Notification, you are added to a WhatsApp Group. WhatsApp groups have become a common way for teams to communicate. And being added to a WhatsApp group often gives us a sense of belonging. It fulfills one of the strongest human desires, to belong. However, a group can never be a team because quiet often it overlooks inclusion.And when inclusion is ignored, you may be in the group but not as a...

Your customers don't buy a product; they buy a story. If they like the product, they'll share the story with a wider audience. The two entrepreneurs behind the fashion retailer UNTUCKit understand the power of story to sell a brand. And they know the power of simplicity in telling that story. This week UNTUCKit announced its first overseas expansion. With more than 80 locations in North America...

In an uncertain world, we seek for certainty. When managing business profitability, cost saving strategy brings that certainty and as result we latch on to it. And then we build tactics around the strategy of cost saving. Here are some tactics of a 5 Star Hotel to live the cost saving strategy: Remove coffee and tea urns and replace them with sachets Remove fresh milk and get UHT milk pods Reduce...

Despite great opportunities and offers, the thought of setting up new offices in new countries has never been exciting for me.Not exciting because it required developing new relationships. New relationships, with clients, vendors, new team members etc. The foundation of every relationship is trust and trust is earned overtime, that is why we have to take a leap of faith in new relationship...

Good looking, entertaining, leading a desired lifestyle can be the reasons why you have a massive following online. You have built your brand on those pillars and it is your right to make that choice. And then, there is that person who only wants to be known for the work they do. And even when it comes to the work they do, they are selective about what meets the eyes of an online audience. This...

When I train for a marathon, there is a 16 weeks of training programme I must follow at the least. The training programme is crafted with care. It has dimensions that make my performance better, such as, mileage, hills, strength training etc. Over the 16 weeks I must turn up again and again and whilst I may say, "I am training" what I am really doing is developing. Developing stamina, strength...

My greatest learning experiences can never be defined as fun, fast and easy. A clear indicator of whether I am learning or not is, whether I am feeling the discomfort or not. In feeling that discomfort, I must embrace the tension, exert emotional labour and be aware that I will at least once hear that voice in my head that says , "Why are you doing this? " We now look for learning experiences...

Our early days as hunters and gatherers have taught us the value of fitting in. Back then, if we did not fit in, we wouldn't survive. Now, fitting in doesn't contribute to our survival in anyway. But that desire to belong is so strong that we continue to fit in. And when an opportunity presents itself to stand out, we want it but we also resist it. It is a push and a pull. To story tell is to...

You want to make a change happen. You tell a story of why the change is required to your boss. Your boss listens to you and says,"why did we not make this change happen 3 years ago?" You feel your communication has failed. However, you only feel that way when you are communicating for acknowledgement and not for making the change happen. You are successful, in-fact very successful in...

I am driving and listening to BBC business radio. I hear a conversation on LinkedIn about "likes" and "endorsements." The radio commentator expresses that LinkedIn "likes" and "endorsements" are a "fatally flawed strategy" and criticises it further by saying, "it is nothing more than "I scratch your back and you scratch mine' strategy." Having closely observed so much of the "likes" activity on...

You subscribe to an online course from an unknown person, it exceeds your expectation or you listen to a talk from an unknown person and it exceeds your expectation. Chances are you will look for more courses and more talks from the same person. And for as long as the person continues to delight you, you will engage with what the person creates. The person has built a frequency and consistency...

I nod my head and I say to you, "I agree with you" and I genuinely do. You now believe that I am onboard and I will drive the desired outcome along with you. But agreement is not alignment. And because I am only in agreement, I will struggle to find the same passion and energy required to drive the desired outcome as you. So, how about we move beyond agreement which is built on logic and move...

Shall I go to this training programme or that? Shall I run today or do yoga? Shall I read a book or an article? There is plenty of choice which triggers delayed decision making because we want to make the right choice. When you find yourself in a choice chaos and the answer seems non obvious. Then, you are merely delaying decision and not making the right choice. The truth is, it rarely matters...

Preparation, is the thing that you do or time you spend preparing for something.‚Å£ ‚Å£ Quite often we schedule preparation for a performance like performance in exams, in giving a speech, running a marathon etc for a certain period before the actual performance day.‚Å£ ‚Å£ However, If you are looking for a remarkable performance, that limited scheduled preparation is merely polishing, refining...

Recently, I worked with a CEO of an organisation on delivering a story of a new formed strategy of the business. The new strategy was designed as a response to several changes in the organisation. One of the change was, all steps of manufacturing their product, a semiconductor chip from design, conceptualisation to final test and assembly used to be under their domain but there had been an...

In Asian culture, a high premium is traditionally put on being right . The best way to avoid being wrong is to not say anything at all. And anyone who puts a premium on being right will hesitate to subscribe to storytelling. Why? Because for business professionals it is relatively still a new way of communicating in Asia. And anything new, without enough data on success is risky. A few years ago...

About 3 years ago we developed a story for a leading hospital in Vietnam. The story was published on Youtube and has garnered only 5000 views as of today. Does that mean the story was unsuccessful? No, it was successful and here is how. Storytelling is a brand marketing effort but we treat it like direct marketing. Hence, measure it. We measure it because internet now allows it. Brand marketing...

I wake up every morning to a very colourful tapestry of photos on social media. It includes photos of food people ate, to friends they met, to workshops they ran, to speech they gave, to people they coached, to awards they won and many posts start with it is my privilege it is my honour I am delighted to which are all perfect starts to a humble brag. Now, the sad thing is that these people bought...

How words shape us! Here is a dinner table conversation with my 12 years old daughter that left me thinking how we need to redefine words. I walked up to the dining table and gave my daughter a big hug. "So, what is it about me that you like mum?" She asked. My response, "many things but I love the fact that you are a decent girl." She was aghast! Her response, "decent, you mean I am average." My...

In a meeting, a leader who is a leading a company that sells baby food says, "we have a pressing agenda item, we have to educate our distribution on the right use of our products. Hence, we will be rolling out a training programme for our staff on how to do that." Now the statement made by the leader aims at immense objectivity and as a result has stripped away emotions, aspirations and a...

"Anjali, I love the storytelling work we are doing here today. I will definitely use storytelling skills to inspire my team and engage my customers but I will never use it in front of my boss." Now, that is a statement I often hear. If you feel this way too, this blog is for you. What kind of stories do bosses want to hear? We tell stories to inspire, engage, motivate and influence. When it comes...

Research proves Gender Diversity leads to Innovation. We have heard this statement a million times and it is now noise versus great news. But, despite having heard this statement several times the importance of this statement has not reduced which puts the communicator in a difficult situation because it is an important statement that needs telling but when told falls on deaf ears. What is the...

September 2012, " Anjali the Creative Director is sick and we have to present the pitch to the client today, as a Business Director you will now have to lead the creative section too! " Along with 3 other team members I enter the boardroom for a pitch presentation, I am comfortable with 75% of the presentation because it is my space and then comes the creative section, I am slightly nervous and I...

A study by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research says 44 percent of a company's market value is directly linked to the CEO's personal brand. Here's some more detail–that same study said that when a CEO has a good reputation (which is another word for "personal brand), they are better able to attract investors, positive media attention, and talent. They also retain talent better, and are fortified...

You have received employee opinion survey results which reveal to you that people are not very happy in your team. You are frustrated because as a leader you have been doing plenty to make sure people are happy. You now have a number from the survey that gives you information on the levels of happiness in the team but measuring it doesn't mean you can control it. Just like a thermometer can...