Storytelling at Work Quotes

“It’s a revolution of storytelling that’s being launched, folks – each of us coming out of our closets to share what we’ve learned – not to preach, explain, impress, manipulate, educate, or bend others to our will, but to fan the flames of wisdom in a world that sorely needs it.”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love, but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.” —Khalil Gibran”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why employee engagement is down in so many organizations these days. It’s because people feel isolated, disconnected, unseen, and unheard.”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“You and I are also news stations. You and I are also reporting on what’s going on in the world. Like the TV executives behind the scenes, we also get to decide which stories to tell – even on the street when a friend asks us, “Whassup?” That is our moment of truth. That is our broadcast. Will our stories be local versions of the nightly news, skewed to what’s bad and wrong, full of gossip and complaint, or will we choose to tell a new story, one infused with possibility, progress, insight, awareness, and hope?”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“The shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story.” —Anthony de Mello”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go.” —T.S. Eliot”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“One of the primary reasons why innovation remains inert in many organizations is because masses of intelligent, innately creative people are interpreting tape on the floor as lines that cannot be crossed. We are fabricating boundaries where none exist. We are drawing lines in space – lines that separate, isolate, and marginalize. Lines between us and our customers. Lines between the past and the present. Lines between what’s possible and what’s not.”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“And yet, humor, done well, is one of an organization’s most valuable human resources. Not only is it free, it dissolves silos, builds rapport, increases morale, and opens the mind to creativity. It’s why Isaac Asimov said, “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny.”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“it is this lack of trust that is often the root cause of complaint in any corporation. When employees are not trusted, they don’t feel empowered, and when they don’t feel empowered, they become resigned, and when they become resigned they either resign (costing the company thousands of dollars to retrain their replacements) or they retract, further feeding the complaint monster.”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life

“In most organizations, information is no longer sufficient to spark change. Data is no longer king. Thinking takes us only part of the way home. It’s feeling that completes the journey, feeling and the courage to communicate our message in a fresh, new way.”
― Mitch Ditkoff, Storytelling at Work: How Moments of Truth on the Job Reveal the Real Business of Life