Tell Them it Was Wonderful

"Tell Them it Was Wonderful," is a collection of short stories written by my grandfather, Ludwig Bemelmans and compiled by my grandmother Mimi, otherwise known as Madeleine for she was the inspiration of the well known and beloved character Madeline. Although my grandfather was most widely known for writing and illustrating Madeline, what you may not know is that he has authored several books, designed countless New Yorker covers, and written many articles. To say he was prolific would be an understatement, his life was a journey and he was a master story teller. The legacy of storytelling in my family has passed itself down like a gift you would give a small child on their birthday or Christmas. In my family we listen to these stories to remember the ones we loved, to understand a little bit of history, to relive a piece of our heritage, or to share the importance of a lesson learned. The stories evoke all types of images and emotions; sometimes the stories are funny and we laugh until our sides hurt, and sometimes they are sad and we feel pain in our hearts. In my family the stories are long and many, but most of all they are memorable.
Story telling is an art that is not only important in families but is often just as important in the workplace for many reasons. As I sit each day to write the chapters of my first book, “Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work,” I find myself uncovering my own style of storytelling as each word in my stories bring to life the concepts and learning that I have mastered over the past 20 years. To take years of data, conflicting research of text book terms and boil it down into a story that readers can both enjoy and remember, now that is engagement! Storytelling is an important part of engaging your employees because it helps the listener to relate to what you are saying quickly. Some other benefits of storytelling are that you will be able to communicate
• Quickly
• Naturally
• Clearly
• Persuasively
• Truthfully
• Entertainingly
Leaders, CEO’s, and supervisors who use storytelling as one communication method are able to connect with their people in a way that others do not. They touch, move and inspire their people with their words, and because they are able to do so they create organizations that are ahead of the curve and the employees want to keep it that way.