Business Of Story

The medium you choose determines the kind of message you will share to connect with your audience. And most of us use our analytical left brain approach to understand what drives our customers. But this only covers the behavioral side, and isn't encompassing the full picture of what customers want and need. Therefore, in this week's episode, discover a revolutionary way of understanding audiences and how to effectively communicate through Algorithm and Anecdotes. The answer will come straight from someone who has been using algorithm and codes since he was 13 – Pete Sena. Pete is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of Digital Surgeons, a design company that helps its partners design forward-thinking brands, business models and experiences. They design brand experiences for notable companies including Lego, The US Open, and Sabra. Pete believes that creativity and curiosity have the power to not only change people personally and professionally, but that it can also change the planet.  "What better way to

The way we typically consume stories is how they are told — starting from the beginning to the finale. But it's important to realize that not all stories are linear. Therefore, on this week's show, we're exploring a non-linear approach to telling stories using a variety of media channels to scale the same story. But the concern is if we tell the same story from a non-linear approach framed with different perspectives and media, will it be as effective? We'll get the answer straight from the man who pioneered transmedia storytelling, otherwise known as "Cine Experiences", Zeke Zelker. Zeke Zelker is an award-winning filmmaker who produced the first transmedia project, Pandemic, at the Sundance Film Festival. His current project, Billboard, goes beyond any movie experience as it is aired in a multitude of ways via different platforms. “Learn how to succeed by learning as you go.” —Zeke Zelker Billboard is first featured in social media, then segues to live events and eventually evolves into a web series. Fina

One of the most contentious issues among our political leaders is climate change, and the Green New Deal is furthering the conversation and the divide. But many leaders of purpose-driven brands are finding new ways to frame sustainability as a tremendous business opportunity. So how do you use your brand storytelling to open minds, especially when attempting to bring polarized worlds together?   Bruno Sarda, Head of Sustainability at NRG, the country’s leading integrated power company with a goal of creating a sustainable energy future, shares how he uses storytelling to open the hearts and minds of customers, legislators and students. He is also a professor for the Executive Masters of Sustainability Leadership at Arizona State University.   Bruno will share the nuances of storytelling to help you find common ground with a contentious audience. It starts by minimizing negative impact and maximizing the positive through the stories you tell. Bruno will challenge your comfort zones and encourage you to look at

Why is happiness elusive? Why can’t it be as easy as knowing what makes you happy and doing exactly that? Think about it. Later, you’ll come to realize your important role in resolving this dilemma. In the pursuit of elusive happiness, we can use stories to connect even the greatest divides. It is a privilege to have Jonathan Haidt on this week's Business of Story podcast. Jonathan is an American social psychologist who wrote the book The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. In this book, he explored the relationship between modern science and ancient philosophies like Buddhism and Stoicism. Using the metaphor of the elephant and the rider, he rationalized that the subconscious mind is constantly at war with our conscious mind. That's the reason why our actions are often the exact opposite of what we're thinking or feeling. What is it that divides us? Jonathan touches on the subject in his book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided By Politics and Religion, showcasing how

In 1995, a convict of a federal drug case was given a reduced sentence of probation. Why? The judge saw a video of him taking care of his wife who was very sick. The video showed how his wife's entire life depended on him. Most importantly, it showed who will be affected most by the judge's decision -- the sick and dying wife who didn’t have anything to do with the crime. That alone influenced the judge’s decision because it appealed to his human side. That’s the power empathy has. In this episode, hear more of these stories from my guest, Doug Passon. Doug is a defense-attorney-turned-filmmaker and founder of The Sentencing and Post-Conviction Film Festival. He shares how a story and a picture, when combined to bring out the truth, can lead to reduced sentencing. Even if sentencing doesn't pertain to your life at this moment, Doug will entertain and enlighten you through his documentaries that will make you look at some of the convicts in a different light. It reminds us that we don't have the whole picture

