Stewart Marshall ACMA, CMA

Stewart Marshall ACMA, CMA http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com Matters more weighty than trifling posterous.com Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:16:00 -0800 Prezi offers a new way to present. Looks great but .... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/oivGAW2_aqA/prezi-offers-a-new-way-to-present-looks-great http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/prezi-offers-a-new-way-to-present-looks-great <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://prezi.com/showcase/">prezi.com</a></div> <p>I like the look of this presentation tool. It's refreshing when compared to the countless powerpoint slide decks. That said, one of the dangers is that the style takes the focus over the substance or content of the presentation. I've looked a few of the showcase examples and seen another used in class. I've yet to find one that gets past this for me so I guess I will have to try it myself!</p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/prezi-offers-a-new-way-to-present-looks-great">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/prezi-offers-a-new-way-to-present-looks-great#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/oivGAW2_aqA" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/prezi-offers-a-new-way-to-present-looks-great Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:35:32 -0800 Tableau Public Brings Your Boring Data to Life - example use of a great tool! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/o6CDBUhdXF0/tableau-public-brings-your-boring-data-to-lif-0 http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/tableau-public-brings-your-boring-data-to-lif-0 <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/AsbbrjkwhlHuIFAyurqkgaEClgrzuJnbDJnydspekdgBlilifjBuEbrluGGl/media_httponlinetable_neAsj.png.scaled1000.png"><img alt="Media_httponlinetable_neasj" height="395" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/AsbbrjkwhlHuIFAyurqkgaEClgrzuJnbDJnydspekdgBlilifjBuEbrluGGl/media_httponlinetable_neAsj.png.scaled500.png" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/VXZVXiFgV6Y/tableau-public-brings-your-boring-data-to-life">feeds.gawker.com</a></div> <p>I've had a live demonstration of tableau software and I'm very impressed. It's on my list of software to buy at some point, including Novamind, but that's another story. I am a little disappointed that tableau is a windows based offering - I can understand it to a point but it would be awesome if they developed a purely web based solution or mac/linux variations.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/tableau-public-brings-your-boring-data-to-lif-0">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/tableau-public-brings-your-boring-data-to-lif-0#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/o6CDBUhdXF0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/tableau-public-brings-your-boring-data-to-lif-0 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:37:00 -0800 Video: Enterprize Canada Keynote - Stewart Marshall http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/nVymnLr2Jqg/video-enterprize-cananda-keynote-stewart-mars http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/video-enterprize-cananda-keynote-stewart-mars <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHK8xAC" autoplay="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="400" width="500"></embed> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://blip.tv/file/3304801?file_type=flv">blip.tv</a></div> <p>Speech I gave at UBC in January 2010</p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/video-enterprize-cananda-keynote-stewart-mars">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/video-enterprize-cananda-keynote-stewart-mars#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/nVymnLr2Jqg" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/video-enterprize-cananda-keynote-stewart-mars Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:36:52 -0800 The Smell of Entrepreneurism in the Morning http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/XVLxY_PTi4w/the-smell-of-entrepreneurism-in-the-morning http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/the-smell-of-entrepreneurism-in-the-morning <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/cznzdIekaxooaeGslDlhqfluduHCzfgkqkDfihnlIquupHhvEbzJlghayCpv/media_httpwwwcringely_JzxvE.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_httpwwwcringely_jzxve" height="157" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/cznzdIekaxooaeGslDlhqfluduHCzfgkqkDfihnlIquupHhvEbzJlghayCpv/media_httpwwwcringely_JzxvE.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICringely/~3/FXfY1Sfl6jc/">feedproxy.google.com</a></div> <p>I'm very interested to see how this works out. 24 Startups and a road trip - sounds like a lot of fun!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/the-smell-of-entrepreneurism-in-the-morning">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/the-smell-of-entrepreneurism-in-the-morning#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/XVLxY_PTi4w" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/the-smell-of-entrepreneurism-in-the-morning Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:22:09 -0800 2/3rds of Olympic visitors come from just 25 cities http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/Z8fRBKgtID8/23rds-of-olympic-visitors-come-from-just-25-c http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/23rds-of-olympic-visitors-come-from-just-25-c <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/awydGmisEfGGACaGjqjABcCgtjCHrxHIbiGqcgIDlCJdlhlodrisefJnltzw/media_httpbetaimagest_wpFiH.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_httpbetaimagest_wpfih" height="393" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/awydGmisEfGGACaGjqjABcCgtjCHrxHIbiGqcgIDlCJdlhlodrisefJnltzw/media_httpbetaimagest_wpFiH.