Storytelling in Organizations (eBook)

Karin Thier is a founder of NARRATA Consult, a consulting institute focusing on the development and applications of storytelling and narrative methods in the fields of project debriefing, knowledge management, expert debriefing, cultural change and employer branding. She holds a PhD in the field of media pedagogy at University of Augsburg (Germany) on the development of an efficient learning history method for a practical use in companies in cooperation with the software company F.A.S.T. GmbH.  Since then, she has been using storytelling and narrative approaches and methods in numerous contexts, both in large corporations, as well as medium-sized and non-profit companies and organizations. Presently, she works as a consultant, trainer and coach and has published many articles and books on the topic of storytelling in organizations.

Preface 6
Contents 8
About the Author 10
About the Illustrator 11
1: Introduction 12
References 16
2: Stories in Organizations 18
2.1 Features of Organizational Stories 18
2.2 Types of Organizational Stories 19
Example 20
Example 21
Example 21
2.3 The Power of Stories: Effects of Stories in Organizations 22
Summary: How Do Stories Affect Organizations? 24
References 24
3: The ``Storytelling´´ Method 26
3.1 The Tenor of Narrative Management 26
3.2 What Is the Storytelling Method? 27
3.2.1 Background of the Method 28
3.2.2 A Definition of the ``Storytelling´´ Method 29
3.3 Phases of the Storytelling Method 30
3.4 How Organizations Benefit from Learning Histories 32
Example 34
References 35
4: Areas of Application 36
4.1 Storytelling in Knowledge Management 37
Example 38
4.2 Storytelling for Project Debriefing 38
Example 39
4.3 Storytelling for the Documentation of Important Projects 39
Example 40
4.4 Storytelling for ``Leaving Experts´´ 40
Example 41
4.5 Storytelling for the Analysis of Organizational Culture 42
Example 42
4.6 Storytelling in Change Processes 43
Example 43
4.7 Storytelling in Brand Management 44
Example 45
4.8 Storytelling in Market Research 45
Example 46
4.9 Storytelling in Quality Management 46
Example 47
4.10 Storytelling in Networks, Clusters and Cooperation 48
Example 48
4.11 Storytelling in Conflict Management 49
Example 49
Summary 50
Groups Who Can Benefit Most from the Storytelling Method 51
References 51
5: Evaluation and Efficacy of Storytelling 52
5.1 Empirical Findings on Practicability and Efficacy 53
5.1.1 Studies on the Utilization of Storytelling 53
5.1.2 Efficacy of Results 53
Efficacy of Storytelling 54
5.2 Personal Experiences with Storytelling 54
References 58
6: The Storytelling Procedure 59
Example 62
6.1 Planning Phase 62
6.1.1 ``Kick-Off-Talk´´ with the ``Decision-Maker´´ 64
Checklist for the ``kick off´´ meeting with an internal decision-maker 66
Example 66
Tips and Experiences 67
6.1.2 Meeting with an Internal Expert 68
Checklist for the meeting with the expert 70
Tips and Experiences 70
6.2 Interview Phase 70
6.2.1 Developing the Interview Guideline 71
Tips and Experiences 73
Checklist: How does the storytelling team develop interview questions? 73
6.2.2 Conducting the Interviews 73
Tips and Experiences 75
Checklist for conducting the interview 76
Tips and Experiences 78
6.3 Extraction Phase 79
6.3.1 Creating Evaluation Categories 80
Checklist for the formation of evaluation categories 80
Tips and Experiences 81
6.3.2 Evaluating the Interviews 81
Tips and Experiences 82
Example 84
6.4 Writing Phase 86
6.4.1 Structure of the Short Stories 87
Example 90
Checklist for the structure of short stories: 90
6.4.2 Guidelines for Writing the Short Stories 91
Tips and Experiences 91
Example 91
Tips and Experiences 98
6.4.3 Creating the Experience Document 99
Tips and Experiences 100
6.5 Validation Phase 100
Tips and Experiences 101
6.6 Dissemination Phase 102
Tips and Experiences 103
Example 103
Tips and Experiences 105
6.7 Evaluation of the Storytelling Method in the Organization 105
Example 107
Tips and Experiences 107
References 107
7: Application Forms in Scientific and Educational Projects-An Interview with Prof. Rik Peters, University of Groningen, The N... 108
References 112
8: Other Methods and Variants of Storytelling 113
8.1 ``Appreciative Inquiry´´: Stories for Large Conferences 114
8.2 Stories to Decipher the Unofficial Culture of an Organization 115
8.3 ``Transfer Stories´´ for Preserving Expert Knowledge 116
8.4 ``Springboard Stories´´ for the Support of Change Processes 117
8.5 ``Story Construction´´ to Change Organizational Culture 119
8.6 Story Management for the Support of Successful Leadership 119
8.7 Re-authoring Leadership 121
References 123
9: Outlook: Short Variants of Storytelling 125