Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life Paperback – October 27, 2015

This book is the right-brain’s answer to the left-brain’s frustration when facts and data don’t rule the day. For those of us making the case for improvement – something as mundane as changing a form or as radical as redesigning someone’s job – helping others to “see the light” could benefit from a well-told story. This stuff generally comes under the heading of “Change Management” and “Stakeholder Analysis” but we rarely include stories in our formal “change” toolkits. We’ve all got stories. And we’ve all had those moments where, conscious or not, telling our story caused people to start truly listening to us. Short, long, well-told or slightly scattered, stories are key to engaging others. Enter the master storyteller, innovation provocateur and entertaining business writer, Mitch Ditkoff.At its heart, this book relays thirty eight of Mr. Ditkoff’s selected stories. Thirty eight moments in the author’s life that moved him or profoundly shifted his thinking. The stories stem from events that took place while he was doing things like running an innovation workshop at Pfizer, working as a night watchman, catching a cab or dressing up as Santa. They are just a few pages each and they’re all relatable – an example is the moment when he relayed his cab driver’s story to a distracted group of workshop participants and suddenly they stopped texting, picked up their heads and sat in rapt attention. Moments like those elevate the purpose of the work. We’ve all had to compete with people’s phones for attention and we all know the sense of relief when whatever we’re saying manages to cut through it all. Cue the story.Human beings traffic in stories. It’s an ancient dynamic between hominids dating back as far as anthropologists could tell us what those fossilized molars were saying or what those cave drawings were all about. Storytelling is so ingrained that we’re often unaware of the potent role it plays in our lives. Mr. Ditkoff provides an inviting guide for us to examine how stories star in our own lives and how we might become more mindful of embracing, adopting, refining and ultimately telling our own stories. I must confess, his sense of humor is a fabulous bonus.But he doesn’t just tell us his stories. He plays Socrates by asking, “So What?” and “Now What?” The “so what” is the message – what the story meant for him. He takes a step back from each experience and considers the significance, “This is the choice each of us needs to make every day of our lives. Do we play it safe and do the expected or do we take a risk and try something new?” The “now what” challenges us to apply the underlying questions to our own lives and work, “What message have you been trying to deliver that might be better communicated in a totally different way – a way that more successfully engages people and leads to the kind of extraordinary results you’re looking for?”And the “now what” questions are facilitated by the second section of the book, “The Art and Science of Storytelling.” The book, including the final “how to” section, is delivered in bite-size chunks. Each chapter provides a digestible nugget of direction. As an example, he lays out the classic story structure. It’s fun to see stories broken into what Hollywood producers know by heart:Story StructureSetting (what was the organization, department where it happened)Character (who is trying to prevail with improvement)Plot (Events that unfold or what happens to the character and the process improvement effort)Conflict (what were the obstacle encountered by the character)Theme (the resolution of the conflict and what’s been learned along the way)He asks the reader to “acknowledge the stories you already tell.” He maintains, “the skillful storyteller doesn’t tell too much, doesn’t clutter the tale with his telling. Instead, he provides just enough detail for the listener to enter his world and participate. That’s the goal of any work of art – to create a space for people to explore new realms.”Process improvement isn’t the only arena that could benefit from the telling of stories. Mr. Ditkoff makes a great case for how organizations can prevent the loss of “tacit knowledge.” As job tenures become shorter and turnover more constant, this issue only grows in consequence. This book lays the groundwork for Knowledge Management professionals to engage workers in telling and codifying their stories before walking out the door. This book is rich with ways to hone your storytelling skills. Find a new way to make the case for change and, in the process, elevate your life’s work, make life more interesting and have a good time doing it!

This book was fun to read and gave me good ideas for easily workable changes to my biz. I didn't buy it for that so that was a bonus.

I have one problem with Mitch Ditkoff's new book: it's so good that I can't put it down. Normally, that's what I look for in a book, a page-turner that keeps me chomping at the bit to get back to it. And Mitch's collection of stories from his rich and varied career have everything I love: humor, wit, insight, and urbane-and-everyman-sensibility combined. Whether he's writing about working as a night clerk in a seedy hotel and being challenged to an arm-wrestling match by a CIA agent, or interviewing homeless people on the streets of NYC, or leading creative thinking seminars for Fortune 500 companies, Mitch knows how to to draw us in, then peer into the human beings he encounters, and finally arrive at some glimpse of wisdom.But it doesn't stop there. Mitch asks readers to reflect on the story, and recall similar situations from their own lives and what they can glean from it. This is where I am supposed to stop reading, and in fact I want to. I want to take the time for reflection. But I give into the temptation to read more. Each story packs equal parts humor and heart and is as interesting as the next one. So I keep reading and loving it.Mitch has created something more than a collection of stories and prompts for reflecting. The last section of the book is devoted to "The Art and Science of Storytelling" includes a series of short essays on the power of stories, how to find stories of our own and bring them to life. Finally, he lays his cards on the table and reveals his grand scheme: to involve us in creating a storytelling culture. After reading this book, and knowing that I will read it again to take time for reflection, I'm game.

Mitch's keen wit and thoughtfully creative intelligence provide satisfying entertainment and provocative ideas. I LOVE stories that linger in the background of my thinking as I implement daily plans. A seasoned veteran of what is arguably one of history's most interesting eras will give readers of any generation a highly pleasant sojourn.GREAT "palate cleanser" that I enjoy picking up after intellectually challenging days. After implementing the MariKondo method of tidying, there are not many books that fit in my "Hall of Fame". This is one, exactly for it's ability to refresh my mind and encourage the abiding faith I need in humanity to "keep my candle trimmed and burning brightly".Thanks to the author, so grateful souls like his continue to be inspired to write!

A truly brilliant book! If you are an aspiring writer, dreamer or just a human being who wants to enjoy, this is a treasure box of inspiration, wisdom and gorgeous ideas! Mitch opens the reader up to their own inner possibilities, to experience the poetry of life, to let the latent magic unfold... Recipes for truly living! Absolutely love it!!

A beautiful book by an awake businessman and spiritual traveler. Loved each story could not put in down. Great reflections to work on at the end of each chapter.

This is a "must-read" book for invigorating your company's culture and creating real-life, meaningful stories which will help enhance customer-infatuation about your company (and yourself).This is one of the best down-to-earth books about what we take for granted but which creates significant differentiation about ourselves as real humans and the company-culture which makes us unique. You can learn the lessons and start your own story immediately!

Mitch Ditkoff has once again produced a powerful platform, story telling, that allows the reader to become an integral part these stories. While they are stories about Ditkoff's life experiences the stories are in affect universal in their powerful message to all that are fortunate enough to read them. I am greatly appreciative for this spiritual journey he shares with the reader.