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/olympic-visitors-bring-lots-to-bc-including-disease/article1480293/">theglobeandmail.com</a></div> <p>The fact I found most interesting on first read was nothing to do with disease. It is simply that it is estimated that 2/3rds of visitors to Vancouver for the Olympics will come from just 25 cities.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/23rds-of-olympic-visitors-come-from-just-25-c">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/23rds-of-olympic-visitors-come-from-just-25-c#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/Z8fRBKgtID8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/23rds-of-olympic-visitors-come-from-just-25-c Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:01:10 -0800 Computers Turn Flat Photos into 3-D Buildings http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/mblNNTRx9JE/computers-turn-flat-photos-into-3-d-buildings http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/computers-turn-flat-photos-into-3-d-buildings <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/AmHkHxIabhmvtzzqltEHDrcFDoHrsfhBdqHvjrChIDIalIenEnlzwfkcqqyx/media_httpgraphics8ny_fqwCi.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_httpgraphics8ny_fqwci" height="242" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/AmHkHxIabhmvtzzqltEHDrcFDoHrsfhBdqHvjrChIDIalIenEnlzwfkcqqyx/media_httpgraphics8ny_fqwCi.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/science/23crowd.html">nytimes.com</a></div> <p>An interesting mix of science, history and architecture mixed in with social gaming!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/computers-turn-flat-photos-into-3-d-buildings">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/computers-turn-flat-photos-into-3-d-buildings#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/mblNNTRx9JE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/computers-turn-flat-photos-into-3-d-buildings Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:46:02 -0800 Mark Evans - telling compelling stories - Techvibes Blog http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/6NCVB4DL9Xw/mark-evans-telling-compelling-stories-techvib http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/mark-evans-telling-compelling-stories-techvib <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <object data="http://www.youtube.com/v/6t7HxE8sG88&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="364" width="445"><param name="data" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6t7HxE8sG88&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6t7HxE8sG88&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/mark-evans-telling-compelling-stories?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+techvibes+%2528Techvibes%2529&utm_content=Google+Reader">techvibes.com</a></div> <p>Interesting presentation. I used to follow Mark's blog, but haven't read it for a while.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/mark-evans-telling-compelling-stories-techvib">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/mark-evans-telling-compelling-stories-techvib#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/6NCVB4DL9Xw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/mark-evans-telling-compelling-stories-techvib Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:16:13 -0800 Vancouver Art Gallery - LEONARDO DA VINCI: THE MECHANICS OF MAN http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/EKpviVNAwjE/vancouver-art-gallery-leonardo-da-vinci-the-m http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/vancouver-art-gallery-leonardo-da-vinci-the-m <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpwwwvanartga_gicug" height="356" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/HBqsufEaBvwuHjcbetsIqmpGhjzfupefdetDeyGduEzmyiHfAmlIdfefptvF/media_httpwwwvanartga_giCuG.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="250" /> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/exhibit_leonardo_da_vinci.html">vanartgallery.bc.ca</a></div> <p>This has to be a 'must-see' !</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/vancouver-art-gallery-leonardo-da-vinci-the-m">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/vancouver-art-gallery-leonardo-da-vinci-the-m#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/EKpviVNAwjE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/vancouver-art-gallery-leonardo-da-vinci-the-m Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:48:25 -0800 Never Before Seen Photos of World Trade Center - ABC News http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/e14dFfGWmFE/never-before-seen-photos-of-world-trade-cente-0 http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/never-before-seen-photos-of-world-trade-cente-0 <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpaabcnewscom_kpjfk" height="411" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/GwJqEssJDEzafvJognvIqJGBbrDICqdFCqeqyzdywnfwJBxClhFmgwJcoHzB/media_httpaabcnewscom_kpjFk.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="307" /> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/slideshow?id=9763032">abcnews.go.com</a></div> <p>It seems like yesterday ...</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/never-before-seen-photos-of-world-trade-cente-0">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/never-before-seen-photos-of-world-trade-cente-0#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/e14dFfGWmFE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/never-before-seen-photos-of-world-trade-cente-0 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:36:24 -0800 Remembering the Concorde crash http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/aAaYQtdLVdE/remembering-the-concorde-crash http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/remembering-the-concorde-crash <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/eoooCbirBkjidBmHFfyflswGJhnlbrtIrpfGfzgExCagbwuoxmkugGAsrBgr/media_httpblogsreuter_xGJxI.