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Chances are pretty good that your organization's story is likely to become muddled the more it's shared, especially down the chain and with external stakeholders. Instead of being articulated in a clear, consistent way, too often an organization's story runs the risk of getting "telephone gamed;" that is, the more the story is shared, the more it...
Read MoreLast Friday, Lisa-Marie Hatcher, Daniel (Dan) Edds, MBA, and I kicked off the inaugural broadcast of our new Linkedin Live show called The Genetics of Leadership. We had an amazing guest for our first show. We sat down with Prof. Dave Ulrich from Michigan's Ross School of Business to talk about the next generation of leadership and culture.
Read More**The numbered tips in this blogpost were excerpted verbatim (with one small edit for clarity in tip #2) from an Academy Ocean interview conducted by marketing manager, Diana Digi, with Professor Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor at the University of MIchigan's Ross School of Business. You can find the full interview here. This post shares thos...
Read MoreCompete on Clarity: One of the biggest barriers to business success is a lack of clarity when it comes to marketing, sales, or communications. You can have the greatest product or service in the world but if its value isn’t clear to your customer, you risk losing business. Why? For one simple reason: a confused customer will not buy. So, what helps...
Read MoreI wanted to write something to honor George Washington on his birthday which is today, Februrary 22. What better way to do that than to talk about Washington in the context of servant leadership, a characteristic great leaders in business today understand and exhibit. If George Washington had not become America's first president, he would have stil...
Read MoreIMAGE SOURCE: March 1959 Ad created by David Ogilvy What comes to your mind when you hear the word gratitude? Probably things like being appreciative or not taking things for granted. Here’s a dictionary definition of gratitude: “the quality of being grateful.” In this brief Thanksgiving post, we’ll show you how gratitude plays a key role in busine...
Read MoreAs you probably know, Lincoln was a lawyer by profession and really a country lawyer at that. He travelled a circuit in his home state of Illinois. He was widely known for his homespun humor and good stories.During Lincoln’s presidency, however, it was difficult to find humor in much of anything as the United States plunged into Civil War. But Linc...
Read MoreBelow are 11 insights 💡 we've shared over the years in our business storytelling workshops. Any favorites? Let us know in the comments. 👇 1️⃣ If data is the new oil, then the stories we tell are the new refineries that convert raw data into something meaningful, useful, and valuable.
Read MoreMany businesses struggle to create quality content quickly and consistently, often in response to changing environments. According to a HubSpot/Canva survey of executive marketers, "the main issues to reacting at speed are developing unique, creative content at a fast pace and adapting quickly to trends."
Read MoreI saw this very personal Lebron James ad about hunger while watching TV last night. You've probably seen it. Understandably, the video clip isn't available. But below, I take through the script and show you an underlying structure that is instructive. The ad is a perfect example of how story structure can help drive home your message. It follows wh...
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