The StoryBank
Stories have impact. When we use them in our business conversations, they make our messages clear and memorable. We are all great storytellers, but we can't be a one-story wonder. This podcast is designed to help you build your story collection.
Episodes
151 episodes
Episode 152 – The Bad News Office – Don’t trust good news
Most leaders I work with assume their teams tell them the truth. After all, they have open-door policies. They say, "Bring me bad news early”. And they mean it.Yet somehow, the bad news comes late. Or softened. Or not at all. Not becaus...
Episode 151 – The Streetlamp Trap – The Harder Question
Is there a lesson we can learn from the demise of Encyclopaedia Britannica on how organisations should deal with AI?Since its first publication in 1768, until the early 1990s, Britannica ruled the encyclopaedia market. A 32-volume set, ...
Episode 150 – Consequence Gets Compliance – The Yo-Yo Test
I was talking to Joy Bhattacharjya yesterday about today's story, and it triggered one from his own memory bank.This was around 2008, when Joy was the Team Director of the Kolkata Knight Riders. A recurring problem had emerged: some of the ...
Episode 149 – The Doctor Who Prescribed Parakeets – Purpose Changes Behaviour
During my years in the corporate world, a question that had often been on my mind was what makes people want to bring more of themselves to work?Disengagement at work does not always look dramatic.People do not always rebel. The...
Episode 148 – The Meter in the Basement – What Gets Measured Gets Managed
“What gets measured gets managed”, has been one of my steadfast beliefs in both my personal and professional life.Good intentions and goals are not enough on their own. They have to be measured regularly to see if we are indeed on track...
Episode 147 – Zoom In. Zoom Out. – When Details Aren’t Enough
When people ask me about my success mantras, my answer is simple: luck, discipline, hard work and attention to detail. Attention to detail is a strength I have always been proud of.But early in my career, a boss gave me a piece of advic...
Episode 146 - Six Feet of Land – The Wisdom of Knowing When to Stop
Sometimes hidden behind the cloak of ambition is something we rarely name, and that is greed. A goalpost that keeps shifting. Because if we can achieve more, then why not?That's when the team stops celebrating wins and starts dreading a...
Episode 145 – The Dunning-Kruger Effect – Unskilled, and unaware of it
What if you're too incompetent to realise your incompetence? We explore this in today's story.We now live in a world where crafting a question takes much longer than getting an answer.You type a prompt and get a polished answer....
Episode 144 – Upstream
Have you been in a situation where after tirelessly trying to address a crisis you realised that you were addressing the symptoms rather than the problem itself?In today’s episode I will move away from my usual approach of sharing a rea...
Episode 143 – The Woodcutter – When to sharpen the Axe
Have you ever been under so much pressure that time available seemed to be inadequate? What was your solution?For many people, the answer will be to work longer and harder. But is that always the right answer. Isn’t that mistaking effor...
Episode 142 - The Two Monks
Sometimes we end up holding onto things for far longer than they need to be held on to. And it may need an outsider looking in to identify that. This story talks about one such perspective that can be used when one needs to show an...
Episode 141 - The Zipper Trap - Explain It, Please
“Is this really the same guy I shared lunch with in school? How did he turn out this way? Is he really so rabid? Why is he so stupid?”. Have you read WhatsApp messages on a school group and reacted in this manner. Their views feel ...
Episode 140 - Blind Faith - The Dangers of Outsourcing Judgement
Have you ever blindly followed Google Maps... only to end up somewhere you definitely shouldn't be? I have.That tiny frustration reveals a much larger pattern in business: we increasingly hand over judgment to external “advisors” — data...
Episode 139 - Are Humans Rational? Dice, Discount & Dishoom
Answer this question with a yes or a no - Do you believe that intelligent human beings usually take rational decisions?Most business strategies are built on a quiet assumption: that customers behave rationally. For example, we believe t...
Episode 138 - The Dancing Boxer - Mastering What Others Ignore
Many professionals spend their entire career sharpening the same set of skill. Because it is initially rewarded because it gets the job done, many double down on what has already made them successful. That is why many eventually plateau.
Episode 137 - United Breaks Guitars - When Brands Don’t Listen
Sometimes it seems companies build fortresses to protect themselves from customers rather than bridges to welcome them in.We have all been in situations where we have an issue. Perhaps small. A damaged item. A blotched service. A promise not ke...
Episode 136 - Eyes off The Target - Trust the process
Revenue numbers, quarterly goals, stretch KPIs are all very important. The problem starts when those become the only focus. When the focus should be on the TASK, we have people stressing about the ASK. When we obsess over outcomes ...
Episode 135 - Bottom Ranked Hero - Last, But Not The Least
When I heard that over the last 60 years, Japanese school children learn a story about a Sri Lankan athlete, I was intrigued.Sports and sportsmen often teach us lessons that transcend way beyond sports.The Olympics of 1964, held...
Episode 134 - The Real Win - When Silver Outweighed Gold
Wishing your loved ones and you a year when your best stories are written. In one of my favourite non-fiction books, “Influence” by Robert Cialdini, he speaks about seven levers of influence—but today’s story is anchored in just on...
Episode 133 - How Dyson Outlasted Failure - When Grit Wins
Have you heard of the multi-purpose lubricant WD-40? Any idea why it’s called WD-40?I’ll give you a hint: the number is the entire story.Most of us look at successful products and assume they must have gotten it right the first time...
Episode 132 - Lombardi Time - If You’re On Time, You’re Late
Many years ago, a real estate broker in Kolkata surprised me simply by being on time. Being punctual has always been non-negotiable for me. While I tried to instil the same discipline in the teams I worked with, I had resigned myself to accepti...
Episode 131 - The Humble Metal Box - Small Idea, Giant Impact
Necessity is the mother of invention.Some of the biggest revolutions in business didn’t come from brilliant technology or billion-dollar R&D budgets.They began with frustration — someone standing at a bottleneck, asking,“Why does it...
Episode 130 - Enough
Have you ever caught yourself chasing just a little more?A little more polish before you send that deck.A little more growth before you feel secure.A little more success before you allow yourself to breathe.It’s strange how ...
Episode 129 - When You Don’t Know ASK - Clarity starts with a simple question
Imagine this.You’re about to give a big talk. The curtains are down, the stage lights are warm, and your heart is racing. Out of nervous curiosity, you take a quick peek at the audience.And what you see shocks you out of yo...
Episode 128 - The Royal Vegetable - Exclusivity drives adoption
In business, we often assume that people will choose what’s rational, efficient, or clearly beneficial. But if that were always true, every superior product would succeed, every sensible policy would be adopted, and every data-backed argument w...