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_httpblogsreuter_xgjxi" height="426" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/stewartmarshall/eoooCbirBkjidBmHFfyflswGJhnlbrtIrpfGfzgExCagbwuoxmkugGAsrBgr/media_httpblogsreuter_xGJxI.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/blogs/photo/~3/nfifYf8f1zM/">feeds.reuters.com</a></div> <p>A test to see how Google Reader and multiple posterous blogs work together</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/remembering-the-concorde-crash">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/remembering-the-concorde-crash#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/aAaYQtdLVdE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/remembering-the-concorde-crash Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:33:07 -0800 Time for a change http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/YeMts8mpzeg/time-for-a-change-44 http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/time-for-a-change-44 <p> I've decided to shake things up a little with regard to what and where I share my thoughts online. This posterous blog is a case in point. I hope you enjoy the new look and feel. </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/time-for-a-change-44">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/time-for-a-change-44#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/YeMts8mpzeg" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/time-for-a-change-44 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:57:39 -0800 The Story of Apple’s First Quarter Results http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/JSOKlzT_Nc8/the-story-of-apples-first-quarter-results http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/the-story-of-apples-first-quarter-results <p> <p style="clear: both;">It strikes me that many people may be very interested to hear how a company such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/" title="Apple's website" target="_blank">Apple</a> are doing, but get intimidated by the numbers, the acronyms and jargon that typifies such announcements in the business world. So I thought I’d write a short summary without any of the associated data but which does present the financial story.</p><p style="clear: both;">You can read the official release <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/01/25results.html" title="Apple's Official Press Release" target="_blank">here</a>, with all the numbers. Such releases are governed a lot by what Wall Street insists has to be there, not to mention the countless legal obligations. However, if you simply want to know how the company fared in the last calendar quarter of last year then read on.</p><blockquote style="clear: both;"><p><em>The short story on Apple’s financial results for the three months ending December 2009 is: they are doing very nicely, thanks! Better than that, the period saw numerous new company records set.<p />Overall Apple generated more Revenue and more Profit than ever before. The profit was also better, that is, at a higher margin than ever before.<p />Most people know Apple for three things: Computers, iPhones and iPods. The results, in terms of how many of each product they were able to ship; were also very good. The company shipped more computers than ever before and double the amount of iPhones compared to a year before. The sole ‘letdown’ was iPods. The number shipped was down compared to the same period a year before.<p />For investors this all means that, share for share; Apple has achieved much more with plenty of money in the bank. For the rest of us, it is good to hear that such an admired company is continuing to do very well — the general economy not withstanding. What’s more, with a big announcement coming on Wednesday Apple have the world on the edge of their seats once again! </em></p></blockquote><p style="clear: both;">I enjoyed writing the above and, as I read it back, I realised something. The numbers that support the story are pretty meaningless on their own. With dollar values in the Billions and shipments of products in the Millions, it really is rather difficult to visualise. I was tempted to use metaphor to illustrate the numbers literally, but on reflection think a few short paragraphs should do the trick. What do you think?</p> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/the-story-of-apples-first-quarter-results">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/the-story-of-apples-first-quarter-results#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/JSOKlzT_Nc8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/the-story-of-apples-first-quarter-results Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:10:56 -0700 IBM talks about Financial Storytelling? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/N5HOqihO7oc/ibm-talks-about-financial-storytelling http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/ibm-talks-about-financial-storytelling <p> <p class="asset asset-image"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpfinancialst_ffeba" height="165" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/import-lfxk-pbdp/AitsxJgBJxrBGkHbvtiFjkGiCForicwiwhxymrtGfxyHxFdegjfIBsHfuFCu/media_httpfinancialst_ffeba.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="120" /> </div> </p> <span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I am a frequent reader of </span><a href="http://www.fastcompany.com"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">Fast Company</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;"> magazine and it doesn’t take me long to find something interesting. </span></span><a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/139"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">This month</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;"> I only needed to get as far as the inside cover! This page was taken up by an advertisement for </span></span><a href="http://www.ibm.com/financialmanagement"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">IBM</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">. The headline grabbed my attention:</span></span><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 13.1px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Insights by the numbers</span></em></strong><em><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Helvetica;">.