Summary of Leader's Guide to Storytelling

Stephen Denning

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Leader's Guide to Storytelling book summary

Rating

The rating – what does it mean?

At getAbstract, we summarize books* that help people understand the world and make it better. Whatever we select for our library has to excel in one or the other of these two core criteria:

Enlightening – You’ll learn things that will inform and improve your decisions.

Helpful – You’ll take-away practical advice that will help you get better at what you do.

We rate each piece of content on a scale of 1–10 with regard to these two core criteria. Our rating helps you sort the titles on your reading list from adequate (5) to brilliant (10). Books we rate below 5 won’t be summarized. Here's what the ratings mean:

5 –Solid. A helpful and/or enlightening book, inspite of its obvious shortcomings. For instance, it may be offer decent advice in some areas but be repetitive or unremarkable in others. 6 – Notable. A helpful and/or enlightening book that stands out by at least one aspect, e.g. is particularly well structured. 7 – Good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that combines two or more noteworthy strengths, e.g. contains uncommonly novel ideas and presents them in an engaging manner. 8 – Very good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that has a substantial number of outstanding qualities without excelling across the board, e.g. presents the latest findings in a topical field and is written by a renowned expert but lacks a bit in style. 9 – Superb. A helpful and/or enlightening book that is extremely well rounded, has many strengths and no shortcomings worth mentioning. 10 – Brilliant. A helpful and/or enlightening book that, in addition to meeting the highest standards in all pertinent aspects, stands out even among the best. Often an instant classic and must-read for everyone. While the rating tells you how good a book is according to our two core criteria, it says nothing about its particular defining features. Therefore, we use a set of 20 qualities to characterize each book by its strengths:

Applicable – You’ll get advice that can be directly applied in the workplace or in everyday situations.
Analytical – You’ll understand the inner workings of the subject matter.
Background – You’ll get contextual knowledge as a frame for informed action or analysis.
Bold – You’ll find arguments that may break with predominant views.
Comprehensive – You’ll find every aspect of the subject matter covered.
Concrete Examples – You’ll get practical advice illustrated with examples of real-world applications or anecdotes.
Eloquent – You’ll enjoy a masterfully written or presented text.
Engaging – You’ll read or watch this all the way through the end.
Eye opening – You’ll be offered highly surprising insights.
For beginners – You’ll find this to be a good primer if you’re a learner with little or no prior experience/knowledge.
For experts – You’ll get the higher-level knowledge/instructions you need as an expert.
Hot Topic – You’ll find yourself in the middle of a highly debated issue.
Innovative – You can expect some truly fresh ideas and insights on brand-new products or trends.
Insider’s take – You’ll have the privilege of learning from someone who knows her or his topic inside-out.
Inspiring – You’ll want to put into practice what you’ve read immediately.
Overview – You’ll get a broad treatment of the subject matter, mentioning all its major aspects.
Scientific – You’ll get facts and figures grounded in scientific research.
Visionary – You’ll get a glimpse of the future and what it might mean for you.
Well structured – You’ll find this to be particularly well organized to support its reception or application.

*getAbstract is summarizing much more than books. We look at every kind of content that may matter to our audience: books, but also articles, reports, videos and podcasts. What we say here about books applies to all formats we cover.

Qualities

Applicable

Recommendation

Stephen Denning has written a carefully reasoned, thought-provoking study of the use of storytelling as a powerful tool for leadership and innovation. He challenges traditional business approaches to management and persuasion, such as relying on analytic thinking, and facts and figures to convince an audience. Instead, Denning says, you can use well-scripted, well-constructed stories to achieve all your leadership goals, both inside and outside of your company. He carefully explains how to tell purposeful stories, and he even provides useful templates at the end of each chapter. The book is much too in-depth to be a handy "how to" manual; in fact, it is more of an enjoyable intellectual exercise because Denning weaves practical instruction within pages of theory. getAbstract recommends this book to leaders who want to extend their persuasive powers by learning to tell purposeful, impassioned stories.

About the Author

Stephen Denning also wrote The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations, and Squirrel Inc.: A Fable of Leadership Through Storytelling. He is a knowledge-management consultant with international clients including major corporations and the U.S. Army.

Summary

Why Tell a Story?

Most people believe that businesses operate on a foundation of facts, figures and analysis. Yet, even the simplest narrative can spark the imagination and galvanize people into action better than dry data alone. That makes storytelling a tool leaders can use to transform numbers, research and analysis into compelling, motivating images.

Mastering the Art

Everyone has the capacity to tell a captivating story. You do not have to be a skilled actor to practice the performance art of storytelling. You do, however, need to master the four basic skills of storytelling: "style, truth, preparation and delivery." A simple, direct style is the most suitable approach for a business narrative. Speak as if you are talking to one individual, not a huge audience. Be straightforward, stay focused and do not prevaricate or digress. Most of all, be yourself and tell your story as if you are telling it for the first time.

Today’s audience members are cynical. They are accustomed to hearing spin, half-truths and even outright lies. Tell your story as truthfully and honestly as possible. Proceed on the assumption that what you are communicating is true, ...

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