Are you serious? Nostalgia about my business journey

Allow me, if you will, to indulge in a little bit of nostalgia about my business journey.

Over 16 years ago I left my corporate role at National Australia Bank to start a company teaching business leaders how to use storytelling more effectively. I can still recall some people’s reactions when I talked about this concept called ‘business storytelling’. The responses were varied but some typical ones included:

• Are you serious?
• Do you plan to make any money out of this?
• What the f#@k is business storytelling?

My Business Journey

I must admit that some reactions didn’t really instil a lot of confidence in me, nevertheless I was prepared to give it a go. The first few years were pretty tough, especially as the negative questions and reactions persisted for some time. Many people still regarded storytelling as some fluffy crap and not relevant to ‘serious’ business.

Fast forward to today and I no longer get asked questions like those listed above. Storytelling is now recognised as a critical communication skill in business with a large diversity of applications.

International Book Awards

This was reinforced last week when I was advised that my latest book Magnetic Stories was a finalist in the International Book Awards, not just once but in the following three business categories:

• Communication and Public Relations;
• Advertising and marketing; and
• Sales.

While winning one of those categories would have been amazing, the fact that it was a finalist across all three, highlights the diverse application of storytelling. The fact that it was a finalist at all, shows how far the power of storytelling has come in 16 years.

Thank you for being part of my story.

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