</span></em></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Reading down the page I was interested to read what could be described as a formal introduction to my Case Study in Financial Storytelling: </span></span><a href="http://www.financialstoryteller.com/2009/08/case-study-building-a-success-story-one-country-at-a-time.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">Building a Success Story, One Country at a Time</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">. </span><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">This is what IBM said:</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 13.1px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><em><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: #0000bf; font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">How exactly do you draw meaningful financial insights out of information that is scattered throughout your organization and the world? Information today can sit in different departments, in different countries, in different languages, in different formats. By the time information reaches decision makers in business, how much meaning is actually left?</span></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">P</span><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">recisely, I thought. So much can be ‘lost in translation’. So what to do about it? The advertisement continued:</span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 13.1px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><em><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: #0000bf;">IBM is working with companies to integrate their financial and nonfinancial information to help them fuel better, more confident decisions. By enabling real transparency into a company’s information, executives can access and understand it in real time, achieving a “single version of the truth” across the business.</span></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">A “single version of the truth” ? That is what I would call the </span><strong><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">Financial Story</span></span></strong><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">. The process of integration, transparency etc. that IBM describe is what I would call </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">Financial Storytelling</span></span></strong><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">. Integrating the numbers, the indicators, with the individuals; the people they represent. Bringing out the narrative, the non-financial story of what is really happening in a business. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">The IBM advertisement continues for a couple of sentences about how successful they’ve been with this approach before presenting an explanation of the value it gives their customers.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 13.1px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><em><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: #0000bf;">... So we can move the conversation from “Are these numbers right?” to “What can we do with this information to grow the business?” A more effective approach to financial management gives businesses far more than simple tactical levers - it offers a real strategic advantage.</span></span></em><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="color: #0000bf;"> </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Instinctively you might think this is the language needed to communicate with IBM’s typical customer. I think this is equally relevant to smaller companies and even entrepreneurs. This is of course delivered not by IBM but by a </span><strong><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Financial Storyteller</span></span></span></strong><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;">. <span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">That is the real strategic advantage!</span></span></span></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/ibm-talks-about-financial-storytelling">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/ibm-talks-about-financial-storytelling#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/N5HOqihO7oc" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/ibm-talks-about-financial-storytelling Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:10:40 -0700 Impossibly Large and Complex Numbers in Financial Storytelling http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/UHb7byWpSfE/impossibly-large-and-complex-numbers-in-finan http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/impossibly-large-and-complex-numbers-in-finan <p> <p><span style="font-size: 10px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">I was drawn to Chris Jordan's talk (below) by an rss feed which talked about the plight of the albatross. That talk is actually a </span></span></span><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/capt_charles_moore_on_the_seas_of_plastic.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">different video</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">, but this one has something I had to share. Chris demonstrates how we can use visual images to help us understand gigantic numbers. In today's society we struggle with numbers; the scale of them. As a result he believes that, as culture; we are not feeling enough.</span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; line-height: 12.