Back in 2013, I was working with different executives for the Sustainability Leadership Program for Arizona State University. I was one of three speakers and after I was introduced, the executives’ reaction was, “Oh, the soft skills guy!” Little did I know, there was already warfare between technical hard skills and communications soft skills. A recent report from the World Economic Forum revealed the 10 most in-demand skills in business according to LinkedIn. Hitting the top spots are creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and time management.  Apparently, as technology advances, the employers' need for soft skills from their employees also advances. At the core of each of these skills is the ability to tell a clear and concise story. Our guest this week teaches us how to be an emerging, victorious voice in a noisy market by clarifying our message. Steve Woodruff is a professional coach and author of the book, Clarity Wins: Get Heard, Get Referred. He provides consultation services to professi

This week, we’re doing something different from the past 179 episodes. It's my turn to be on the hot seat and my guest, Wanita Z-Fourie, will be the one asking the questions. In this show, we discuss how to use storytelling to grow your following. Wanita is an African Kiwi and a social media professional who founded The Online Business Academy and an annual Social Media Conference New Zealand, where I'm honored to be a speaker. She tours the world to speak and teach different businesses and organizations about social media marketing. Her travels became a great medium for her to experience the world first hand, which enabled her to learn different ways to tell a story with authenticity and integrity. Both qualities are essential in ensuring the success of storytelling in social media.  On this show, Wanita will share how authentic storytelling is essential in growing your online following. She’ll teach you how you can be genuine in your communication and still get your points across. You'll also learn how to

Have you ever been telling a story and your words failed you? And I don't mean that you didn’t have a word for what you’re thinking or feeling. Oh, no. You thought of the best word you could possibly think of. Still, it wasn't enough to express exactly what you wanted to communicate, or your audience wasn't understanding the message. Maybe you should have drawn it out. It turns out that doodling lines and shapes make an even more meaningful and unforgettable story.  If you're like me, you probably think you don't have the chops to draw. Or, you're probably thinking, "How can shapes and stick figures add relevance to the words I’m saying? Or writing?" Fortunately, my guest this week, Lisa Rothstein, is a published New Yorker cartoonist and a featured author and illustrator in several best-selling books. She's an award-winning ad agency copywriter and creative director best known for the famous “Just Wait’ll We Get Our Hanes on You” campaign that changed America’s favorite underwear brand. Currently, she's co-a

Sometimes, what should be a source of pride, financial security, and wealth for the family becomes a source of heartache, dysfunction, and conflict. The want for power and control is what separates families. This is why it is essential to have leadership coaches who can teach the essence of storytelling in building a successful family business. Years ago, I was a football game watching my son, where I met this week's guest, Pete Walsh. I was at a point in life contemplating whether I was stuck or if I was being nudged to a deeper calling. Little did I know that the universe was listening to my subconscious desires. Sometimes, you meet someone who can light the path for you and show you the way. Pete was that person for me, and has been instrumental in my transition from the advertising world to speaking and brand story workshops with Business of Story. Pete Walsh is a leadership coach who came from a prominent family business. He's also the author of the book Coach To Win The Leadership Game. Pete is a firm

This episode holds a special spot in my heart because my father, Keith Clinton Howell, passed away recently. We recorded this episode three days after he was buried and I felt he was the one who led today's guest to the show. My guest is someone who went through severe losses –family members, a job she really loved - and came out kicking. Surprisingly, hitting rock bottom and going through the lowest point in our lives can help unravel our most powerful story. Let’s welcome 2019 as warmly as we welcome our guest today, Andrea Cadelli, author of Life After This. Andrea is a storytelling coach dedicated to helping people achieve positive transformation. She is also a director, producer, and the founder and CEO of Newcastle Media.  As she talks about that one point in her life when she was at her darkest, she aims to impart the 6 steps she took to rise above the pit. She calls these steps the 6 heart fire stories. Andrea will also teach us how to write our own heart fire stories, how to live into those to achi

