The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative, Revised and Updated

The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative, Revised and Updated

by Stephen Denning
Released March 2011
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9780470548677

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Book description

How leaders can use the right story at the right time to inspire change and action

This revised and updated edition of the best-selling book A Leader's Guide to Storytelling shows how storytelling is one of the few ways to handle the most important and difficult challenges of leadership: sparking action, getting people to work together, and leading people into the future. Using myriad illustrative examples and filled with how-to techniques, this book clearly explains how you can learn to tell the right story at the right time.

  • Stephen Denning has won awards from Financial Times, The Innovation Book Club, and 800-CEO-READ

  • The book on leadership storytelling shows how successful leaders use stories to get their ideas across and spark enduring enthusiasm for change

  • Stephen Denning offers a hands-on guide to unleash the power of the business narrative.

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    Table of contents

    1. Copyright
    2. PREFACE
    3. INTRODUCTION
    4. THE ROLE OF STORY IN ORGANIZATIONS
      1. TELLING THE RIGHT STORY: Choosing the Right Story for the Leadership Challenge at Hand
        1. THE POWER OF NARRATIVE
        2. USING THE STORYTELLING CATALOGUE
        3. THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF STORYTELLING
      2. TELLING THE STORY RIGHT: Four Key Elements of Storytelling Performance
        1. STYLE
        2. TRUTH
        3. PREPARATION
        4. DELIVERY
    5. EIGHT NARRATIVE PATTERNS
      1. MOTIVATE OTHERS TO ACTION: Using Narrative to Ignite Action and Implement New Ideas
        1. THE CHALLENGE OF IGNITING ACTION AND IMPLEMENTING NEW IDEAS
        2. THE MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE SPRINGBOARD STORY
        3. AVOIDING THE MAIN PITFALLS
        4. TEMPLATE FOR CRAFTING THE SPRINGBOARD STORY
      2. BUILD TRUST: Using Narrative to Communicate Who You Are
        1. WHY YOU TELL YOUR STORY
        2. HOW TO TELL YOUR STORY
        3. WHERE YOU TELL YOUR STORY
        4. A TEMPLATE FOR CREATING THE STORY OF WHO YOU ARE
      3. USE NARRATIVE TO BUILD YOUR BRAND: The World of Social Media
        1. MARKETING IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
        2. TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY MARKETING: THE INTERACTIVE CUSTOMER STORY
        3. TEMPLATE FOR CRAFTING THE STORY OF THE CHARACTER OF THE FIRM
      4. TRANSMIT YOUR VALUES: Using Narrative to Instill Organizational Values
        1. DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF VALUES
        2. ETHICS IN ACTION
        3. TRANSMITTING VALUES THROUGH NARRATIVE
        4. A TEMPLATE FOR GENERATING VALUE NARRATIVES
      5. GET OTHERS WORKING TOGETHER: Using Narrative to Get Things Done Collaboratively
        1. HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAMS
        2. CATALYZING HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAMS AND COMMUNITIES
        3. GETTING THE GROUP TO WORK TOGETHER
        4. TEMPLATE FOR NURTURING COLLABORATION
      6. SHARE KNOWLEDGE: Using Narrative to Transmit Knowledge and Understanding
        1. TELLING THE KNOWLEDGE-SHARING STORY
        2. CREATING CONTEXT FOR THE KNOWLEDGE-SHARING STORY
        3. SPECIAL KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE-SHARING STORIES
        4. AN APPROACH FOR SAVING THE KNOWLEDGE OF DEPARTING STAFF
      7. TAME THE GRAPEVINE: Using Narrative to Neutralize Gossip and Rumor
        1. THE STORIES THAT FORM THE CORPORATE CULTURE
        2. TAMING THE GRAPEVINE
        3. BEYOND THE GRAPEVINE
        4. THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE GRAPEVINE
        5. TEMPLATE FOR STORIES TO TAME THE GRAPEVINE
      8. CREATE AND SHARE YOUR VISION: Using Narrative to Lead People into the Future
        1. WHY WE TELL FUTURE STORIES
        2. HOW TO TELL A COMPELLING FUTURE STORY
        3. LINK THE FUTURE STORY TO THE LISTENERS' CURRENT MIND-SET
        4. TEMPLATE FOR CRAFTING A FUTURE STORY
    6. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
      1. SOLVE THE PARADOX OF INNOVATION: Using Narrative to Transform Your Organization
        1. WHY CURRENT APPROACHES DON'T SOLVE THE INNOVATION PARADOX
        2. SOLVING THE PARADOX
        3. THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF STORYTELLING
      2. A DIFFERENT KIND OF LEADER: Using Narrative to Become an Interactive Leader
        1. LEADERSHIP THAT PARTICIPATES
        2. LEADERSHIP THAT CONNECTS
        3. LEADERSHIP THAT IS LIKE CONVERSATION
        4. LEADERSHIP THAT IS POSSIBLE
        5. LEADERSHIP THAT FITS THE MODERN NEED
        6. LEADERSHIP THAT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE
        7. LEADERSHIP THAT IS RELATIVELY FREE OF EGO
        8. LEADERSHIP THAT IS LIKE JUDO
        9. LEADERSHIP THAT HAS FEELING
        10. LEADERSHIP THAT AVOIDS "APOLLO RUN AMOK"
        11. LEADERSHIP THAT INCLUDES BEAUTY
        12. INTERACTIVE LEADERSHIP: ITS RELATION TO OTHER LEADERSHIP THEORIES
    7. NOTES
    8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
    9. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    10. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    11. INDEX

    Product information

    • Title: The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative, Revised and Updated
    • Author(s): Stephen Denning
    • Release date: March 2011
    • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
    • ISBN: 9780470548677