While powerpoint may be one of the main tools of MBAs and business schools, I have maintained a distinct dislike of the program and how it’s ruined the natural human ability of story telling. Executives and consultants hide behind them. It’s not a well-designed program, lack any kind of intuitive functionality, and for the most part provides a canvas for a lot of data, though no information.
I recently read a Harvard Business Review article about storytelling. Bronwyn Fryer interviewed screenwriting coach Robert McKee. McKee’s students have written, directed, and produced legions of popular movies such as Forest Gump and Monty Python. He is the basis for the main character of the movie Adaptation.
The article written my Fryer is both moving and insightful. While many leaders in business are intelligent and dilligent, they often lack the emotion, empathy, and concern to truly connect to those who work in their organizations and their customers. This is a problem that business schools and corporations should see as a crisis. Numbers and information are clouding our ability to interpret what we see and create meaningful solutions to today’s business woes. Is it any wonder we are heading for recession.
Corporate employees and customers need to be inspired, and they need to feel cared for and appreciated. As business people, we need to “get” our customers. And this takes far more than data and gant charts. It takes an ability and desire to truly walk in someone else’s shoes and live their lives. It requires a strong curiosity, a willingness to not only hear but listen to the concerns of others, and most importantly a craving for connection and simplicity.
Powerpoint can’t get us there. Storytelling can.
The images above can be found at http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2819067/2/istockphoto_2819067_reading_story_book.jpg
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
While powerpoint may be one of the main tools of MBAs and business schools, I have maintained a distinct dislike of the program and how it’s ruined the natural human ability of story telling. Executives and consultants hide behind them. It’s not a well-designed program, lack any kind of intuitive functionality, and for the most part provides a canvas for a lot of data, though no information.
Christa Avampato 