Howdoyoutellstories that matter? Well who better to turn to for inspiration “If you want to know something of the future, you need to know something of Do you ever struggle to learn new things or to remember important stories I spend a lot of time teaching creative writing and the art of storytelling. No than Anthony Bourdain? He’s up there as one of my favourite storytellers, not the past”. That’s what IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson Jr. once said. and statistics? The company I work for has a LOT of stories and I don’t know storytelling curriculum would ever be complete without a module on Pixar. to mention one of my all-time favourite humans. And he’s certainly one of my many of them. But they’re important to learn to have up my sleeve for when These rules have done the rounds many times, but despite being a little all-time fantasy dinner party guests. He called himself the “lucky cook” who I work for the 110-year old start-up that Watson Junior’s dad founded and for I’ve faced with a problem that we may have solved before. One pagers help cliché, there is still no better exercise for trying to craft a story than breaking travelled the world and shared meals with strangers in order to understand this one pager I was trying to figure out what mades the company special. To me to learn new stories and keep them as a visual record to have on hand it down quickly into Pixar’s “Once upon a time….” formulaic structure. their world and tell their stories. say "it's the people" might be true, but that doesn't shed much light on what whenever I might need them. makes IBM different from any other company. So I went on a digital I often feature Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling in my lectures. Urban-legend “I don’t have to agree with you to like or respect you”. archaeology trip into IBM’s archives dating back to 1911 in the hope of finding I think through my pen” has it that even Steve Jobs most memorable “one more thing” keynotes One of my writing hero’s Ted Sorensen used to say, “ someanswers. and I think that’s a pretty good philosophy. I don’t write things down to were modelled on this format. If you examine Jobs’ iconic iPhone launch Wisewords. remember them later, I write things down to remember them now. Digital address in 2007 closely enough, you’ll discover that follows the hero’s I discovered two things. 1. Transformation is messy. IBM has completely re- doesn’t work for me. It has to be a pen and colouring sticks. It feels more journey structure of Finding Nemo – the most popular DVD release of all- In a world greatly lacking in empathy, I wasted a few happy hours drawing invented itself 5X over the last 60 years and struggled each time. (Just human. It also slows my brain down, which for someone with ADHD is no bad time. Pixar have some good rules here that are worth memorising. They’re not this and watching “Parts Unknown” while being inspired by the words of my because a company is big doesn't mean that it's great). 2. Pretty much thing. for everyone, and of course they don’t always apply, but like any good rules – favourite wandering storyteller. I drew this one pager during the COVID-19 everything IBM has ever done focuses on a unique triple bottom line: Build a you need to know what they are before you break them. That’s why I lockdown when we couldn’t go out to eat in restaurants and it reminded me Business / Change the World / Have Fun. FUN? Many of IBMs major tech For this one pager I was also prepping for work IBM was doing around the regularly write them down to remind myself what they are. Unfortunately in how much we take for granted every restaurant of every nationality in our advancements came from researchers and engineers having fun! Playing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. I found a lot of data I couldn’t my B2B world, attention spans are 75 seconds NOT the 75 minutes of the towns and cities. Not to mention how we should all travel more. Especially to Checkers in the 60's spawned a new computing system. Beating a grandmaster afford to get wrong and some great stories which would help bring those average Pixar movie but still, the objective is still the same - to tell stories those parts we don’t know. at chess in the 90's gave birth to advanced analytics. Winning TV's toughest heavy statistics to life. that make people FEEL something.... gameshowhelpedbuildanAIthatadvancedoncology. Competing live against I love A.B. so much. Greatly missed. x world champion debaters refined IBMs conversational AI. The technology that features in each of these stories is incredibly impressive, Myfavourite rule? 14. but I’ll stick with my old school pen when it comes to trying to learn them! Conclusion? If you want to see where the future is going, look where people Why MUST you tell this story in particular? What’s the belief burning within are having the most fun. youthat your story feeds off? That’s the heart of it. Disney Imagineering has provided the creative energy that has driven Disney Consultants love to ask "What keeps you up at night?" - but surely a much Why are we so obsessed with the need for stories to have CONFLICT in the Storytelling is one of those things that seems really easy when you don't for over 69 years. Combining IMAGINation + enginEERING the Imagineers better question is "What gets you out of bed in the morning?” Western world? Many Eastern stories FEEL different because they use the know how to do it properly, but REALLY difficult when you do. In 335BC mission is to “create unique experiences that entertain, inform and inspire storytelling technique of "Kishōtenketsu". Aristotle (The Greek god of Storytelling) wrote a paper about how to speak people around the world through the power of unparalleled storytelling". In 2021, over 70% of business professionals are experiencing some form of persuasively, how to present and how to tell stories that matter, called 'The stress or anxiety and 84% of the working population are "concerned" about It's one of the only storytelling structures that doesn't include conflict and Art of Rhetoric'. Unfortunately, rhetoric (especially rhetoric for good) seems contrast. The focus is more on the journey and the d- I have been studying “The Imagineering Toolbox" books recently by the losing their jobs. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2021) relies more upon to have become a lost art. Not only are stories regularly told today in soun brilliant Lou Prosperi. I discovered that behind the magical experiences that development of the characters, rather than a dramatic ending, where the hero bites and hashtags, but they often lack eloquence and the correct grammar. Imagineer’s create for their guests is a simple process for delivering So instead of "solving problems" by focusing on that stress and anxiety as is transformed for the better (or worse). knowledge and happiness”. It’s called “The Imagineering Pyramid” and is a “ leverage to sell more stuff, I have chosen to focus the communications But the great stories are usually great because they follow the rules and model that I think that could inspire us all to be better. leadership programme I run at IBM on the Japanese concept of Ikigai. Kishotenketsu is the structure of a 4-part story (in the West we mostly use 3 rhetorical appeals that Aristotle established over two thousand years ago. Unsurprisingly, helping executives to find more meaning and purpose in their or 5 part stories): Walt Disney wanted to be the best at everything. “I like the impossible work makes them happier and MUCH more productive. The things that you're Ethos. Pathos. Logos. because there's less competition" he once said. He believed in the power of GOOD AT and the things that you get PAID FOR, should not be separate • "Ki": Introduction innovation and always wanted to do things that others hadn’t done before. from the things you LOVE and the things that the WORLD NEEDS. All too • "shō": Development Andif you need people to act with a sense of urgency (especially if you need This is why at the top of the Imagineering Pyramid is “Plussing" - the one often, we just view this as our professional life OR our personal life. • "ten": Twist (a contrast NOT a conflict) to close and deal or encourage people to join your cause or campaign), then question Walt used to ask of every Imagineer on every project: • "ketsu": Conclusion youalso need a fourth - Kairos. In business we love to ask people to find their “Why?" We should really be “This is great. But how do we make it BETTER?" helping each to other discover our ikigai... Western stories revolve around drama, tragedy, conflict and obstacle. The I believe that all business stories MUST have each of these four elements in *Note that I used Marc Benioff’s V2MOM framework for breaking down my ending of Kishōtenketsu stories are less conclusive and end with the someformtobeeffective. characters reflecting on their journey together and exploring ways to live in purpose within the confines of my job. Google “V2MOM”. You won’t regret it. harmony. After the last few years (#MeToo #BLM #Trump #COVID19) we I've been studying Aristotle's rhetorical appeals in depth for the last month could certainly all do with a bit less conflict and a bit more peace and and this one pager contains some of the highlights. Maybe it will serve as a harmony… helpful reminder of what to include in your talk the next time you need to "persuade" an audience.