience with hundreds of savvy organizations, Mitch Ditkoff, internationally recognized innovation provocateur and author of the groundbreaking book, Storytelling at Work, has distilled down the essence of what he's learned about employee engagement and the transfer of tacit knowledge into a highly effective, one-day learning experience.
His premise is a simple one: Participants don't need to learn anything new. They don't need to be trained, transformed, or tricked into mastering new skills. Instead, they need to tune into -- and express -- what they already know -- their collective insight, wisdom, and know how that is hiding in a place few of them ever dare to explore -- their own stories.
Bottom line, storytelling is the most universal, time-tested, cost-effective way for people to share what is truly meaningful to them, what they know in their bones but rarely get a chance to communicate -- your organization's most valuable human resource, the DNA of its future business success: 
Purpose. Passion. Risk taking. Resilience. Adaptability. Creativity. Clarity. Collaboration. Commitment. And perseverance.
You want full engagement? You want to spark a mindset of innovation? Then find a way to unlock these qualities in your people.
The key? Storytelling, well done.
HOW DOES THE WORKSHOP WORK?
There are three reasons why an ALL HANDS ON DECK workshop works: 1) What we do before the session; 2) What we do during the session; 3) And what we do after.
At least 30 days before a workshop, we will interview you and a cross-section of participants to find out what the predominant story is in the organization -- the cultural narrative that will need to change if employee engagement and innovation is going to flourish. We also ask everyone to respond to our culture of innovation poll -- yet another way to prime the pump.
The workshop, itself, is a mix of five elements: culture building, action learning, storytelling tutorials, ideation, and opportunities for participants to share their own stories with each other.
Post-workshop, we train selected participants, online, to facilitate company-specific Wisdom Circles -- small group gatherings that build trust, increase collaboration, transfer tacit knowledge, spark innovation and continue building a culture of storytelling.
Intrigued? Call us at 845.679.1066 or email info@ideachampions.com
Innovation Excellence review of Storytelling at Work
A 60 minute radio interview with Mitch Ditkoff
Harnessing the power of storytelling
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:56 AM | Comments (0)
January 12, 2016How Storytelling Shapes Culture and Humanizes the Workplace
More goes on in the modern-day workplace than meets the eye. Indeed, it's often the stuff that meets the ear that makes all the difference. Click here to listen to Mitch Ditkoff's 60-minute VoiceAmerica interview on the power of personal storytelling in the workplace.
THE BOOK: Storytelling at Work
THE KEYNOTE: Storytelling at Work
THE BLOG: Storytelling at Work
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:50 AM | Comments (2)
December 22, 2015How to Spark Massive Employee Engagement in 90 Minutes or Less
Since 1987, I have been working as an innovation provocateur for a wide variety of forward thinking organizations.
Bottom line, I help people wake up, get out of the box, and originate bold, new ideas to meet their ambitious business goals. Along the way, I've discovered quite a few methods to spark the innovation mindset -- even in the most conventional of thinkers.
But of all the methods I've discovered, much to my surprise, there is one that has proven itself to be the most powerful -- and that is storytelling. Yes, storytelling, the humane communication of memorable narratives that engage, energize, and inspire positive behavior change.
All my clients, no matter what their industry, want the same thing. They want their people to be "on top of their game" -- to be as creative, collaborative, and committed as possible.
Towards that end, they spend millions of dollars each year training their employees. And while these educational efforts do have some value, they often ignore a fundamental reality: that within each and every person they are trying so hard to "tool up" is an untapped, naturally occurring, business growth intelligence that does not need to be taught, only awakened.
Often referred to as tacit knowledge, this little understood resource is omnipresent in your organization, but hiding in the unexpressed stories of the people who actually do the work.
What if your organization could find a simple way to activate this hidden resource?
What if your people had a dependable way to share what they really know with each other? Not just data and information, but insight and wisdom. Not just their best practices, but the best of their best practices. What really matters -- the hard to measure mojo of what really makes a difference on the job: Focus. Trust. Courage. Creativity. Purpose. Resilience. Adaptability. Intrinsic motivation. Perseverance. Collaboration. Integrity. Passion. And commitment.
The secret sauce. The missing piece. What gets people out of bed in the morning. If that's not in place, all the hot talk about innovation is nothing more than wasted breath.
This is precisely what my keynote is all about -- a simple way, via the transformative power of storytelling, to increase employee engagement, spark a culture of innovation, and quicken the communication of your company's collective brilliance.
Contact Speaker's Platform for more
Why I wrote Storytelling at Work
The aural tradition (podcast)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)
December 21, 2015A Sneak Peak at a Book Likely to Spark a Renaissance of Storytelling
Good news! The LOOK INSIDE feature has just been enabled on my Storytelling at Work Amazon page which means you can get a sneak preview of the book and decide if you want to buy it.
The Storytelling at Work blog
Why I Wrote the Book
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:21 PM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2015The Irresistible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool
A two-year analysis of 108 Super Bowl commercials has revealed that it was the structure of the content -- not the content itself -- that was the biggest predictor of its success. And the structure that was most linked to Superbowl ad success? Stories. This Harvard Business Review article elaborates on why storytelling is such a powerful communication tool.
Storytelling at Work
Our new blog on storytelling
Awesome quotes on storytelling
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:40 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2015NEW POLL: What Is the Real Value of Storytelling in Business?
These days, there is a lot of talk about the value of storytelling in business. Good question! That's what we're trying to figure out from savvy people like YOU! Simply click this link to respond. It will take you less than four minutes (and we'll be happy to share the results with you).
Idea Champions
Our new storytelling at work blog
Great quotes on storytelling
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2015A Selection of My Storytelling Articles in The Huffington Post
If you are interested in storytelling -- especially why storytelling is such a powerful tool for organizations to increase employee engagement and foster a dynamic culture of innovation, you have come to the right place.
Below is a selection of Huffington Post articles by Mitch Ditkoff (that's me, folks) for your edification and enjoyment -- quick-hitting posts that will help you get your arms around this most important topic and further understand why storytelling, in business (and everywhere else), is such a big deal.
Why Tell Stories?
Why Create a Culture of Innovation?
How to Tell a Good Story
What Kind of Stories Will You Tell Today?
Real Moments of Truth on the Job
The Afghani Cab Driver
OTHER USEFUL LINKS
Storytelling at Work (book)
The Storytelling at Work blog
My storytelling podcasts, interviews, and videos
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:26 PM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2015Awesome Storytelling Quotes
Storytelling at Work: The Book
Storytelling at Work: The Podcast
Storytelling at Work: The Keynote
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2015Looking for a Book About the Power of Storytelling to Open Minds, Spark Innovation, and Inspire Action?
Excerpts and a deeper dive
Buy on Amazon
My new storytelling at work blog
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:01 PM | Comments (0)
