I’ve been thinking about questions, mostly about asking them. We were in Nashville two years ago for a long weekend and took Lyfts everywhere we needed to go. Every trip was $6.15, no matter how far we went. Sitting in the backseat I was relaxed and chatty, interested in what was attracting so many different people to [...]
The thrill of dumping 2020 and starting a new year has us looking for new ways to refresh. This means refilling our creativity buckets and using a sense of fun and play to get there. Story Mode programs are crazy fun because we believe that playing at work is one of the best ways to open [...]
You do not want to have me next to you in a yoga class. I’m terrible at it. No flexibility or grace. In fact, I don’t even like it all that much. Give me some dumbbells and the world floats away while I count reps and grunt. But even if I can’t do the poses correctly, [...]
MISSION STATEMENTS SUCK. At least that’s what I thought until recently when Beth and I had to coach our leadership development students to write their own personal mission statements. My job was to help them to decide what their statement should be. This entailed long discussions of how we spend our time at work, versus how we wished we spent [...]
Who doesn’t love a good metaphor or simile? They may not be as fun as a barrel of monkeys and perhaps you find them dull as dishwater. Now because time is money...I’ll move on. (See what I did there?) We talk about these two language tools all the time with our Story Mode community. But one student [...]
You have something to say. Well, you’re supposed to have something to say. “They” expect you to have something to say. You sit down to write. Nothing comes. A few words finally trickle out. They’re awful! &#%!@?! You are stuck. And being stuck sucks. Being stuck sets off a cacophony of mental commentary. The harder you [...]
Who’s on your mind right now? In this uncertain time of the coronavirus, the people I’m thinking about are: Striving to stay fit and sane while honoring social distancing rules in a crowded metropolitan neighborhood Navigating a new “workplace” from a makeshift home office, having just started a new job on Monday Terribly disappointed they won’t [...]
“What are you reading?” It’s the question I love to ask when I meet others who value great stories, good writing, and creative thinking. When the answer strikes a chord, I add the title to my Goodreads “want to read” list. And when a friend turns the question around on me, I’m happy to share my [...]
Ann, Barb, and Chuck walk into a meeting room. Sounds like the start of a joke, right? Actually, it’s the start of a storytelling project. These three managers have been designated “storytellers” for an event their company is hosting next month. A crowd of their peers will come from around the world, pour into a massive [...]
I’m sitting in a coffee shop at F and 7th NW. The sound is deafening, crowds of people and every seat taken. Because I am a stranger here in D.C, I have to ask where the line is to order. Shockingly, there is no one in front of me. At home in Chicago, I get my [...]