Discussion of "Tell to Win"

My apologies for the delay in posting this discussion. It has been a busy couple of months.

Also, unless there is sufficient interest in continuing this blog, I recommend we wind it down as it seems to have served its purpose over the course of a few years and several books.

Peter Guber is convinced that applying the principles of storytelling can greatly enhance the effectiveness of anyone seeking to influence others. In “Telling to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story,” Guber outlines, through several examples, key elements of any effort to influence others to act. According to Guber, PowerPoint presentations full of dry statistics and bullet points hardly ever reach their audience with the intended effect. The reason for this is that the presenters fail to connect emotionally with their audience.

For a story to transport audiences emotionally, Guber posits that four elements are required: (1) sympathetic recognizable characters (a hero, which can come in all shapes and sizes), (2) drama that convinces audiences the teller has heart, (3) a call to action that hits home with a resounding “I got it” or “aha” moment, and (4) a me-to-we factor that shines a light on an interest or problem that both the teller and the audience share and creates empathy.

He further notes that the structure of an effective story should include (1) a beginning that shines a light on your challenge or problem, (2) a middle structured around the struggle to meet that challenge, and (3) an ending resolution that ignites the listener to your call to action.

He counsels presenters to keep in mind that audiences pick up on the speaker’s intention, authenticity, and energy. To this he adds that no mater how authentic and empathetic the presenter may appear, if one ignores the interests of the audience, one should not expect to move them. He recommends that one assess the receptivity of one’s audience, where possible, before deciding to tell the story. By listening attentively to the audience, one can sometimes pick up on the need to adjust one’s story.

Guber also observes that some of the most effective story tellers are those who establish and sustain a never ending story through a constant proliferation of tellers who will preserve the original elements of the story even as they give the story their own personal thrust. An example of such a never ending story is where a restaurant owner tells new customers about the story of the restaurant. If the restaurant is otherwise good, those who have been to it and heard the story will most likely tell friends about it in the context of their experience and proliferate the story.

What are the possible applications to libraries? Instances such as the following come to mind: (1) preparing an annual report of library activities, (2) making the case for special needs of libraries in times of budget cuts where institutions compete for reduced funding allocations, and (3) developing an endless story built on excellent customer service one user at a time. Can you think of any other applications of Gubers’ recommendations or particular instances of effective story telling in a library context?

We will next discuss "Tell to Win"

Thanks to Maria Elena Ovalle for facilitating our discussion of Outliers. We will next discuss Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story by Peter Guber. ISBN: 978-0307587954 (Crown Business, 2011).

The book discusses the effectiveness of reaching people’s hearts through story telling and contrasts this approach with data dumping.

I will facilitate this discussion April 18-30. Take some time to read the book and join the discussion. If you would like to serve as facilitator for a future book discussion, please e-mail me at jhcampos@southtexascollege.edu. Thank you

Discussion of "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell

An “outlier” is defined as “something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body, or “a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample,” in simple terms, an outlier is something or someone that is extraordinary, or outside of what is considered the norm. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines the factors that determine the success or failure of highly intelligent and motivated individuals. Why are Bill Gates and the Beatles rich and famous, yet others of similar intelligence and ambition do not reach the same high levels of success? Mr. Gladwell examines how family, culture, friendships and the time in history successful individuals were born all contribute to high achievement and accomplishment.

Mr. Gladwell argues that Bill Gates was born at the right time, into the right family, and had exceptional opportunities in his youth to develop the skills necessary to co-found Microsoft and guide the company to becoming the leader in the software world. Gates’ parents were both successful; his father was a successful attorney and his mother came from a wealthy family. Bill Gates was a precocious child, not challenged enough in public schools. When he was in the seventh grade, his parents enrolled him at Lakeside, an exclusive private school in Seattle. During his second year at Lakeside, the school started a computer club. The Lakeside Mother’s Club held fund raisers every year for school projects. In 1968, the club provided funds to install a time-sharing computer terminal at the school with a direct link to a mainframe computer in Seattle. Computer time was expensive and the club money ran out quickly. As luck would have it, one of the Lakeside parents started a computer software company and offered to allow students to test software in exchange for free programming time. Eventually the company went bankrupt, so Gates and the other computer geeks at Lakeside began hanging out at the University of Washington’s Computer Center. Eventually, they discovered Information Sciences Inc., which allowed them programming time in exchange for working on software programs. Bill Gates had the remarkable opportunity to learn programming in his youth during the late 60s and early 70s. How many other individuals in the entire world had the same opportunities?

In addition to family, timing and connections, throughout the book, Mr. Gladwell refers to the “Rule of 10,000,” based on a study by Andres Ericsson, that showed evidence that true greatness requires a minimum of 10,000 hours of practicing or performing a specific task. Gladwell claims that true success, fame and greatness requires that individual devote enormous amounts of time practicing and perfecting skills. Gladwell refers to many successful individuals, including famous violinists, Olympic medalists, scientists, musicians and others who are “outliers” in their field due to spending huge amounts of time perfecting their skills.

In Outliers, Mr. Gladwell writes that "success is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky." Did this book change your way of defining "success?"


Discussion Questions
1. Mr. Gladwell feels that our current understanding of success is “really crude” and that we need to come up with a better understanding of what defines success and how successful individuals become "outliers." Do you agree with the explanations he offers in this book?

2. What is Mr. Gladwell’s explanation for the success Asians have in mathematics? Do you feel that school systems in this country could learn from the Asian cultures and adopt some of the ideas presented to improve student achievement in mathematics?

3. Do you have any personal experiences that prove or disprove some of Mr. Gladwell’s theories for what makes individuals successful?

4. Gladwell feels that there is no such thing as a “self-made” individual. Do you agree? Do you know any individuals that are truly “self-made?” What made them successful?

5. Did you have any “aha!” moments as you read this book? How could you use what you learned in either leading your staff to success, or for self-improvement?