Reflection – Storytelling

Challenge & Selection

I am currently working in a low cost airline and back in last year I was managing a fare bundling review  project. Fare bundling simply means the combinations of ancillary product for purchase along with the  flight ticket. I am planning to introduce a brand new fare bundle which only contain the flight ticket and  a piece of personal item. Since fare bundling can has direct and great impact to the ticket revenue, it is  essential for the key parties to have a clear picture on the idea. I chose storytelling as a tool to describe  the travel journey of different group of people for the key parties to visualize the new fare bundle.

Application

I told the key parties a travel journey of a business man. He traveled from Hong Kong to Tokyo with his  checked-in baggage and lap top bag. What he needed is the flight ticket and a checked in baggage, but  not a carry-on bag. As a Low Cost Carrier, it is important to provide flexibility to customer to let them  purchase what they need for the journey. The new fare bundle will suit his need and possibly capture  extra market share by providing a low fare ticket. The key parties had a clear picture of the idea after  hearing the story of the business man and agreed to proceed.

Insight and Approach

Storytelling allows us to visualize complicated ideas and help people to understand. It captures attention  while addressing the pros and cons of the idea. It helps me a lot in persuading people in workplace.  Before I studied this course, I used some of the tools covered in the course to help me think or explain  to others, but in an ad-hoc and unsystematic approach. After studying this course, I realized the  unsystematic thinking process I used to use can actually be formularized with the four questions  mentioned in the course. I will try to use this systematic approach more when I faced pain points at  work.

