Who are some great storytellers? All of you know someone that you have read or heard speak in your own lives, whether in your family or in school or at a public event. I think of four exceptional storytellers as examples. Doris Kearns Goodwin writes remarkable, provocative, and captivating accounts of American history in classic storytelling narratives based on scholarly research. David McCullough has produced brilliant anecdotal narratives of American heroes who engage our intellect and imagination. And there is the storytelling of two exceptional soldiers – Dwight David Eisenhower and Colin Powell. President Eisenhower was a brilliant storyteller in […]

The power of storytelling for leaders in the public and private sector.  #Storytelling Pulitzer Prize winning historian Barbara Tuchman is said to have mused about her work: “There is no trick to it; it’s just storytelling.” She was being characteristically modest, but correct that there is no trick. Great storytelling requires hard work, attention to detail, and a clear understanding of the needs of the audience. As a leader your skillful use of storytelling can bring about and sustain change in an organization because of its deep capacity to communicate ideas to both our cognitive and our emotional core. “Stories […]