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Circle of the 9 Muses: A Storytelling Field Guide for Innovators and Meaning Makers
The action-based guide to powerful, influential organizational storytelling Circle of the 9 Muses captures the best practices of the world's most influential story consultants and knowledge workers to help you find, tell, and draw value from your organizational stories as impetus for action. This rich toolbox is loaded with fun, graphical instructions and dozens of unique, replicable, and facilitated processes that require no special training or expertise. You'll discover your organization's hidden narrative assets, use different templates and frameworks to tell the stories of your past, present, and future and then draw team members into rich meaning-making dialogue that translates into action. These activities can be exercised in endless permutations, and expert advice steers you toward the right activity for a specific purpose, including managing change, setting strategy, onboarding, defining the brand, engaging supporters or customers, merging cultures, building trust, and much more. Organizational storytelling is a powerful managerial tool and an essential change management technique. This is about your influence as a leader. Knowing the right story to tell and how to deliver it effectively gives you and your organization enormous influence, and helps connect employees to strategy by providing understanding, belief, and motivation in their personal contribution. This book is the ultimate field guide to becoming an influential storyteller, with concrete, actionable guidance toward all the storytelling fundamentals. The growing interest surrounding organizational storytelling has many change agents focused on "trying to tell better stories," but goals are useless without a plan of action. Circle of the 9 Muses helps you weave narrative wisdom into organizational development activities, engaging employees and driving change.
320 pages, Paperback
First published June 8, 2015
26 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
David Hutchens
22 books19 followersDavid Hutchens is an author, business writer and learning designer who creates communication solutions for The Coca-Cola Company, Wal-Mart, IBM, GE, Nike, Bank of America, and others. He served as chairman of Storytelling in Organizations, a special interest group of the globally renowned National Storytelling Network.
He speaks to organizations and leadership teams all around the world on the topic of storytelling as an organizational capacity. His new book is “Circle of the 9 Muses: A Storytelling Field Guide for Innovators and Meaning Makers,” Wiley & Sons 2015
He is creator of the Learning Fables -- a book series that uses narrative and metaphor to illustrate principles of organizational learning. With titles that include "Outlearning the Wolves" and "Shadows of the Neanderthal," the popular business fables have have sold more than a quarter-million copies in over a dozen languages.
He is author of the book "A Slice of Trust: The Leadership Secret with the Hot & Fruity Filling,” which features a foreword by Stephen M.R. Covey.
In partnership with The Conference Board, he is creator and lead facilitator of The Team USA Leadership Experience, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado springs; and he also facilitates The Apollo Leadership Experience at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
A nationally recognized developer of innovative learning products, David's work has been recognized with distinctions such as Training & Development's "Training Product of the Year" award; ASTD's prestigious "Excellence in Practice" award; Brandon Hall Gold award, and more. David's newest product is "GO Team: Powering Teams to Perform," a just-in-time team training resource. GO Team's library of 18 team-related topics allows you to build your own learning agenda tailored to your team's needs.
He speaks to organizations and leadership teams all around the world on the topic of storytelling as an organizational capacity. His new book is “Circle of the 9 Muses: A Storytelling Field Guide for Innovators and Meaning Makers,” Wiley & Sons 2015
He is creator of the Learning Fables -- a book series that uses narrative and metaphor to illustrate principles of organizational learning. With titles that include "Outlearning the Wolves" and "Shadows of the Neanderthal," the popular business fables have have sold more than a quarter-million copies in over a dozen languages.
He is author of the book "A Slice of Trust: The Leadership Secret with the Hot & Fruity Filling,” which features a foreword by Stephen M.R. Covey.
In partnership with The Conference Board, he is creator and lead facilitator of The Team USA Leadership Experience, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado springs; and he also facilitates The Apollo Leadership Experience at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
A nationally recognized developer of innovative learning products, David's work has been recognized with distinctions such as Training & Development's "Training Product of the Year" award; ASTD's prestigious "Excellence in Practice" award; Brandon Hall Gold award, and more. David's newest product is "GO Team: Powering Teams to Perform," a just-in-time team training resource. GO Team's library of 18 team-related topics allows you to build your own learning agenda tailored to your team's needs.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 14, 2019
This book is designed for leaders, managers who wish to find a way to keep their teams motivated without actually doing anything related to the task or the job.
Yes, you got it right, tell them very good stories, inspirational stories, mind boggling experiences, spiritual journeys, hero's adventures slaying giant dragons. Use tons of white papers, take them out on spiritual outings, make them walk through grave yards (for no good reason), through abandoned forts, through forests, and get them to reveal their innermost secrets so that you can use them later to vilify them and justify your pay grade rise. This whole exercise is to create a workshop / teach these leaders to create workshops to engage their employees and give them a high, the high to something great happening without actually letting anything happen.
