Making Stories – A Practical Guide for Organizational Leaders and Human Resource Specialists

Citation

Cattell, A. (2003), "Making Stories – A Practical Guide for Organizational Leaders and Human Resource Specialists", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 38-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2003.35.1.38.1

In his preface to the book Gargiulo uses a personal example of a story – The Giving Tree, to demonstrate his own engagement and interest as a student in the medium of stories. In essence, this reflective illustration sets the tone for entering a journey into what Gargiulo terms as “the story paradigm”. This paradigm is the foundation of the book. The author observes, “You see, stories do not fit into neat cubbyholes of meaning. Stories graciously offer us the opportunity to look at ourselves and the world around us in new ways.” What the text then offers is the “practical guide” to doing so which is promised in the title of the book.

Having entered Part 1 – “The story paradigm”, the text is divided into two further Parts – Part 2 – “Putting stories to work in human resources, training, and organizational development”, and Part 3 – “A practical guide to developing the ‘story mind”’. Essentially this approach focuses the reader on what stories are (or can be), how and why they work, how they can be used and the effects of using them, and who can potentially use them and how the user can develop their own stories.

In modelling the practice, a range of stories are used throughout the text to paint word pictures of possible applications in a variety of scenarios. Analysis of examples and summary of key learning points from each chapter are frequently used by the author. Additional vignettes and suggested reading are also offered in the Appendices to the book. The writing style and structure of the text engages the reader to dig deeper into the Story Paradigm Model. In reviewing the book I found that the best way to read it was in bite sized chunks which allowed me to put the book down and reflect on the meaning and application of the stories, before continuing. Interestingly, on reading some of the stories a second time, many took on new meanings. Gargiulo’s example of The Giving Tree in the Preface makes exactly this point.

This book is firmly rooted in practice, not theory. From a practical point of view potential applications of the text cover presenting, imaging, connecting, change management, managing corporate culture, and team building. These are explored from the perspectives of communication, learning, memory and intelligence. Having set a context for utilising stories in Part 1, Part 2 identifies using them in HRM with regard to recruiting, interviewing, induction, performance appraisal, employee relations and conflict resolution. A separate chapter examines using stories in an HRD and training context from a viewpoint of utilising stories from the text to develop story skills. This chapter also contains ten exercises, each with facilitator guide comments. Additionally the role of stories in developing understanding of business processes and knowledge management is also well covered. Part 3 builds upon exercises in the previous parts and chapters and is designed to enable the reader to elicit and develop stories. This is done at two levels. First, the reader is encouraged to develop and build an index of personal stories with the author giving 22 personal topics as guidance, along with questions to assist the reader. Second, business observations and the relationship between stories and behaviour are explored using eight topic examples. Examples of things to observe and questions to help develop a story are also covered.

If you are an aficionado of stories, this book is an enjoyable and stimulating read and is a worthy addition to the bookshelf and to other books of the genre. If you still remain to be convinced, the text gives the reader many reasons to consider applying stories in pragmatic business sense. Whilst one or two of the stories are long and detailed in the telling, the majority enable the reader to view both themselves and the world of business from a unique perspective.