Yamini Naidu - Story Mastery: How leaders supercharge results with business storytelling

STORY MASTERY

Published by Yamini Naidu Consulting

www.yamininaidu.com.au

Copyright 2019 Yamini Naidu

Yamini Naidu asserts her right to be known as the author of this work.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior consent of the publishers.

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter, which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

9780648598701 (paperback)

9780648598718 (ebook)

Cover, text design and typesetting by Jen Clark Design

Edited by Jem Bates

For my brother Prathap Sunder and my sister Girija Bhaskar whose humour, generosity and stories light me up

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yamini Naidu is the worlds only economist turned business storyteller and is rated among the top three business storytellers globally.

With a client list of Fortune 500 and ASX Top-100 companies, she works at board and CEO level around the world, moving leaders from spreadsheets to stories.

Her previous books, Power Play: Game changing influence strategies for leaders and the bestseller Hooked: How leaders connect, engage & inspire using storytelling, were published internationally by John Wiley & Sons.

A global citizen, Yamini was born and raised in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India and is a gold medalist from University of Bombay and both a scholarship winner and a postgraduate from the London School of Economics.

She has lived, worked, studied and travelled in India, Asia, Europe and the Americas. She now lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her large extended family and a crazy cavoodle named Ace. Yamini is also a voluntary guide at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).

When she travels for work she misses her family, her dog and Melbournes famous coffee.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Blue azure seas, the boat glides to a stop. We disembark. Waiting staff line the pathway. They hold trays of chilled drinks and greet us with big smiles: Welcome to Nurai island.

In Arabic, nur means light. I pinch myself. Am I presenting in Paradise? The training room is outdoors, set under the shade of a beautiful canopy. Artfully scattered banana lounges, deep cushions and low-slung chaise longues provide the seating. Theres a deep wooden bar running along one end. Behind me, an infinity pool, metres from the beach and the inviting blue of the Arabian Sea. I joke with the participants, The only thing standing between the beer, the beach and the bar is me!

In this breathtaking setting, they are all riveted. Not by me (Im not that immodest!), but by each others stories. Its not a workshop its a fun shop! declares one participant.

This storytelling session is for Macquarie Telecom Groups high achievers, who are recognised and rewarded for their contribution to the companys success (Macquarie Club). It is also an opportunity for these high achievers to spend time learning from and with each other in an amazing overseas setting. And thats why Im there, in the sun and sand, doing the thing that lights them and me up sharing stories.

I am privileged to work with leaders like these all over the world, from my hometown of Melbourne to Ford HQ in Michigan and everywhere in between. A big thank you to all my clients who engage me daily to work with them and their teams.

A deep thank you to my clients who have so generously allowed me to share their stories in this book. I also want to acknowledge and honour Noeleen Carey, Lisa Leong and John Sands who believe in the power of storytelling and gave me the privilege and pleasure of working with their organisations.

I humbly acknowledge the greats in storytelling who have guided and shaped my work: Steve Denning (who pioneered the field), and thank you Annette Simpson for your wisdom and generosity.

To my wisdom council, whose advice and encouragement I lean on Carolyn Tate, Kath Walters and Sandy McDonald. To my friends especially the Awesome Foursome and the GIF Girls (Anna, Kim and Linda), thank you for putting up with my early-morning texts and random GIFS your love and laughter keep me sane.

But most of all to my family, whose love and support ground me. Every time I return from a trip whether criss-crossing the globe or just the Melbourne CBD I unlock the front door and am greeted by a crazy dog and my family demanding Whats for a dinner? Its an in-joke yet it makes my heart sing, because I know Im home and Im loved.

Finally, thank you, dear reader, for choosing this book and for taking that first step towards Story Mastery.

INTRODUCTION

How do we persuade people to adopt our ideas, listen to what we have to say and be inspired into action?

To answer, I want to take you back in time. To May 27, 1992. Vedran Smailovic was in his upstairs apartment in downtown Sarajevo. Without warning, a mortar round exploded in the street outside. Vedran, shaken by the blast, ran to his window and looked out through the smoke onto a scene of horror. Twenty-two people friends and neighbours, who moments before had been standing in a queue to buy bread lay dead.

It was a time of war, and Sarajevo had become ground zero in the conflict. For Vedran, the terror of war had finally struck home. He felt helpless and fearful. But then he decided to act. He would do what he knew how to do make music. Vedran was principal cellist for the Sarajevo Opera.

The next day, dressed in formal attire as if for a concert performance, he stepped out of his apartment block, cello in one hand and a small plastic stool in the other. Vedran crossed the street to the bomb site opposite his apartment. There, in full public view, amidst the shelling and sniper fire of war-ravaged Sarajevo, Vedran Smailovic sat down and started to play.

He would play for 22 consecutive days, to honour each victim of the bakery bombing. As he played, after a few days, the city ground to a standstill. The snipers held off; the bombing stopped and the madness of war gave way briefly to the magic of music. Slowly, in ones and twos, other musicians joined him. Soon almost every member of the Sarajevo Opera orchestra who was still alive was playing with him.

Vedran playing his cello in the rubble painted a vivid picture in my mind. When I heard his story, it drew goosebumps and tears.

Vedran Smailovic... a leader of exceptional bravery making a difference in a dangerous world. His story teaches us that as leaders we should be prepared to do something very different for success. We have a mandate to change our world through our work. Just as he did.