E-NEWSLETTER MARCH 2008

Dear Valued Client:

The Orange Chair

As winter rolls in to spring (at least for those of us in the Northern hemisphere) we begin to think about the warm and dry days ahead. But not to quick as duty calls and work must be completed before we take time to kick back in the sun with a nice bottle of white, some cheese, bread, grapes and whatever else calls.

The past month has been a busy one for us - and based on the e-mails and calls received for all of you as well. The entire world of internal communications and engagement seems to have found out about the value and power of story as a tool to align, engage and boost performance. As a result we have dedicated much (but not all) of this newsletter to the use of Storytelling in the corporate world.

The past month also saw us launch the Internal Communications Network - an on line home for any and all interested in talking about issues, sharing ideas and more. Be sure to check it out -join in on the conversations, start your own, or just surf through what other's are talking about. And please, spread the word as we would like to see this network truly become the place on the web for internal communications dialogue.

All the best,

Ken
President and Senior Consultant

New on Our Site This Month ...



14 ways to apply story in your organization

Ten years ago you would have received blank stares had you suggested an organization use storytelling as a tactic. Today we are finding storytelling popping up in a variety of different areas. Steve Denning popularized story as a leadership tool. As Nicky Fried shows us, story can and is used in a variety of other ways. ... click here

Recognition – more then just a paycheck

"Way back, when I was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth," says Nicky Fried "I had two managers. The one took great care to acknowledge my accomplishments and praise me. For him I put in countless hours of overtime and was always trying to make our department more successful. The other manager barely acknowledged my successes. To her I gave eight hours a day and kept my ideas to myself. As soon as I could I left the company." ... click here

Games, Games and More Games: Building and Using Stories for engagement and communications – tips and tricks to getting going!

Nicky Fried offers up a bevy of games and activities of creative ways to get people out of their comfort zone and into story mode. ... click here

Storytelling benefits for learning and development

Personnel Today, a British based publication, recently ran a great piece about Storytelling as a tool to create emotional buy-in for training and development departments. Well, we’re not exactly a ‘training company’, but they’re right in explaining why this approach is so powerful. This topic is becoming ever-more prevalent in business circles, and for good reason ... click here


The Internal Communications Network – Get Involved – Join Now

We created the Internal Communications Network on line to provide people with an interest in internal communications and corporate storytelling a place to share ideas and stories, raise issues, seek advice and explore with others!

The network is open to all - regardless of your role at work and I am hopeful we get a great mix of people representing communications, HR, managers and leaders, employees young and old and ...well, you get the point! Please check it out and join in as we try to make the Network the place on the web for internal communications discussions. Visit the Network!

Book of the Month

Yet another classic from Patrick Lencioni (author of Five Dysfunctions of a Team):
The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees)

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