"Despite the critical importance of inspiration and persuasion, most executives struggle to communicate, let alone inspire. Too often, they get lost in the accoutrements of companyspeak: PowerPoint slides, dry memos, and hyperbolic missives from the corporate communications department. Even the most carefully researched efforts are routinely greeted with cynicism, lassitude, or outright dismissal." —Harvard Business Review; conversation with Robert Mckee
Let's start by defining a few esoteric words that Harvard decided to use:
accoutrements: an identifying and often superficial characteristic or device (origin: French)
hyperbolic missives: exaggerated written bullshit (definition not Harvard approved)
lassitude: lacking physical or mental energy; tired
With that said, it's high time we introduce the man of the hour: Robert McKee. But before you meet this living legend, he has two questions for you:
If you can answer Mr. McKee, you're half way to becoming an inspirational leader.
But you never even introduced who Robert McKee is!
Fair point. For starters, Robert McKee is a storyteller. A really, really good one. But what's more, he has an incredible gift for teaching his wisdom to other people.
As a Broadway veteran from Detroit turned screenwriter and educator, McKee adeptly launched his "Story Seminar" while teaching creative writing at USC. Over 50,000 students have absorbed his lectures, and many of them have gone on to illustrious careers: 63 Academy Award winners, 164 Emmy Award winners, 30 WGA (Writers Guild of America) Award winners and 26 DGA (Directors Guild of America) Award winners.
As word got out, the world's most successful companies engaged McKee for help with crafting their story, brand identity, and communications. Nike, HP, Microsoft, Time Warner—all doled out dollars to get a piece of this man's mind. He's consulted Disney, Paramount and Pixar. Pixar?! Yes. When Ed Catmull and Pete Docter want an outside opinion, they pick up the phone and call Robert McKee.
Much of McKee's wisdom is consolidated in his book Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting (which, notably, spent 20 weeks on the NYT Best-Seller list).
My favorite quote from that book: "Stories fulfill a profound human need to grasp the patterns of living—not merely as in intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience."
But why do most leaders fail to inspire?
Three main reasons:
They favor rhetorical persuasion over emotional power
They haven't mastered the art of good storytelling
They can't really answer McKee's questions above
Whatever your industry, storytelling is a skill you HAVE to hone. To learn more, we recommend digesting the below article.