Smithsonian Storytelling April 21-22 2006

Believe it or not, April is just around the corner and that means the annual Smithsonian symposium is just around the corner. As in the past, there will be a Friday event at the Smithsonian on April 21 and a Saturday event hosted by the Golden Fleece Group. Here are some details of the Friday and the Saturday events.

A. ALL-DAY FRIDAY SEMINAR AT THE SMITHSONIAN

BOOKINGS ARE NOW OPEN: GO TO http://residentassociates.org/otoapr/storytelling.asp

Leadership and Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Organizational Narrative

Fri., April 21, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Though executives have spent their careers learning analytic business skills, these days they are hearing much about the organizational benefits of storytelling.  In addition to their other skills, they are expected to reach beyond the fact-based argument, persuade even difficult audiences, and touch the heart as well as the mind.  Though mastering the principles of effective organizational narrative is not particularly difficult, it does require a shift from the traditional analytical mind-set. Learn how narrative can captivate an audience and communicate on issues involving dilemmas, conflicts, unpredictable futures, change management, disruptive innovation, strategic initiatives, and crisis management in this stimulating and practical seminar.

            Steve Denning, former program director of knowledge management at the World Bank and author of The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling, reviews the role of storytelling as a leadership tool and explores how narrative can help meet the most important challenges of organizational leadership, including sparking change, communicating who you are, enhancing the brand; transmitting values; fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, managing risks, taming the grapevine, and leading into the future.

            Madelyn Blair, CEO of Pelerei Inc., a consulting firm involved in organizational development, research and training, with clients in 10 countries, in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, demonstrates the latest tools for capitalizing on the social potential of a gathering and provides tips and techniques that participants can apply to their own work.

            Victoria Ward, the co-founder of Sparknow, and Stephanie Colton, who leads Sparknow's story practice, show how inducing fundamental change in any organization involves both de-storying and re-storying—finding useful application in old stories, letting go of stories which block progress, and discovering how old stories can be interwoven with new stories to achieve organizational objectives. Sparknow is a UK consulting organization specializing in dialogue and story,

            Jim Stuart, former president and CEO of Val-Pak, founding executive director of The Florida Aquarium, and co-founder of The Leadership Circle, examines how the organizational story” and the “personal leadership story” are similar and different in their impact on the collective.  One builds vision alignment; the other trust. Both are essential capacities in an effective, humane enterprise.

            Steve Denning’s book, The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling (Jossey-Bass), is available for signing after the program.

CODE: 1M2-012

Location: Smithsonian Associates S. Dillon Ripley Center, Education Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive, SW-Washington DC.

Resident Members $95; Gen. Admission $140

Coffee and pastries are served at 8:30 a.m.

Participants provide their own lunch, 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.

B. SATURDAY APRIL 22, 2006:

MORE ORGANIZATIONAL STORYTELLING SPONSORED BY THE GOLDEN FLEECE GROUP

The second day of the weekend, Saturday April 22, 2006 is organized by the Golden Fleece group. It will be at the National 4H Center at 7100 Connecticut Ave, Chevy Chase from 9 am to 5 pm.

The exciting lineup of speakers is:

9:00 to 9:30            Kelly Cresap, Laughing Muse              

9:30 to 11:00   

Glory Ressler (Canada): Leadership Connext: the Use of Story in a Canadian Voluntary Sector Leadership Development School 

Atieno Fisher: Developing Simulations from Personal Stories to Facilitate Sustainable Learning         

11:00 to 11:15            Break   

11:15 to 12:15   

Hannes Maier & Christoph Harringer (Austria): Leading Companies into the future: The role of storytelling in the strategy process             

Ashraf Ramzy (Netherlands) If You Can’t Calm the Story, Change the Story

Viktoria Berlik: Retelling Ruth’s Story

12:15 to 1:15            Lunch   

1:15 to 2:45            Gerry Lantz:

StrategicStory ™and CultureStory ™: hard and soft narrative tools to spur action and to bond cultural values to an oganization      

Svend-Erik Engh (Denmark): A Storyteller at Work   

Joe Mancini: Investigating Your Archetypal Leadership Story

2:45 to 3:00            Break   

3:00to 4:30      

Patricia Digh: Mind the Gap: moving from a finite to an infinite game using narrative         

Sally Strackbein: Leadership Communication through Storytelling       

Terrance Gargiulo: Story at Work: Using Stories to Improve Communications & Build Relationships

4:30 to 5:00            Kelly Cresap, Laughing Muse              

Fees are $55 for regular attendees and $35 for full time students.

Registration will be at the door, or through PayPal (details to be announced shortly).