Three Business Storytelling Lessons from Spike Lee

  • Date: 12-Jul-2020
  • Source: Inc.
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:GCC
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Three Business Storytelling Lessons from Spike Lee

Creativity

Three Business Storytelling Lessons from Spike Lee

Whether you're building a product or a movie, the task is the same: do the research, craft the story, do the work

By Marina Theodotou , Doctor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education

Photo: Getty Images / Illustration: Valerie Chiang

Every leader needs to have strong storytelling skills to convey the vision of their organization and inspire their teams. Storytelling is a leadership skill that can be learned and improved upon. It is the art and science of conveying context, challenges, opportunities and results. In his book "The Leader's Guide to Storytelling," Stephen Denning says "storytelling is more than an essential set of tools to get things done: it's a way for leaders - wherever they may sit - to embody the change they seek."

There are many elements to storytelling as a skill. In his Masterclass, renowned writer, director, producer, and professor Spike Lee shares several storytelling lessons. Here are the three that resonated with me the most: do the research, craft the story, do the work.

Do the research

Lee is a meticulous researcher. Before creating a movie, he spends a lot of time immersing himself in the context of his topic: he reads related books and articles; listens to