Many sales and business professionals ask themselves questions every day. "How do I earn the trust of my audience?" "How can I become an effective salesperson?" The answer? Ask your audience and customers questions. And after hearing their questions, offer a solution through your own story. Because you can earn trust through storytelling. When is a particular story applicable for a specific type of audience? Mike Adams joins me on this week's episode to share the different stories we need to tell in order to effectively sell. Mike is an engineer-turned-salesman who also authored the best selling book, Seven Stories Every Salesperson Must Tell. He is currently managing a team of salespeople from different parts of the world for corporations like Schlumberger, Siemens, Nokia, and Halliburton. In the show, we'll go through a little discovery process together to find each story. Some of the stories may come as a surprise to you, but they are all interconnected to one another. As a matter of fact, we’ve already b

One of the most fearful words that has ever existed is "failure". It hinders even the most ardent dreamer from pursuing their dreams. This fact made me thoughtful of an important question: if we remain fearful, will our dreams ever come true?  Before recording this week's show, I was reminded of an old dream of mine to become a Spring DJ for KUGR radio in the 1980s. It was the craze back then before the internet came into existence. When I was asked to audition, I chose not to. To me, not trying at all was a better approach than trying and failing. This fear made my dream of becoming a Spring DJ unrealized. It was only later on when I realized the lesson out of that experience. And we do things like this every single day. Conflict and failure are in the heart of every story we tell. So if you’re avoiding it, you’re choosing not to take the journey that can change your life for the better forever. My guest on this week's show, Andrea Waltz, co-author of Go For No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get Ther

The actual aesthetic of our voices is something many of us have worried about at some point or another. We've all seen or heard a recording of ourselves and thought, "Is that really what I sound like?" The good news is that perception can be changed. Yes, we can even change how we hear our own voices through simple exercises and mindset changes. And more importantly, we can change the way others hear and understand our communications through vocal awareness. In this week's show, we're diving into how to use our voice as an instrument to become a better business storyteller. How we tell a story vocally is just as important, perhaps even more important, than the story itself. Your voice's pitch and speed contribute to what others perceive as inauthentic and what we trust. That's a skill that must inherently be ingrained into our primal minds. It takes some serious vocal awareness, disclipline and dedication to master it. My guest is Arthur Samuel Joseph, founder and chairman of the Vocal Awareness Institute. A

Richie Prynne, a young street performer (also known as a busker) formed CC Smugglers in his early twenties. He knew it was hard to make it as a band these days, and that they'd have to get creative with their marketing to really stand out. Their idea? 'Guerrilla Busking.’ They'd pop up and play to queuing crowds waiting to go into similar shows. The long list of targets included the fans of SeaSick Steve, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Devil Makes Three, Jools Holland and more. And it seemed to be working, so the strategy became fundamental to their innovative brand promotion. In 2013, their journey took a drastic turn as they decided to create careers as touring stage performers. In their usual innovative fashion, they used their well-rehearsed approach of ‘guerrilla busking’ to create a media splash and reach more fans than ever before. Cue their most daring ‘Guerrilla Busking’ mission to date, the eventual success of which would elevate them to national recognition. The stunt was picked up and reported by Th

As a business storytelling speaker, a customer relationship management (CRM) system is pretty important for me to organize my prospects. But I find my relationship with the CRMs I've tried to be frustrating, cumbersome and not particularly effective. I recently heard about another up-and-coming CRM called Nimble and decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to use. Yet I wondered what their story was. How were they able to stand out among the other CRMs? I thought I'd challenge Nimble's CEO to see if he could use the Story Cycle System™ to define his core advantage and humanize his technical offering. On this week's episode, Jon Ferrara, founder of Nimble CRM, shares how they used the Story Cycle to help clarify their brand story, amplify their impact and simplify their lives. Jon is an entrepreneur who made his mark in the business world by creating and ultimately selling GoldMine, a Sales Force Automation and CRM software. But after a near-death experience, he realized early

