Sam Swaminathan
Storyteller - to tell stories and influence thinking at Center for Creative ThinkingMe in Three
- i tell stories. I look for them in corporate corridors, under corporate disguises, identify wise and wicked practices, and then relate them in story form to my audiences. This helps my clients find new ways of organizing, new ways of unleashing potential, and enjoyable ways of working together.
- I would like to help create a world where work is truly enjoyable, leadership is truly dedicated to those it leads, and people with the right motivations are not crushed by corporate greed and misplaced ambition.
- I wish I had a great accomplishment to share, I am still working on it. But i have several great mistakes. Here's one. A UPS GM was visiting my office to learn more about my work. My secretary served coffee in FedEx mugs with my name on it! FedEx were also a client. Lights out - I thought. I hastily apologized, and the mugs were changed. We agreed that the UPS GM would visit me again in ten days. When he left, I let my secretary have it. The real problem - I had not informed him who the visitor was.Anyway, I told him about the impending visit, and asked him to make sure we served coffee in plain mugs next time. When the GM turned up 10 days later, he was served coffee in UPS mugs! My guest was amazed, and asked if his office had sent those mugs. My secretary said no, he had taken the GM's visiting card when he was leaving, and screen printed the UPS logo on two mugs for this meeting. We got the account! My mistake was to not inform my secretary who the visitor was, and then offering a pedestrian solution for the next visit. My secretary was truly innovative and wowed the prospect.
Stories, Hacks, & Barriers
Groundbreaking ideas and practices from Sam Swaminathan