The Power of the Tale

" . . . I thoroughly endorse the book. . . Fairtlough is an excellent thinker."
Napier Collyns

"Takes Arie de Geus's thinking forward . . I have no hesitation in recommending it for publication."
Gill Ringland

"The most important aspect is the potential to legitimise the use of storytelling in a business environment . . and help management think outside the box."
Arie de Geus

Story-telling is one of the best ways for individuals, groups, organizations and societies to learn. Skill in story-telling and in other narrative activities allows us to understand complexity, live with uncertainty, communicate well and increase personal and organizational effectiveness. As organizations move away from old-fashioned command and control, they will increasingly need the bonds of shared stories, which create shared language, shared visions and shared values.Eine der besten Lernmethoden für Einzelpersonen, Gruppen, Organisationen und auch Gesellschaften ist das Geschichtenerzählen.

"The Power of the Tale" beschreibt, wie man mit Geschichten und anderen Erzähltechniken komplexe Sachverhalte besser verständlich macht, besser miteinander kommuniziert und auch die persönliche und geschäftliche Effektivität steigern kann.

Geschichtenerzählen als Schlüssel zu mehr Erfolg im Unternehmen durch gesteigertes Wir-Gefühl und gemeinsame Sprache, Visionen und Werte.

Mit umfangreichem Beispielmaterial aus unterschiedlichsten Situationen für Einzelpersonen, Gruppen und organisatorisches Lernen.

Enthält Übungsaufgaben und Techniken für gutes Geschichtenerzählen. Acknowledgements

1 Stories in Action

Resistance to story-telling

How story-telling works its magic

Types of narrative

Ways of creating stories

Story-telling skills

Seven histories

The rest of the book

What readers will get from the book

2 M4 Technology -
Stories for Truth and Trust

Communication

This chapter

A theory of truth and trust

Practices and stories

Accept vulnerability

Seek empathy

Seek transparency

Promote dialogue

Avoid groupthink

Support truthful politics

Conclusion

3 AutoCorp -
Learning

Individual learning

AutoCorp: the past

AutoCorp: stories for the future

A training tale

A coaching tale

A mentoring tale

A cautionary tale about not learning

Conclusion

4 Themis -
Using Stories in a Professional Development Community

Lyn's story

Perspectives and practices

The history of Themis

A note on written stories

Conclusion

5 Matters of Life and Death -
Using stories in the National Health Service

Value conflicts

Embracing error

Trusting your judgement

A positive approach to dilemmas

Stories about stories

Barchester District

Complexity

Conclusion

6 AutoCorp -
Evolving

Facilitating change

Coping with complexity

Another virtuous circle

AutoCorp's change programme

Uncertainty

Ambiguity

Self-organising change at AutoCorp

An experiment in self-organisation

Conclusion

7 LIFT -
Stories for Innovation

The London International Festival of Theatre

Imagination, vision and stories

Stimulating your imagination

Making connections

The right space to tell the tale

Boundary spanning

Building an organisation

Expanding the vision

Renewing the vision

Conclusion

8 Kenya -
Scenarios for a Country's Future

The Mont Fleur scenarios

The benefits of scenarios

Kenya

Story-telling and scenarios

Mount Kenya Safari Club

The research workshop

Detoxifying the mind

Further workshops -
Lake Baringo, Mombasa and Amboseli

The scenarios

Influence of the scenario project

Conclusion

9 Thinking about Stories

Story characteristics

Stories in organisations

Stories and learning

Stories and society

Conclusion

10 Tools and Techniques for Story Use

A note on ethics

Chapter format

Story-telling frameworks and starting points

Workshop games and activities

Developing your own skills

A note on story-telling and organisational research

Conclusion

11 The Future of Story-telling in Organisations

Key points from the seven histories

What we learned while writing this book

Story-telling and complexity

Respect for other people

Art and emotion

Negative possibilities

Story-telling and sustainability

References

Further Reading and Resources

Index of Stories

Subject and Author Index ".... the approach allows management teams to think constructively, help personal development and can be used to explain complex issues." (People Management, 21 March 2002)

