What is Your Six Word Story?
Richard Hale BA (hons) MA DMgt FCIPD FRSA
Enabling Change Organisation Development & Leadership Development - Developing mission led leadership and culture in science, research, engineering, government sectors; talent & career pathways, action learning, change.
Why do I like this story so much? And for that matter the story behind the story.
I am coaching and assessing civil servants and managers in business and over the last 10 years this has included over 1,000 individuals, working at postgraduate level around the development of their leadership and OD capability using a higher education accredited action learning practice based approach - https://mayvin.co.uk
A key part of this is organisation development, typically for those?in HR/ People roles in business tackling what I call the Leadership Mysteries - those big question challenges that extend beyond project managing to resolve the soluble puzzles - https://tinyurl.com/m4t2a7pp
Business School students have to write a 4,000 word account of their learning journey to earn postgraduate credits.?Don’t ask me why it is 4,000 words but I have a hunch it is based on some blunt formulation of how many words are meant to equal how much learning.?
So often this draws me into discussions with students about what sections count in terms of the 4,000 words, how much leeway is there and I find myself often thinking ‘you are so focused on the target you are missing the point’. ?
I have taken to responding recently by flagging the Hemingway story, and I like it because more than conveying the principle less is more, it captures something around the OD principles of working with human systems, where we need to look beyond the physical and obvious and ask questions and develop lines of inquiry in order to seek to understand at a deeper level. You know... those things that can't be seen in the way you can see a pair of baby shoes, such as:
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Anyway my recent slightly tongue in cheek request of students (who are business leaders) is for them to tell me what their six word story rather than their 4,000 word one is. This is generating some great responses. So much so that I am saying include it in your 4,000 word story - maybe with a little leeway extend to 4,006!
I guess I could have said all this in six words:?
Focus on purpose more than output.
What is your six word story??
Professor of Management and Organisational Learning at University of Chichester
3 年4,000 words (for 20 credits - each credits 10 hours of learning) - why indeed! That said, it does seem a reasonable 'container' and I guess over the years it has shown to work reasonably well. I also tire of the debate about word count. We seem to stress writing but not editing (where the quality shines through) - hence I draw on Hemmingway too, particularly a Movable Feast. Developing on your point perhaps all assignments could start with a Heiku.
Enabling Change Organisation Development & Leadership Development - Developing mission led leadership and culture in science, research, engineering, government sectors; talent & career pathways, action learning, change.
3 年Rob Warwick Paula Jenkins
Founder and CEO Glassmoon group
3 年Richard Hale it’s a great example. I first heard Hemingway’s 6 word story doing a public speaking course many years ago. It made me think about the power of stories and lived experiences and the power of less is more. Love that you are actively using it. I think about it often.
Enabling Change Organisation Development & Leadership Development - Developing mission led leadership and culture in science, research, engineering, government sectors; talent & career pathways, action learning, change.
3 年Alex Morgan Eric Sandelands Dr. Jennifer Bowerman Ade McCormack Mahdi Alsalem, PMP, P3O Carole Edmond Carolyn Norgate James Traeger Kerrie Fleming Tony Nicholls Richard Wade Clare Bell Associate Professor David Rosenbaum PhD Mayvin KNOWCANWILLDO