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I was struck by his reference to the</span></span><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">9/11 attacks</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">. Over 3000 people died, the world was appalled and rightly so. Everyone was talking about it and was affected by it on some level. To paraphrase Chris's numbers, the 9/11 attacks happened on a Tuesday. In the following three days approximately the same number of people also died: of smoking related diseases. What's more, every day since, another 1,100 people die from the same cause. Yet nobody talks about that.</span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; line-height: 12.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Chris makes a powerful point! On a day-to-day basis do we really care enough? As you will see in the video Chris's work helps us visualise some of these gigantic numbers. Hopefully they encourage us to feel more. He explains that if we feel more, we can change more. His comment is not that one issue is bigger than another, or one should get more attention. He merely states, "</span><em><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">This is who we are today.</span></em><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">"</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; line-height: 12.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">For me this is one of the best demonstrations of how you can take impossibly large and often complex numbers and present them in a way that makes a connection; a way that tells a story. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; line-height: 12.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">In the same way Chris has done this for some of the big issues in society, financial storytelling can do the same in business. The numbers may be impossibly large, often they may be complex - but if they tell a story that can be communicated effectively, they can drive real change</span>.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; line-height: 12.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica;"></p> <p></p> <p></p> <object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff" /> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/ChrisJordan_2008-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/ChrisJordan-2008.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=279&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats;year=2008;theme=presentation_innovation;theme=numbers_at_play;theme=words_about_words;theme=media_that_matters;theme=art_unusual;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TED2008;" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="326" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/ChrisJordan_2008-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/ChrisJordan-2008.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=279&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats;year=2008;theme=presentation_innovation;theme=numbers_at_play;theme=words_about_words;theme=media_that_matters;theme=art_unusual;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TED2008;" width="446" /></object> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/impossibly-large-and-complex-numbers-in-finan">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/impossibly-large-and-complex-numbers-in-finan#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/UHb7byWpSfE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/impossibly-large-and-complex-numbers-in-finan Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:11:00 -0700 Financial Storyteller included in free new E-Book from Katherine Hansen, PhD http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/WKTfX_DJsI8/financial-storyteller-included-in-free-new-e http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/financial-storyteller-included-in-free-new-e <p> <span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpfinancialst_fpnzh" height="289" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/import-lfxk-pbdp/EvbsnzJuyHdsjkmovEkBGodvezFfaHDGcgxckGkpmDnEkHhwoaiCzltFlnbq/media_httpfinancialst_fpnzH.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="223" /> </div>  I am thrilled to share information about Kathy's free new e-book, <span size="3;" style="font-family: georgia, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, ms pgothic, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, ms pgothic, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><em>Storied Careers: 40+ Story Practitioners Talk about Applied Storytelling.</em> This is an 88 page illustrated e-book which </span><span style="line-height: 15px;"><a href="http://astoriedcareer.com/free_e-book_storied_careers_40.html" target="_blank">you can download</a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, ms pgothic, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"> from Kathy's excellent site </span><span style="line-height: 15px;"><a href="http://www.astoriedcareer.com/" target="_blank">A Storied Career</a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, ms pgothic, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">.</span></span><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, ms pgothic, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Over the last year Kathy has interviewed more than 40 Story Practitioners from a wide range of backgrounds with an equally wide range of applications in Applied Storytelling. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, ms pgothic, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">I was <a href="http://www.financialstoryteller.com/2009/07/interview-with-kathy-hansen-on-a-storied-career.html" target="_blank">featured back in July</a> and in additional to the book, the full interview is available <a href="http://astoriedcareer.com/stewart_marshall_qa.