Tag Archives: emotion

Of special powers, ADHD, dyslexia and autism

By Steve | Published: September 21, 2010

Imagine your kid has special powers. She can read minds, has penetrating vision, superhuman hearing. She can go a million miles a minute. That’s my daughter, Kai: hyperactive, dyslexic, autistic. I was ironing her latest Fuse Bead creations tonight — a purple-legged octopus, an orange-and-yellow-tipped star, intricately patterned hearts, a tiny dog with the appropriate [...]

Posted in What I figured out | Also tagged authenticity, autism, diversity, family, language, my stories, openness, parenting | 1 Comment

Baking a pie and wondering what my grandkids will call me

By Steve | Published: September 5, 2010

I’m baking a peach pie and it got me into a reflective mood. My friend Dr. Mark Groshek posted this week about the fun he had with his nephews while they re-created the Titanic’s menu. I always have fun in the kitchen with my 9-year-old daughter, but this time I was going solo. Which meant [...]

Posted in What I figured out | Also tagged my stories, openness, personal brand, storytellimg, transparency, video | Leave a comment

Three narratives told on Yoga Day

By Steve | Published: January 23, 2010

The Magician’s story In town only four days, she serendipitously had met the hostess of the Yoga Day USA open house just hours before. Now she stood in the suburban basement, surrounded by strangers sitting cross-legged on mats, and talked about her lineage. She is a descendant of ancient Jewish high priests and of Dakota [...]

Posted in Applied stories, storytelling theory | Also tagged change, conversation, culture, my stories, mystery, myth, openness, storytelling, storytelling theory, yoga | Leave a comment

A book for resolve: Change or Die

By Steve | Published: January 1, 2010

Change or Die by Alan Deutschman was referred to me by a physician who is using its ideas to help her patients make life changes (thanks, Deb). It was an ideal read to usher in a new year, a new decade and a new phase in my career. Many of the change ideas were familiar to [...]

Posted in Book reviews, Leadership, Life, Organizational communication, Organizational culture | Also tagged Book reviews, books, career, change, communication, conversation, culture, health care, leadership, openness, organization, Organizational communication, public opinion, rhetoric, storytelling, storytelling tips, teams, writing | Leave a comment

Poet brings vision statement to life

By Steve | Published: December 23, 2009

Tears of pride welled up yesterday as I watched a corporate video. A corporate video! Diane Gage-Lofgren, our national VP of communications and PR, had asked a poet/performance artist to bring life to our communication team’s new vision statement. A stroke of genius. I will forever have a visual and resonant image to add soul [...]

Posted in Applied stories, storytelling theory, Visual storytelling | Also tagged authenticity, career, communication, culture, health care, leadership, openness, organization, Organizational communication, PR, rhetoric, storytelling, storytelling theory, storytelling tips, teams, video, visual | Leave a comment

Filmmaker’s advice for great business storytelling

By Steve | Published: December 18, 2009

Filmmaker Peter Guber (Rainman, Batman, The Color Purple) once used storytelling to win Fidel Castro’s support for filming in Havana Harbor. The official application form had been torpedoed, but El Presidente enthusiastically endorsed the project once he heard Guber tell of the harbor’s historic significance and Castro’s responsibility to the world to share that piece of [...]

Posted in Applied stories, Excellent stories, storytelling theory | Also tagged authenticity, Book reviews, career, communication, conversation, leadership, openness, organization, Organizational communication, rhetoric, storytellimg, storytelling, storytelling theory, storytelling tips | 1 Comment

The word for what I feel about Obama: Disappointed

By Steve | Published: November 29, 2009

I’m trying to be patient. But WTF: first we line up behind Russia and China in favor landmines, and now we’ll be escalating war? Tweet

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged leadership, Opinion, President Obama, public opinion, rhetoric, thinkmap, visual | Leave a comment

My responsibility as a white guy

By Steve | Published: October 14, 2009

A sharp Metro State College student asked me about my earlier post on racism during my guest lecture yesterday. He seemed to get the gist of my story, but I could tell he was confused. I think I was too cute in that post, and I liked my answer I gave him better: As a [...]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged communication, culture, dialogue, diversity, language, my stories, openness, President Obama, racism, racist | Leave a comment

A story for parents whose chicks are leaving the nest

By Steve | Published: August 20, 2009

Frank Sanchez saw that there were many parents among the auditorium full of entering college freshmen. As the convocation for new students drew to a close, Frank, my university’s associate vice chancellor of student life, shared this story: The eagle gently coaxed her offspring toward the edge of the nest. Her heart quivered with conflicting [...]

Posted in Applied stories, Excellent stories | Also tagged authenticity, openness, storytelling, storytelling tips | Leave a comment

Story of the week: ‘You, your patient, and their story’

By Steve | Published: May 24, 2009

“Let me tell you the story of the frantic father and his 2-year-old daughter who was gasping for breath in the middle of the night. The father feared the worst as he rushed with his daughter to The Children’s emergency room.” It was easy to see why Jonathan Browser was chosen by the 39 graduates [...]

Posted in Applied stories, Excellent stories, story of the week | Also tagged health care, story of the week, storytellimg | 1 Comment