Prism of Value: Connect, Convince and Influence When it Matters Most by Liz Wainger

Author:Liz Wainger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Telemachus Press, LLC
Published: 2018-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Is it a Good Story or a Bad One?

It’s Monday morning at the weekly staff meeting. Bob, your boss, starts by asking how everyone’s weekend was, and before anyone can respond, he starts to tell the team about his family’s camping trip to Lake Getaway.

Bob describes in great detail how they packed for all situations because they didn’t know what the weather would be. How he got out his father’s old army tent and he showed his son, Billy, how to pitch it. How his wife Mary made eggs and bacon on a campfire. How they rented a boat to go fishing. How Billy caught a nice fish—a 22-pound trout. At this point, you are so bored that you wish Bob would hand you an assignment you don’t want, just so you can get on with your day.

Now across town, Mary tells her team about her weekend. She starts by saying they hadn’t been on vacation for two years. They decided to go camping at Lake Getaway because it was close, and there was lots to do. This was the first time the family had a little time off together. Bob is working twelve hours a day, Billy is on travel soccer team, and weekends for Mary are time to run errands and go to Billy’s games. Getting out in nature without cell phones and other distractions was just the thing.

The weather was spectacular. But Billy and Bob were anything but. They argued the first day. Billy was in the midst of a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) attack, furious that he might not catch the latest Snapchat update. Bob was having trouble unwinding. Both were rude and antagonistic. Mary was a bit frustrated as the domestic chores fell to her, although it was fun to cook bacon and eggs outside. They tasted better because of the wood smoke and fresh air.

The best part of the trip was the boat, she told her team. At first, Billy sulked. He was bored, the whole thing was stupid, and he hated touching the worms to bait the hook. As he complained, there came a tug on his line. Billy stood up, suddenly in a fight with the creature he couldn’t see. For 20 minutes, he and Bob fought the fish together and almost lost, but with Bob’s coaching, the fish popped out the water and onto the boat—a record-setting 22-pound trout. The grin on Billy’s face was almost as big as the fish. Billy asked if they could do it again soon and thanked his parents for the experience. “Getting back to nature reenergized our family, and I encourage you all to try it,” Mary says.

“Wow, can you give me the name of the lake again?” says Sherri Smith, the purchasing manager who almost never reacts to anything.

It was the same story—a family camping trip—but one version was dreadful and the other inspiring. Mary’s story was about change. Bob’s was a list of activities. Mary’s story touched a nerve with her team who also are living crowded lives.

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