Blog Posts

Not the Pencil, It’s the Window: A Story-bite that Leads to Deeper Understanding

By Jean Storlie / July 17, 2013 /

In the midst of a chaotic episode of office politics, my boss said to me, “Jean, you need to understand, it’s not the pencil, it’s the window.” As I stood puzzled, she explained the story. Eva and Ron were peers in a company, but Eva had a cubicle with a window. If this wasn’t enough,…

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Storytelling and The Language of Flowers: Writing Content that Takes Root

By Jean Storlie / July 9, 2013 /

A few weeks ago, our book club gathered in my garden to discuss The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Kelly arrived first carrying a plate of appetizers labeled with the herbs she’d used and their meanings (basil stands for hate and rosemary is remembrance). Rachel arrived next with her copy of the book in…

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Creativity Summer Camp: My Inaugural Experience at CSPI

By Jean Storlie / June 27, 2013 /

“If everybody is thinking alike, somebody isn’t thinking.” –George Patton’’ As I arrived on the University of Buffalo campus to attend my first Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) Conference, the first person I met, Laura, approached me warmly and we struck up a conversation. She is from Monterey, Mexico, and co-owns a private school with…

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Beyond Spreadsheets: The Storied Side of Persuasive Communications

By Jean Storlie / June 20, 2013 /

A year ago, my lay-off and retirement from General Mills triggered the need for my husband and I to find a new financial planning service. The process of gathering all of our financial data, interviewing financial counselors, and grappling with the uncertainty of our future was daunting and depressing. For me, personal financial planning and…

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Storytelling Can Unify a Brand Experience

By Jean Storlie / May 15, 2013 /

In writing a story about a deep emotional experience living in hospice while my dad passed, I told stories about the amazing care and compassion of the hospital staff –from the doctors to the man who cleaned our room. This culture of caring was clearly integrated into the hospital’s “product experience,” so I was really…

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The Power of Storytelling: The Key to Consumer Engagement

By Jean Storlie / April 22, 2013 /

  A recent story in The Guardian by Dom Robertson shares how Gatorade draws the consumer into a compelling narrative through it’s award-winning Replay campaign. As Dom shares: Based on the proposition “Once an athlete, always an athlete”, is an extremely effective example of storytelling at its very best. Appealing to men over 30 who…

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