Working in teams can be hard. In the process of working together, we can disagree, stall and face major setbacks. However, when a team comes together and gets across the finish line it can be great. The story Mark shares this week gives a useful analogy that can help teams get through the rough patches […]

Small things can make a big difference. That’s the theme of this episode of Anecdotally Speaking. In Episode 20, Twists and turns of a flying fortress, we hear how a checklist saved Boeing from going under and offered a key advantage to the US Army in World War 2. It’s a versatile story, which makes […]

It takes a lot of hard work and persistence to do something great. Naturally, if the goal is a big one it’s going to be harder to achieve. You just don’t want to give up and find out that you were close to achieving it. This week, Mark tells a story about the Colorado gold […]

Our story this week is a short one, but it has an impact. As you will see if you tell a story in an unexpected way, and the topic is possible death or injury, you will immediately generate interest from your audience. We also talk about keeping track of the movies you watch, even rate […]

A lot has been written recently about how Jeff Bezos and his executives run their meetings. Amazon has made it very public that their senior team (the S Team) has banned PowerPoint, and that each meeting starts with a six-page narrative memo which the executives read and absorb for up to 30 minutes before the […]

The web is full of stories of dubious origins, which is the very definition of apocryphal, yet many can be used to make a business point as long as you make clear that the story is most likely false. We provide some examples of apocryphal stories and we dig into how to tell them, when […]

In this episode of Anecdotally Speaking, we explain what it is that Mark and I do for work, why some stories work for some audiences and not for others, and the difference between the typical ‘brand stories’ we see and the one we share today. Lots of companies have ‘brand stories’. The problem is that […]

It’s Mark’s turn to share a story, and so he tells a great one of how Janusz Kamiemski wanted to come to Australia but didn’t think he had any chance of doing so. It’s a great example of persistence with a twist at the end. He told the story at a TedX, so if you […]

In this week’s episode of Anecdotally Speaking, an Irish principal demonstrates a powerful message to her school of predominantly African American students with one small action. It’s a fantastic example of how to lead through what you do, instead of what you say. Shawn and Mark also unpack why even an action carrying a powerful […]

Storytelling is increasingly being sought-after as a tool to get ahead. Leaders from all over the world are reaching out to us to improve their storytelling skills to stand out and have their messages heard. It’s no different in San Francisco and is probably even more true because of the number of leading companies based […]