Read the following quotation from Stephen Denning:

These days, command-and-control approaches are unlikely to generate positive responses in employees, let alone the marketplace.

The era when top managers could simply give orders and expect their will to be done has long gone. As a result, leaders have turned to storytelling to overcome barriers to communication.

Since time immemorial, human beings have used stories to spread religions, win support for political agendas or launch wars. And as we look around the business world, stories are everywhere. Managers think in stories, they remember in stories, they plan in stories, they express hopes and fears and dreams in stories, and they make decisions in stories. Storytelling is already part of our world.

Moreover, storytelling is not a rare skill possessed by a few people born with the gift of gab. All human beings start spontaneously telling stories at age 2 and go on doing it for the rest of their lives. They tell stories effortlessly in social settings. Leadership storytelling involves taking a capacity that people already have and applying it for constructive purposes. Anyone can master the discipline.33 Based on Denning’s comments and your own experiences, respond to each of the following items:

A. Why are stories an effective communication tool compared to command-and-control approaches?

B. What are some steps people can take to become effective storytellers?

C. What are some of the risks of storytelling?