I love wordplay. You've heard me say things like, "storytelling is the Velcro of collaboration" or "an anecdote is the antidote". I’m just using the storytelling powder keg of proverbs to make an explosive impact. But I never realized the power of these tiniest of stories until I read Ron Ploof’s new book, The Proverb Effect: Secrets to Creating Tiny Phrases That Change the World. What's the difference between a parable and a proverb? And, how can you use them in your business? Ron has spent decades using the power of storytelling in business, and in fact was one of our first guests on the Business of Story a few years ago sharing how to create a pitch-perfect story. On this week's show, Ron is going to show you how you can use proverbs, the tiniest of stories, to make your points stick. After all, there's something to be said about the fact that proverbs are remembered for centuries: Two wrongs don't make a right. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Fortune favors the bold. Short and simple, yet so impactful.

Robert McKee once told me that our conscious mind is simply the P.R. department for our subconscious mind, where all of our real decisions are being made. In the advertising world, we know we buy with our hearts and justify our purchases with our heads. We tell ourselves emotional stories as to why we need to buy something, and then we create nonfiction in our brains to counteract any buyer’s remorse we might experience. But how exactly do our brains come up with these stories? And, have you ever stopped to think about what stories you tell yourself? Today, we’ll be going inside the depths of our minds to understand the Applied Science of Story. Our guest for this week's show is Dr. Ron Bonnstetter, senior vice president of research and development for Target Training International and professor emeritus of University of Nebraska – Lincoln, who has dedicated 3 decades of his life to research cognitive neurology. His team uses real-time EEG (electroencephalogram) tests that scan human brains and studies brain

Storytelling is so highly relevant in elevating the skills and competence of professionals in their respective fields. Yet, why is no one in business has taught how to use storytelling to their advantage? With the influx of new technology, it is no surprise why a huge need for storytelling has been stirred. A lot of ideas swarming inside the great minds of innovative thinkers are going down the drain, unnoticed. The main culprit lies in the absence of a binding ingredient, essential in connecting us together through stories.  On this week's show, we have someone who is pioneering the ancient skill of storytelling in upper education. Liz Warren is the Faculty Director and Co-Founder of the Storytelling Institute at South Mountain Community in Phoenix, Arizona, an institute helping students use storytelling to advance their career and life. Liz's textbook, The Oral Tradition Today: An Introduction to the Art of Storytelling is used at colleges around the nation. In this show, we will learn tips that can be imm

There has always been a distinction between a commander and a leader. A commander gives instructions, delegates tasks, and implements orders. A leader has a more serious responsibility – that of influencing people and making the critical decision to choose what kind of influence he will be. My stint in the United States Air Force paved the opportunity to work with their leaders, trained them how to craft, find and share their own stories. Through storytelling, they are able to connect deeper with men and women in their speeches and get to recruit and retain the best fliers in the crew. One of the highlights of my stint is to be a listener to the stories of remarkably honorable men and women, generals, and leaders who are living up to their life missions to inspire, motivate and develop potential leaders who would someday lead the pack they are currently leading. I am deeply honored to welcome in today’s show, someone who, I have come to admire and respect for his exemplary leadership that has honed heroes in

As the Kavanaugh hearing underscored, the Democrats still lack a focused, cohesive narrative on which to build their platform. Dr. Randy Olson, who appeared on this show the day after Trump's election to the White House, reveals how Donald Trump and the Republicans continue to steamroll the Democrats for want of a story. From his post: "Rather than presenting a clear ABT structured narrative (Kavanaugh wants to be a Supreme Court judge AND a supreme court judge needs to have the right temperament, BUT he doesn’t, THEREFORE he needs to be rejected), they took a shotgun approach and ended up with a laundry list of complaints." A revelation hit me at the beginning of the show taken from one of my favorite poems, For Want of a Nail, that, at least to me, sums the problem with the Democratic Party's approach to communications. For Want of a Story For want of a story, the vision was lost. For want of a vision, meaning was lost. For want of meaning, emotion was lost. For want of emotion, empathy was lost. For want