201: Karen Dietz—Your Story Is Your Secret to Amazing Success

Hear why stories are the secret to your success

As humans, we are all storytellers. That’s what people do. Our brains take the information they receive and create stories to make sense of it. By the time you are in your late 20s, you pretty much have created your own story, and changing that “reality” is very difficult. You only “see” what your brain tells you fits with your own story. And usually, you are the hero in that story. When a friend introduced me to Karen Dietz, a pioneer in business storytelling, I was thrilled at the opportunity to bring her to you. Karen shares with us her wisdom, and also her own story. Listen in, then think about your own story and ask yourself if it needs changing for today’s times?

Karen and myself: remarkably similar journeys 

Karen and I both had academic backgrounds and migrated into business: myself, to apply the methods and tools of anthropology to help companies change. Karen, to apply her knowledge of storytelling and folklore in business settings, helping organizations understand their origin myths, capture the power of their internal folklore, and better match internal stories with those communicated by their customers about them.

As Karen tells us, transformational storytelling can help you change your world, or at least better understand how your world is changing. There is no better time than now to understand why stories are so important and are the secret to our success.

Storytelling is key to who we are as a species

There is great research that shows how humans have evolved over thousands of years because of our unique ability to communicate different realities, share complex ideas, and craft stories that bond us together into like-minded cultures.

Think about your own story and that of the family members you live with, as well as the story of the folks you work with. Is it the story you want? Is it time to step out and think about that story through a fresh lens? Maybe it is even time to change the story, and the reality that it presumes to convey. During times of change, like these, your story might be out of step with what it needs to become to enable you to thrive. Give it a shot. See what you can create and then live that new story for a better, happier, more productive reality.

About Karen Dietz

Dr. Karen Dietz is not only a leader in transformational business storytelling but also one of the veterans in the field. In 2013, Wiley publishing company recruited Karen for its Dummies series. Her book, “Business Storytelling for Dummies,” became a bestseller within a year. Karen is also featured in eight books on business storytelling.

Currently, Karen coaches leaders and rising stars in transformational storytelling, communication and influence. Her clients include Disney, Princess Cruises, Citrix, Avery-Dennison, Cedars-Sinai, Viasat, a roster of nonprofits and numerous entrepreneurs. In 2013, she opened the San Diego TEDx conference with her talk on the impact of story listening to change lives and companies.

Karen received her master’s and PhD in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania.

You can contact her at karen@karendietz.com or via her website.

To learn more about the power of storytelling in business:

• Podcast: Stefan Pryor—How The Power of a New Story Transformed Rhode Island
• Blog: How Storytelling Can Transform Your Culture And Energize Your Team
• Blog: How Can Healthcare Organizations Get Value From Data? It’s All In The Story.

Additional resources