It’s too easy to let unconscious bias impact our decisions. Here are three stories you can share to encourage others and remind yourself to keep an open mind.  In this week’s episode of Anecdotally Speaking, we’re mixing things up! Instead of sharing one story, we’re sharing three, each one illustrating the importance of keeping an […]

A great way to help your strategy stick is to craft a story your leaders can tell that explains why your company made its strategic choices. This strategy story is typically told without notes, includes some of the leader’s anecdotes, tackles the more obvious anti-stories, and is well suited to larger gatherings where the full […]

Luke Brown shares the story of how his mantra went from ‘plan the work, work the plan’ to ‘plan the work and work with the people’ and illustrates the importance of building strong relationships at work. In this episode of Anecdotally Speaking, we welcome another guest! Luke Brown has been a friend of Mark’s for […]

Some 100 years ago, Oxford’s New College faced a crisis. This crisis had been foreseen by the college’s founders, who implemented a plan to be fulfilled 500 years in the future. In this episode, it’s Shawn’s turn to share a historical story. He recounts a crisis faced by Oxford’s New College about 100 years ago.  […]

Disregarding ideas that don’t adhere to our standard way of thinking can inhibit progress. This story illustrates the importance of having an open mind.  Here at Anecdote, we’re gearing up to turn 15 years old! We’ve been taking a trip down memory lane as we prepare for our big day. Keep an eye on our […]

It was Amazon’s showcase event of 2018 in Las Vegas. The background logos lit up as the guest customer speaker, the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company, was introduced. He strode on stage as colourful visuals appeared across the seven massive screens behind him. He totally bombed. In the first place, the speaker was clearly blinded […]

 Strategy stories are important but they’re not exactly life and death, right? Well, actually, you’d be surprised. Our very first strategy story was for the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) back in 2009. TAC is the government insurer for any injuries sustained on the roads in the Australian state of Victoria. It plays a key role […]

There’s a time to be independent and creative, and there’s a time to serve your audience. Dummer and DJ, Questlove, felt he was at the top of his game when he was asked to perform at Barack Obama’s farewell party. He started his set feeling confident but finished it feeling disappointed, prompting Barack to share […]

Steven Bradbury appeared lucky when he won gold for Australia in the short track speed skating final at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. The whole story, however, implies that it wasn’t just luck, but hard work and persistence, that led him to win.  This week, Mark shares the story behind Steven Bradbury’s win. […]

Does presentation matter? Here’s a story you can tell or trigger to convince your colleagues that it does. If you regularly read our blog, you will be familiar with story-triggering. Story-triggering is what occurs when someone does something so remarkable that the people who see, or experience it, tell stories about it. In our last […]