The Teacher and the Two Lessons
A young teacher began her first leadership class determined to impress.
She filled the whiteboard with bullet points—“Vision, Strategy, Alignment, Execution”—and spoke with passion for an hour.
When she finished, her students nodded politely and packed their bags.
The next day, she tried again. This time she told a story:
“Once, a captain set sail without checking the stars. The ship drifted for days. The crew worked harder, but they were lost because they didn’t know where they were headed.”
She paused.
“What’s your ‘north star’ in this company?” she asked.
The room came alive. Hands raised, ideas flowed, and by the end of class, people weren’t quoting her notes—they were repeating the story.
That night, she wrote in her journal:
“Information fills minds. Stories move hearts. Only moved hearts take action.”
The Moral
Facts teach the head. Fables reach the heart. Transformation begins where both meet.
Your Takeaway
What’s a story—or simple fable—you could tell this week to make an important truth unforgettable for your team, your family, or friends?
So why a newsletter with fables?
Leaders often assume that logic and data drive change, but people rarely change because information alone. They change and transform because they’re moved.
Stories and fables don’t replace truth—they translate it and cement it into our hearts, which allows that truth to transform us into something greater.
When insight and ideas are told through story, it becomes portable, memorable, and repeatable. That’s why great leaders don’t just explain—they illustrate through story.
I experienced this first-hand recently while reading Patrick Lencioni’s book Getting NAKEND: A business fable about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty. The fictional story presented by Lencioni had me hooked. I was so invested in the story and how to overcome the three fears that I almost read the entire book in one sitting.
Not only can I tell you the three fears that sabotage client loyalty, but I can vividly picture in my mind the story of how Jack Bauer (the main character) overcame those fears to win clients and provide lasting value. I too, now have a very clear roadmap of how I can earn client trust and help them grow, thanks to a short story.
If you want to continue to become transformed by leadership and organizational truths through the power of fables, I invite you to join me each Friday!