The book is well researched and well written. But, I dislike the way the author tried to apply the book for organizational use cases. I have been a part of many such workshops, believe me these are extremely useless in the long run add zero value to employees, leaders and to the organization as a whole. Except to make memories for the sake of making memories, these are called plastic and artificial memories. These memories are forced upon unwilling participants in this game of story circles. Tell me one good reason why any reasonable person will talk about their stories with their employer and their co-workers. If you work at a place for years, you develop a friendship with a few people, at connect with them at a deeper level and it is only with these people, when you hangout, or when you take a walk with them on the beach that you reveal such beautiful stories. When we were kids our cousins had to walk in the pitch black night for a few kilometers coming back from a village fair, we had to walk 7 - 10 kilometers and it is during that time, that we told some of the best stories, walking side by side, the interesting thing we noticed was that there were few other people, a group of people walking behind us, also telling stories and singing to keep themselves engaged. That was the best way one can get connected to another person, by sharing their best experiences in life.
Every morning, my sister and cousins woke up, in the cold winters to gather around the fire wood we have collected the previous night, and then we shared the best of our stories as the sun came along, and we got ready for school. I don't think these personal relationships can be simulated by gathering employees and expecting them to bond.
It only happens with certain people, I would never dream of doing that with some random people at the office. Nope! Not happening and the presence of an authoritative figure, the so called BOSS, will kill the remaining enthusiasm to reveal anything which touches you at a personal level. But everything mentioned in this book is true, i.e. the research is good, the archetypes are real, the troupes are real, all of that is well researched, but when it comes to practice, i.e. the exercises, it was an instant turn off, The author like every other person in Corporate America is trying to monetize Feelings / Trying to monetize Emotions. This is the peak of depravity. My mom and I share such stories, that's how we connect. And the author expects that by replicating the circles, around a fire, he could crate an environment where you can force people to open up to strangers. Or that forcing people in such a manner will suddenly make them closer and motivated as a team. NOPE! That is fake, people aren't so naive, people never reveal their best experiences and stories in such a setting. They reveal useless, spam or inferior stuff for you, unless the participants are extremely dumb, in which case the story is useless anyway.
I just loved the extensive research done by the author, it struck a chord with me, about double told stories, the walking stories, the story circles, the hero's journey. I just loved the book save the attempt to push these concepts to CORPORATES AND TEAMS. But this book will be extremely useful, if you consciously do this with your loved ones, your best friends, your childhood friends, where you can use this to rekindle your common experiences at a reunion. NEVER, under any CIRCUMSTANCES, I repeat, never do this with semi-strangers i.e. people who sit beside you at a job, because you were placed there randomly. They tend to use such stories as weapons. The WORKPLACE often is very toxic, assuming that you can freely share your experiences will cost you a ton. The workplace is a cesspool of envious maggots, and the boss often being the mega maggot.
Anyway here is a list of books that the author has mentioned in his text
The Story Factor
Lead with a Story
The Spring Board
The Great Good Place
Anecdote circles
Training to Imagine
Seven Basic Plots
Save the Cat
A Passage to India
A Room with a View
On Writing - Memoirs of a Craft
Visual Meetings
Visual Teams
Visual Leaders
Thinking Fast and Slow
Stories trainers Tell
Essays in Two Voices
The Hero and The Outlaw
The uses of Enchantment
The Invisible Ink
The HERO with a Thousand faces
Barbarians at the Gate
The Power of Myth
The Writers Journey
Working with Stories - Cynthia
Images of Organizations
Understanding Comics
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Presentation Zen
Resonate.
Yes, you got it right, tell them very good stories, inspirational stories, mind boggling experiences, spiritual journeys, hero's adventures slaying giant dragons. Use tons of white papers, take them out on spiritual outings, make them walk through grave yards (for no good reason), through abandoned forts, through forests, and get them to reveal their innermost secrets so that you can use them later to vilify them and justify your pay grade rise. This whole exercise is to create a workshop / teach these leaders to create workshops to engage their employees and give them a high, the high to something great happening without actually letting anything happen.
The book is well researched and well written. But, I dislike the way the author tried to apply the book for organizational use cases. I have been a part of many such workshops, believe me these are extremely useless in the long run add zero value to employees, leaders and to the organization as a whole. Except to make memories for the sake of making memories, these are called plastic and artificial memories. These memories are forced upon unwilling participants in this game of story circles. Tell me one good reason why any reasonable person will talk about their stories with their employer and their co-workers. If you work at a place for years, you develop a friendship with a few people, at connect with them at a deeper level and it is only with these people, when you hangout, or when you take a walk with them on the beach that you reveal such beautiful stories. When we were kids our cousins had to walk in the pitch black night for a few kilometers coming back from a village fair, we had to walk 7 - 10 kilometers and it is during that time, that we told some of the best stories, walking side by side, the interesting thing we noticed was that there were few other people, a group of people walking behind us, also telling stories and singing to keep themselves engaged. That was the best way one can get connected to another person, by sharing their best experiences in life.
