The Connection Between Innovation & Story

Will Sherlin

BY Will Sherlin

Senior Manager of Digital Marketing

On this episode of The Innovation Engine, we’ll be looking at the connection between story and innovation. Among the topics we’ll cover are why story can be a powerful tool to get teams in the right state for creating the new and novel, how you can learn to tell stories (whether you think you’re good at it or not), and how to make sure your stories actually get heard in a world that’s increasingly noisy.

Here with us again to talk about all that and more, including his new book, Storytelling for the Revolution, is Mitch Ditkoff. Mitch often speaks, conducts workshops, and provides private consulting, all in the name of empowering people to become more innovative. He is the co-founder of Idea Champions, a consulting and training company that helps organizations increase their core competency of innovation, and works with clients including AT&T, NBC Universal, Goodyear, PricewaterhouseCoopers, among others.

His blog, The Heart of Innovation, was named the #1 innovation blog in the world in 2010 and 2011, and he is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. Mitch has also been an adjunct faculty member for a variety of esteemed leadership development programs, including GE’s Crontonville Management Development Center, Duke Corporate Education, and University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management.

Listen to the episode:

Interested in hearing more? Tune in to the full episode via the SoundCloud embed below.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

What’s the relationship between storytelling and innovation?

  • Innovation is about the act of considering the new and different and manifesting it – not just thinking up ideas for stuff but actually turning them into reality. And stories are a way of people communicating that in real time, such that it’s not fantasy or theory but something in practice.
  • “The most powerful catalyst for getting people into the right frame of mind to do something different and to innovate is actually the sharing of stories, both mine and theirs.”

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About The Author

Will Sherlin is the Senior Manager of Digital Marketing at 3Pillar Global. He oversees the 3Pillar website and other web properties, hosts 3Pillar’s ‘Innovation Engine’ podcast, and manages 3Pillar’s social media accounts. Prior to its acquisition by 3Pillar, Will was an Account Manager at PointAbout, a DC-based mobile app boutique that specialized in developing iPhone and iPad apps. He holds a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina.

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