"…definitely a book to recommend to those with curiosity…" (Journal For The Association Management & Development (Organisations & People)

"…The Power of The Tale is itself full of entertaining stories. The authors hope you will be entertained by the stories they tell, because while stories will aid your organisation’s performance, they should also be fun!…" (Management Abstracts)

"…an interesting and thought-provoking book, which I am sure will encourage many to attempt the story-telling technique…" (Personnel Review, Vol.32, No.3, 2003)

JULIE ALLAN is a chartered occupational psychologist in private practice, whose work is focused on supporting sustainable individual and organisational development. She draws on a wide range of whole-system approaches, including gestalt and complexity, to help individuals address both strategic thinking and behavioural change. With a prior career in writing and publishing with the BBC, she is particularly interested in communication and applied creativity, and has recognised and put to use the vital role played by storytelling across all her working involvement, as well as in general life.

GERARD FAIRTLOUGH is a biochemist with 25 years' experience at Shell. Later he was founder and CEO of biopharmaceutical company Celltech, and has helped set up several other businesses in biotechnology and IT. Gerard has been specialist advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology, advisor to the LIFT Business/Arts Forum and is widely published in the areas of organisation learning and innovation. He is currently a director of Xenova Group plc and Chair of the Advisory Panel of SPRU at Sussex University.

BARBARA HEINZEN is a geographer and freelance consultant in long range scenario planning and policy analysis. She specialises in working with organisations to help identify the driving forces of change in developing and restructuring societies. Barbara has worked with a variety of major multinational companies and public and voluntary organisations in Europe, Asia and Africa on both commercial and public policy issues. Like Gerard, she is an advisor to the LIFT Business Arts Forum, but also co-founded BEAD, Business Exchange on AIDS and Development, and is a Senior Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Storytelling has held a central place in all societies, all cultures and across all time but if you thought that only designated storytellers could tell stories, think again. Storytelling is now acknowledged as a rigorous approach, increasingly valued in business and public policy for its ability to offer fresh insights, raise awareness, enhance creativity and deal with complexity and uncertainty

This book takes the everyday stories of life in a variety of organisations and suggests, not only why they are vital, but also how to start telling stories that could make a difference in a working environment. Based around seven diverse settings, the book weaves a picture of life in these places through telling stories of them and about them. Some of the accounts are fictionalised but their truth is clear - they describe situations, and characters, we have all met at some time in our working lives.

But this is not simply a book of stories. Bringing together an intriguing, and eclectic selection of stories, theories and exercises, the authors provide a practical and stimulating way of doing things differently. If you have ever despaired of overheads and numbers and searched for a better way to communicate important information, this book is for you. Whatever else you do, don't make heavy weather of it. Stories are best when they're lightly held and told for the fun of it. 'This book - full of stories about storytelling - contains some remarkable, real life examples of how story-telling in organisations leads to learning and dilemma resolution and how it makes possible the realisation of a vision.' Arie de Geus, Former Head of Group Planning, Royal Dutch/Shell Group and author of The Living Company

'The real power of narrative is that the threads can be interwoven to create ferocious antagonisms, happy endings and elegant syntheses. This is a book for all who would enthral others with their enterprise.' Charles Hampden-Turner, The Judge Institute of Management Studies, University of Cambridge. Co-author of Riding the Waves of Culture and Building Cross-Cultural Competence.

'Tales, of the sort described in this book, are a powerful antidote to the overly analytical culture that afflicts many organisations today. Like many of the best business ideas, telling stories is both old and new. This book develops a new way to use stories to create the elusive competitive edge - a must for managers in our increasingly complex world.' DeAnne Julius, Former Member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England.

'A gift to story-lovers. After an hour or so, one is entirely engrossed by this delightful book. Full of rich stories, narratives and ideas, it will appeal to the scholar, the student and the practitioner, the story-teller and the listener.' Yiannis Gabriel, School of Management, Imperial College, University of London. Author of Storytelling in Organizations.