Every morning, my sister and cousins woke up, in the cold winters to gather around the fire wood we have collected the previous night, and then we shared the best of our stories as the sun came along, and we got ready for school. I don't think these personal relationships can be simulated by gathering employees and expecting them to bond.
It only happens with certain people, I would never dream of doing that with some random people at the office. Nope! Not happening and the presence of an authoritative figure, the so called BOSS, will kill the remaining enthusiasm to reveal anything which touches you at a personal level. But everything mentioned in this book is true, i.e. the research is good, the archetypes are real, the troupes are real, all of that is well researched, but when it comes to practice, i.e. the exercises, it was an instant turn off, The author like every other person in Corporate America is trying to monetize Feelings / Trying to monetize Emotions. This is the peak of depravity. My mom and I share such stories, that's how we connect. And the author expects that by replicating the circles, around a fire, he could crate an environment where you can force people to open up to strangers. Or that forcing people in such a manner will suddenly make them closer and motivated as a team. NOPE! That is fake, people aren't so naive, people never reveal their best experiences and stories in such a setting. They reveal useless, spam or inferior stuff for you, unless the participants are extremely dumb, in which case the story is useless anyway.
I just loved the extensive research done by the author, it struck a chord with me, about double told stories, the walking stories, the story circles, the hero's journey. I just loved the book save the attempt to push these concepts to CORPORATES AND TEAMS. But this book will be extremely useful, if you consciously do this with your loved ones, your best friends, your childhood friends, where you can use this to rekindle your common experiences at a reunion. NEVER, under any CIRCUMSTANCES, I repeat, never do this with semi-strangers i.e. people who sit beside you at a job, because you were placed there randomly. They tend to use such stories as weapons. The WORKPLACE often is very toxic, assuming that you can freely share your experiences will cost you a ton. The workplace is a cesspool of envious maggots, and the boss often being the mega maggot.
Anyway here is a list of books that the author has mentioned in his text
The Story Factor
Lead with a Story
The Spring Board
The Great Good Place
Anecdote circles
Training to Imagine
Seven Basic Plots
Save the Cat
A Passage to India
A Room with a View
On Writing - Memoirs of a Craft
Visual Meetings
Visual Teams
Visual Leaders
Thinking Fast and Slow
Stories trainers Tell
Essays in Two Voices
The Hero and The Outlaw
The uses of Enchantment
The Invisible Ink
The HERO with a Thousand faces
Barbarians at the Gate
The Power of Myth
The Writers Journey
Working with Stories - Cynthia
Images of Organizations
Understanding Comics
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Presentation Zen
Resonate.
October 24, 2021
Почерпнула класні ідеі, книга надихає на креатив. Але структура, те як організовані глави робить її складною до прочитання. Є багато специфічної інформації, така як інструкція до проведення розмовних клубів.
Рекомендую прочитати тим хто працює із сторітелінгом і розвиває комунікаційні навички. Вона однозначно містить інформацію яка допоможе левел апнутись як слухачу і оповідачу.
Цитатка:
1 «Найкращі питання викликають бажання досліджувати, а не відповідати»
2 «молодим людям потрібна не зарплата і круті фішки*, а відчуття що вони роблять щось дійсно важливе. Вони хочуть бути частиною історії, творити її. Їм потрібен сенс.»
*я б сказала «не лише»😉
Рекомендую прочитати тим хто працює із сторітелінгом і розвиває комунікаційні навички. Вона однозначно містить інформацію яка допоможе левел апнутись як слухачу і оповідачу.
Цитатка:
1 «Найкращі питання викликають бажання досліджувати, а не відповідати»
2 «молодим людям потрібна не зарплата і круті фішки*, а відчуття що вони роблять щось дійсно важливе. Вони хочуть бути частиною історії, творити її. Їм потрібен сенс.»
*я б сказала «не лише»😉
August 28, 2019
El autor nos sumerge en el arte de contar historias, explicando los arcos narrativos el uso de detalles sensoriales, arquetipos etc. un libro claro y preciso en ese sentido, da buenos ejemplos pero pero la forma en que trata de adaptar e implementar esto a negocios y/o equipos corporativos o empresas grandes se siente sumamente incomodo y forzado fuera de eso los temas pueden ser enriquecedores y aplicarse para escritores, copywriters o como cultura general.
April 29, 2021
This felt more like a English textbook on how to write a good story vs. a leadership book. Don’t really think these story telling ideas in here will really benefit a business or leader in the long run.
October 17, 2017
Can't say enough good words about this book. I'm lucky enough to have worked with David and I can say this is one of the best, if not the best, field guide for organizational storytelling out there.
December 16, 2020
I'm spending a lot of time with business storytelling these days. This book was amazing! So many good ideas I'm already trying out in different contexts! Look forward to his 2021 book.
May 27, 2023
Самая бестолковая книга о т.н. сторителлинге.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews