'In June, 1995, a health worker in Kamana, Zambia, logged onto the Center for Disease Control website and got the answer to a question on how to treat malaria.'

   This event happened, not in 2015 but in 1995 and it happened not in a rich country but in Zambia, one of the least developed countries in the world.   Also, it occurred not in the capital of the country but in a village six hundred kilometers away.

   The World Bank was not involved with this happening but when Stephen Denning, a manager with the World Bank, heard the story, something clicked.  He had recently been charged with looking into the possibilities of information-sharing within the World Bank and this 29-word story, told casually to him by a colleague, stayed in his mind.  As Denning included the story in his presentations, it ignited the imaginations of people throughout the organization and
led to a cultural transformation. 

   Long before this transformation became a reality, however, Denning noticed that all of his carefully designed charts and graphs were having less effect than this simple story.  He began to focus on stories and their role in the change process.  The outcome, in addition to a highly successful change initiative within his organization, was a book:  'The Springboard, How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations.'  The book is an honest look at a major change effort and a deep exploration of stories and storytelling.  The book begins:

    'Why storytelling?
    Nothing else worked.
    Charts left listeners bemused.
    Prose remained unread.
    Dialogue was just too laborious and slow.'

    Nothing else worked.  A 29-word story carried the power to open minds to a new way of being.  As change agents we need to become masters at crafting and telling 'springboard' stories.  Denning's book is a great first step.  Enjoy!