Storytelling and conversation is at the heart of everything that we do

Organisations are storytelling organisms.  They all have a story about who they are, what they are about and where they came from.  And every person in an organisation also has a story to tell.

Our ChangeStories® work with organisations enables a consistent and engaging changestory to be told and shared.  Our research shows that organisations that take the time to share stories are more likely to be successful in creating change.  Organisations that share stories experience improved levels of teamworking and innovation and managers report feeling more empowered to resolve problems.

Our work is rooted in Appreciative Inquiry, the practice of asking “what is the best of what is” rather than focusing on issues and problems.  This approach is proven in leading to greater success in change.  In fact, recent research suggests that organisations that take this approach are 4 times more likely to achieve change success than those that focus on the negatives.  We have found that appreciating the best of what is generates more ideas and inspiration and greater clarity of goals and development areas.

But, our passion for storytelling and conversation goes deeper than this.  Experience shows us that many problems in organisations are caused by conversations not happening.  Think about many people management problems such as poor performance, grievances, disciplinary issues, employee absence and high levels of employee turnover.  How many of these issues could be dealt with sooner and more effectively if conversations had been had at the right time with the right people?  And how much more human would organisations be if these conversations were just a normal part of every day work?

We can help

We can help your organisation to build storytelling into every day life.  We do this using our ARIAS methodology which focusses on:

  • Attention – how to focus on what matters in your organisation, both for you as a leader or change agent and to employees;
  • Reflection – building time for reflection into your daily practice and also into change programmes to stop, think and reset in order to achieve your objectives;
  • Inquiry – using dialogue, inquiry and conversation to understand the causes of change resistance and improve change communications;
  • Appreciation – how to understand the best from the past and take this forward into the future; and
  • Storytelling – using all of this information and translating it into a meaningful and engaging changestory, focussing on outcomes and what the future is going to look and feel like.