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, ms pgothic, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Making the book even more compelling is the structure. This is not a simple cut and paste of the 40+ interviews. Kathy has organised the chapters into topical subjects. For each subject the responses of the practitioners are grouped together. For instance if you would like to read about Storytelling Influences (Chapter 3), you can read what 12 different practitioners said. If it's Storytelling in Organisations (Chapter 13) you can read the thoughts from another half a dozen contributors, from all over the world.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">This makes each Chapter stand on it's own and makes for some very interesting reading. As a result the book is a rich resource about Applied Storytelling as it stands today. Bios and contact details for all the practitioners are included to strengthen this. Lastly, Kathy has also produced the book and is distributing it for FREE. I encourage you to take a look!</span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/financial-storyteller-included-in-free-new-e">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/financial-storyteller-included-in-free-new-e#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/WKTfX_DJsI8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/financial-storyteller-included-in-free-new-e Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0700 Case Study - Building a Success Story, One Country at a Time http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/PybduxMp04Q/case-study-building-a-success-story-one-count http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/case-study-building-a-success-story-one-count <p> <p>These Case Studies are intended to illustrate financial storytelling and the role of financial storyteller in a variety of business settings.</p> <p>In this Study, a geographically diversified company is struggling to understand their complete financial position.</p> <p>To download a PDF of the complete Case Study (685 words) <a href="http://tr.im/wydf" target="_blank">click here</a>.</p> <p>To download an audio version of this Case Study (mp3 4:57) <a href="http://tr.im/wyfm" target="_blank">click here</a>.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/case-study-building-a-success-story-one-count">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/case-study-building-a-success-story-one-count#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/PybduxMp04Q" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/case-study-building-a-success-story-one-count Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:41:44 -0700 Storytelling can help solve social issues and help businesses http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/X3O3ywUfusI/storytelling-can-help-solve-social-issues-and http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/storytelling-can-help-solve-social-issues-and <p> At the end of last month I was invited by Graham Dover to sit in on the last session of his Social Innovation course at SFU. I'd met Graham when we both judged on the <a href="http://www.financialstoryteller.com/2009/06/sfu-social-innovation-business-case-competition.html" target="_blank">Social innovation Business Case Competition</a> back in June. The format of this last session was that the students, who had been divided into teams during the course, presented their ideas to a selection of guests.<p />I've said, if not blogged a number of times, that the fact that the students are even thinking about such social problems as homelessness, addiction, the environment and so on is greatly encouraging. Students of today are tomorrow's leaders and the ability to look at some of these long-standing problems with fresh eyes is crucial if they are ever to be solved. As I watched I learnt a lot about what they wanted to do, but very little about why they would do it. They seemed to be caught in the glare of public speaking and trying to work with PowerPoint slides.<br /><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpfinancialst_ejlwc" height="251" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/import-lfxk-pbdp/HsDJJhnwkBqEFyFihapfksAGmhbDkDbgivjkBjnJuBpgFJqnwmlzGAkafubH/media_httpfinancialst_eJlwc.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="320" /> </div> Talking about presentations and slides, Graham kindly shared the graphic he had produced by Aftab Erfan at <a href="http://www.wholepicturethinking.com/" target="_blank">Whole Picture Thinking</a>. I love these kind of images, they really can communicate a lot of information in an effective and engaging way. I also saw this back in February when I attended the Northern Voice Conference. There it was Nancy White who did a pictorial representation of Rob Cottingham's <a href="http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2009/03/02/northern-voice-keynote-video-teh-funny/" target="_blank">entertaining keynote</a> as he delivered it and also went on to do the same for a session called <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/stuff/nv09/" target="_blank">Say it/blog it with pictures</a>.</p>All this made me think. Sometimes it's as if we are looking for that great new way to present something, almost as if the method is more important than the message. Other times I think the message is lost because it's not communicated well enough. Never is this more true than when it comes to numbers. The fog that suddenly appears in front of someone's eyes at the mere mention of numbers is similar I think to the fog that appears when people try to talk about social issues such as senior poverty, the personal safety of sex workers and many more.<p />When it comes to numbers many people are able to shut out the important stories of what is happening in their business, much the same way some shut out social problems. There are some great people trying to break down the latter at the same time as I try to address the former. Much as you can only ignore your own personal finances for so long, in a business the need to understand the numbers is arguably more acute.