Magnetic Stories

Introduction

In 2019 I published my fifth book, and my mother-in-law, Jan, asked me a good question. She asked in a genuinely caring way, ‘Don't you run out of things to write about?’ I thought about this and agreed that it would be a long, long time before I even considered another book. Yet here I am again.

Here's why.

When I first started my practice on storytelling back in 2005, no-one was talking about storytelling in business. The common reaction I received back then was often along the lines of ‘Oh, all that once-upon-a-time stuff?’ It was dismissed as not being relevant or credible, or just too emotional and ‘touchy feely’.

Fast forward to today, and I never receive this kind of reaction.

PEOPLE REALISE THE POWER OF SHARING STORIES IN BUSINESS AS A RELEVANT, CREDIBLE AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO CONNECT WITH CUSTOMERS AND ENGAGE EMPLOYEES.

So after 15 years of writing and speaking about this topic, you'd think I'd feel like my mission was accomplished. The use of stories in business has gained credibility and popularity. Great. More and more organisations are implementing storytelling. Great. No need for another book … right?

Well, if you go to the ‘Our Story’ page on a vast majority of company websites (maybe even yours), you'll realise that, actually, there is no story there at all. It's usually just a bunch of facts, stats and dates, or it's filled with so much verbiage that does nothing but demonstrate an addiction to corporate jargon. You know, ‘We incorporate leading-edge ...