Wake Me Up When the Data Is over: How Organizations Use Stories to Drive Results

By: Lori L. Silverman

Book Overview

This book includes real-life examples from over 70 respected organizations, small and large, representing a multitude of industries using stories to drive results. Leaders from organizations such as Microsoft, Lands' End, Verizon, U.S. Air Force, and World Vision demonstrate the strong positive influence stories can have. No abstract theories or platitudes are conveyed here. The book spells out how Kevin Roberts, CEO worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, achieved sustained sales growth after several mergers and downsizings caused the organization to fall on hard times. It also shows how Erik Shaw, president and CEO of FivePoint Federal Credit Union, overcame resistance to an organizational name change, resulting in membership growth exceeding the national average.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787982709
• ISBN13: 9780787982706
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Once Upon a Time

"Once Upon a Time"--when we hear that phrase, it brings back magical memories of someone reading a story to us during childhood. Suddenly, we have warm thoughts of fantasies, fairy tales, princesses, and pirates. As a professional speaker, I have recognized for a decade that people never outgrow their love of stories. I share stories with my audiences to maintain interest, motivate listeners, change opinions, and relay information. Prior to my speaking career, I spent twenty-three years in management. For the most part, I shudder when I recall boring meetings, with presenters suffocating participants with an endless avalanche of facts and stats--with nothing in between to inject variety and liveliness. That's why I welcome this book. Silverman illustrates that stories fit every type of business situation. "Facts," Sylvia L. Lovely says in the Introduction, "inform, but stories resonate." She explains: "Stories connect us in profound ways that go beyond mere intellect and get to the deeper currents that move us to reflection and inspiration." This book offers numerous examples from corporate leaders who use stories for training, sales, fostering traditions, reinforcing policies, generating teamwork, mentoring, facing change, clarifying complex financial transactions, and instilling an organization's mission and values. Even as she supplies many model stories, Silverman still encourages readers to constantly unearth stories from their own locales. They're there, just waiting to be discovered and told. Wake Me When the Data is Over recognizes that stories cannot replace data--but they can make the necessary data interesting, even compelling. The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication-Change Your Life!

Wake me up when the data is over

I found this book to be full of practical guidance about how to use storytelling more effectively in business settings. The book reinforced many of beliefs about the use of story as well as providing a great deal of evidence about its effectiveness. I recommend this book to those who wish to be more effective communicators in business.

storytelling and the wider applications

I found this book to be extremely useful in exploring the various applications of storytelling. As a practitioner in the field of organisational storytelling, I am always exploring various applications of the use of story. Lori's research into how organisations have used it has really helped me in my thinking around the applications of this powerful business tool and helped me bring this learning to our Australian clients.

A powerful perspective for business managers

This book fulfills its main purpose - "to increase the visibility and influence of story work in organizations, particularly in practical applications to a variety of business disciplines ... and business needs related to topics like organizational change ...". It really answers the "why stories" question for managers. It clearly and concisely provides descriptions and examples of how managers in a variety of business functions such as customer service or development achieved results using story as a motivating communications medium. I was a CEO that had responsibility for building a company from startup. And I had no, none whatsoever, experience doing that. So, I used my management 101 OJT "training" as my touchpoint. Set objectives, create a plan, monitor activities, make changes as needed, meet or exceed objectives. Control, task, measure, reward, punish. Repeat, continually and repeatedly. Distress, frustration, even anger were the dominant emotions. Conflict and confrontation were the behaviors. And grey hairs were the physical manifestation. And I have many grey hairs. There had to be a better way. I read every leadership self help book there was. They were formulaic and that fit my left brain style. I tried a bunch and guess what - more grey hairs! I started to realize though, that there were some underlying aspects that the self help stuff contained, usually pretty implicitly. Story - the ability to share a vision and create community through the telling and listening to stories - really struck me. I remember the day it hit me. I've never had children however I was riding in a car with my significant other's three kids and all they wanted to have mommy do was tell stories. And she did. And they kept asking for more. I realized that the stories were building a bond that didn't exist in our company. Coincidentally, around the same time, we were going through an Initial Public Offering. I was spending as much time and energy with our investment bankers, and ultimately the fund managers as we Gulfstreamed around the country, on the story as we did on the legal and financial matters. The story sold the buy side guys on why they should buy shares at the price we wanted in the offering. If it was so essential in this most critical of business operations, raising capital, why weren't we using it in other business operations. Heck, we weren't even doing a good job of telling our story with marketing, let alone sales, operations, human asset management, development, customer service and all the other dimensions of the business. And most of all, our culture while energetic and enthusiastic, lacked community and vision. Lori uses a powerful technique - stories told by real managers in real companies that can clearly credit the story as achieving real results. I believe that the ability of leaders to develop the discipline of story is one of the most powerful management tools. It is creative and moves people forward. N

Getting Beyond Storytelling to the Power of Story

There are many books out there that talk about how to tell stories; that isn't the focus of this new work. This unique book shows just how stories can be used by leaders to make a difference. Story is a hot topic right now, but Lorie Silverman provides a fresh window into the strategic use of story and provides actual evidence on the results you can achieve. That makes this book a powerful tool in advancing the use of story in organizations. If you want to sell your leadership team on using stories, have them read this book, and then get busy finding and sharing your own stories. Stories work; now we have evidence.