Example	Reflection	–	Storytelling	Tool

Challenge:  I work in a global multinational financial services organization as a talent development  specialist. Many of the key stakeholders in the business are deep technical specialists and  finance professionals. In assessing the benefits of some cultural or leadership initiatives, in  general, there is sometimes a tendency for some of these stakeholders to focus on the harder  metrics rather than the softer benefits of implementing some of these initiatives. They can be  more easily convinced of the value of such initiatives by demonstrating the impact on financial  metrics and bottom line performance (such as revenue and profitability) rather than on the  softer metrics (such as increased employee engagement, innovation, enhanced client  relationships, organizational goodwill in the market). Therefore, it can sometimes be  challenging to get people to connect meaningfully to some of the initiatives that don’t have an  immediately apparent benefit to the bottom line.     The organization recently launched a new set of organizational values. Therefore, the specific  challenge was how to get all employees across the organization to be aligned and supportive  of the new values. The aim was to get people to really embrace and connect to the values,  and to appreciate the benefits of living the values in their everyday work.     Selection:  I selected the storytelling tool. The storytelling tool ensures that the message is compelling,  sometimes even inspirational, and that it is delivered in such a way so as to ensure an  emotional connection with the audience. Through this medium, storytelling as a tool is a  powerful mechanism to draw your audience in on an emotive level, and to ensure that they  are taken on a journey which supports the achievement of the desired outcome.     As we learnt in this course, storytelling is essentially a human-centered approach, which  prioritizes the listener and their experience. As Julio Rose reflected in the video in week 2,  “a good story at its essence, is simply conveying a message that has logic.” We also learn  from Julio Rose that a good story is something that creates a cause; by telling an effective  story, the storyteller should be able to align, inspire and unite the audience around the cause  or desired outcomes. It should be clear then why I have chosen this as my tool for this  challenge, since this tool could be a natural solution to encourage employee alignment behind  our fundamental common new values.     Application:  Storytelling was used to garner support for the new values, by asking leaders and employees  across the organization to record videos of themselves telling stories about why the new  values were important to them, or stories of what the real meaning of the values were to them  personally, or stories of where they had seen the values being demonstrated in practice across  the organization. These videos were then posted on the global intranet and made available to  everyone.     This form of storytelling sent strong messages of support of the new values globally. The  stories made the values real for employees, not just some words on a page. This built a sense  of pride and true belief in the work the organization was doing. Having a meaningfully  articulated story and purpose elicited an emotional response from employees, which allowed  employees to really visualize the outcomes and benefits.      I think most people who work for the organization already recognize and appreciate that we  have an incredibly powerful brand and noble purpose which is about helping people to live a  better life. Storytelling through the application of the values helped to showcase this purpose  and brand in practice. By adopting and living our values every day we are well-positioned to

help our customers to live better lives, which ultimately contributes to positive business  performance.     Insight:  One of the key things that I have learned in this Design Thinking for Innovation course is that  although design thinking is underpinned by some rigorous processes and tools, design  thinking is fundamentally about people. It is an intensely people-centered approach,  leveraging benefits from a deep sense of customer empathy. Storytelling allows insight from  a humanistic perspective, it’s a tool that ensures a strong emotional response and connection  to the audience. I have learnt that storytelling can provide a way of presenting a compelling  business case in a relatable manner. Ultimately, this can help to shift the existing mindsets  and behaviors of the audience.     Approach:  In this particular situation, I would not have chosen a different tool. I believe that the use of  storytelling was an ideal platform to achieve the desired alignment and outcomes in this case.  As we learn in the course, storytelling makes an effective emotional connection with the  audience, and helps to reflect a larger purpose. In the video from week 2, Julio Rose reflects  that “Storytelling is the difference between solving a problem and creating a cause.” The  challenge faced here around garnering support for the organization’s new values was clearly  something which was about creating a cause and not just solving a problem.


Example Reflection – Storytelling Tool Challenge : I work in a global multinational financial services organization as a talent development specialist . Many of the key stakeholders in the business are deep technical specialists and finance professionals . In assessing the benefits of some cultural or leadership initiatives , in general , there is sometimes a tendency for some of these stakeholders to focus on the harder metrics rather than the softer benefits of implementing some of these initiatives . They can be more easily convinced of the value of such initiatives by demonstrating the impact on financial metrics and bottom line performance ( such as revenue and profitability ) rather than on the softer metrics ( such as increased employee engagement , innovation , enhanced client relationships , organizational goodwill in the market ) . Therefore , it can sometimes be challenging to get people to connect meaningfully to some of the initiatives that do n’t have an immediately apparent benefit to the bottom line . The organization recently launched a new set of organizational values . Therefore , the specific challenge was how to get all employees across the organization to be aligned and supportive of the new values . The aim was to get people to really embrace and connect to the values , and to appreciate the benefits of living the values in their everyday work . Selection : I selected the storytelling tool . The storytelling tool ensures that the message is compelling , sometimes even inspirational , and that it is delivered in such a way so as to ensure an emotional connection with the audience . Through this medium , storytelling as a tool is a powerful mechanism to draw your audience in on an emotive level , and to ensure that they are taken on a journey which supports the achievement of the desired outcome . As we learnt in this course , storytelling is essentially a human - centered approach , which prioritizes the listener and their experience . As Julio Rose reflected in the video in week 2 , “ a good story at its essence , is simply conveying a message that has logic . ” We also learn from Julio Rose that a good story is something that creates a cause ; by telling an effective story , the storyteller should be able to align , inspire and unite the audience around the cause or desired outcomes . It should be clear then why I have chosen this as my tool for this challenge , since this tool could be a natural solution to encourage employee alignment behind our fundamental common new values . Application : Storytelling was used to garner support for the new values , by asking leaders and employees across the organization to record videos of themselves telling stories about why the new values were important to them , or stories of what the real meaning of the values were to them personally , or stories of where they had seen the values being demonstrated in practice across the organization . These videos were then posted on the global intranet and made available to everyone . This form of storytelling sent strong messages of support of the new values globally . The stories made the values real for employees , not just some words on a page . This built a sense of pride and true belief in the work the organization was doing . Having a meaningfully articulated story and purpose elicited an emotional response from employees , which allowed employees to really visualize the outcomes and benefits . I think most people who work for the organization already recognize and appreciate that we have an incredibly powerful brand and noble purpose which is about helping people to live a better life . Storytelling through the application of the values helped to showcase this purpose and brand in practice . By adopting and living our values every day we are well - positioned to help our customers to live better lives , which ultimately contributes to positive business performance . Insight : One of the key things that I have learned in this Design Thinking for Innovation course is that although design thinking is underpinned by some rigorous processes and tools , design thinking is fundamentally about people . It is an intensely people - centered approach , leveraging benefits from a deep sense of customer empathy . Storytelling allows insight from a humanistic perspective , it ’s a tool that ensures a strong emotional response and connection to the audience . I have learnt that storytelling can provide a way of presenting a compelling business case in a relatable manner . Ultimately , this can help to shift the existing mindsets and behaviors of the audience . Approach : In this particular situation , I would not have chosen a different tool . I believe that the use of storytelling was an ideal platform to achieve the desired alignment and outcomes in this case . As we learn in the course , storytelling makes an effective emotional connection with the audience , and helps to reflect a larger purpose . In the video from week 2 , Julio Rose reflects that “ Storytelling is the difference between solving a problem and creating a cause . ” The challenge faced here around garnering support for the organization ’s new values was clearly something which was about creating a cause and not just solving a problem .