Leading with a story

Stephen Carver from Cranfield packed a room out at the Institute of Directors’ new business hub at MK’s Business & Leadership centre on the 22^nd January to hear how leaders are increasingly using the power of storytelling to get their message over.

Stephen has been teaching leaders the art and science of storytelling at courses for Cranfield for many years, consistently being ranked in the top 3 lecturers at the prestigious management school.  Whereas once storytelling was the preserve of a few who differentiated themselves by an innate ability to get their message over, it is increasingly being seen as a key leadership skill and he is in demand to pass on the art and science to executives from many of the largest companies in the UK and US.

In a highly engaging format, Stephen used multimedia to portray examples of where businesses had got their stories on occasions right, like Apple and Virgin, and sometimes wrong, with disastrous consequences.  He went on to use movie clips to give examples of the structure, process and styles of storytelling, from body language, through metaphor to use of dramatic pause.  For the best, it is the difference that makes the difference.

Peter Parkes (IoD), Stephen Carver and Jane Horridge (MKC)

Peter Parkes from the IoD and Jane Horridge from MK College went on to describe some of the benefits of the new partnership with the college and an overview of facilities available to users of the centre.