<p />The interesting thing here is that in both cases, storytelling is the key. If you translate the financials of a company into a business narrative it can be easier to make the right decisions and move forward. If you translate social issues into personal stories your communication can be far more effective.<p />That said, there is of course a limit to the comparison between financial storytelling and solving social issues; I will summarise by saying that the latter is obviously a lot harder than building a business narrative. Links can be made between the two, but I do respect the fact there can be a major difference in terms of perspective at least.<br /><p>It's this difference in perspective that brings me back to the students of Graham's Social Innovation class. I'm sure some of them will go on to run successful businesses, some I hope will work to solve some of the social issues they presented in the final class. All of them will in some way need to be able to present, show slides/graphics which communicate the story they want to tell, but all the time they are thinking about the issues rather than the method is time well spent.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/storytelling-can-help-solve-social-issues-and">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/storytelling-can-help-solve-social-issues-and#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/X3O3ywUfusI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/storytelling-can-help-solve-social-issues-and Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:58:45 -0700 Interview with Kathy Hansen on A Storied Career http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/RP8oqZ0IbF4/interview-with-kathy-hansen-on-a-storied-care http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/interview-with-kathy-hansen-on-a-storied-care <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpfinancialst_fdtce" height="37" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/import-lfxk-pbdp/aBldEenDDabjkEzcrHCBsjHJwkuHGxDbyrgBHnvnHwaAkmFhnaCgiBixtBCD/media_httpfinancialst_FdtcE.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="326" /> </div> This week I am thrilled to see a <a href="http://astoriedcareer.com/stewart_marshall_qa.html" target="_blank">Q&A piece</a> I did for Kathy Hansen run on her <a href="http://www.astoriedcareer.com">blog</a>, A Storied Career.  There are five questions and answers, one of which Kathy is posting each day. Kathy's site <em>"... explores intersections/synthesis among various forms of<span style="font-variant: small-caps;"><strong> Applied Storytelling</strong></span> ..."</em> and as part of this she has a long running series of Q&As with a wide range of storytellers. These include notable writers such as <a href="http://astoriedcareer.com/annette_simmons_qa.html" target="_blank">Annette Simmons</a> and <a href="http://astoriedcareer.com/lori_silverman_qa.html" target="_blank">Lori Silverman</a>, both of which I've mentioned before in my <a href="http://www.financialstoryteller.com/2008/03/1000-true-fans.html" target="_blank">own posts</a>. There are many other <em>story practitioners</em> as Kathy describes them, equally as interesting and it's great to join the list.</p><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpfinancialst_obuaw" height="34" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/import-lfxk-pbdp/dgcwmtuJCcHitrqqrsphHvECfuErasJBjmoqlAItIlcuekhnjyvknxIghvgx/media_httpfinancialst_oBuAw.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="227" /> </div> I don't think Kathy has interviewed herself yet which is a shame as I think her Q&A would definitely make good reading. Here's an excerpt from her bio (<a href="http://www.quintcareers.com/creative_director.html" target="_blank">click here</a> to read it in full).</p><div class="blockquote" style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpfinancialst_aiyiv" height="170" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/import-lfxk-pbdp/ptcdmBtjeCrkHefEAuGvapkdDomsAzrhsBcxlrzFknqfkxuFefmhoGDBelrG/media_httpfinancialst_Aiyiv.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="115" /> </div> Katharine (Kathy) Hansen, Ph.D., creative director of Quintessential Careers, is an author and instructor, in addition to being a career expert. Her books include <a href="http://www.quintcareers.com/dcl.html"><em>Dynamic Cover Letters</em></a> (more than 100,000 copies sold), <em>Write Your Way to a Higher GPA</em>, and <a href="http://www.mycollegesuccessstory.com/study-skills-book/" target="_NEW"><em>The Complete Idiot's Guide to Study Skills</em></a>, written with Dr. Randall S. Hansen, as well as <a href="http://www.quintcareers.com/dcl_for_grads.html"><em>Dynamic Cover Letters for New Graduates</em></a> (11,000+ copies sold), and <a href="http://www.quintcareers.com/foot_in_the_door.html"><em>A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way into the Hidden Job Market</em></a>, published by Ten Speed Press, and <em>Top Notch Executive Resumes: Creating Flawless Resumes for Managers, Executives, and CEOs</em> (Career Press) and <em>Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling to get a Job and Propel Your Career</em> (JIST Publishing, April 2009).  <br /></div><div class=""><br />There are many many forms of storytelling in many different fields. My interest is of course in business and specifically the stories told by the financials within them. Whether working as a part-time CFO for early stage companies, a senior employee in a large organisation or as a consultant to both it is clear to me that the ability to translate copious and often complicated numbers into a coherent and easily understood story is a key business skill. </div><p>The questions and answers in Kathy's interview hopefully give some insight into this. You can read the <a href="http://astoriedcareer.com/2009/07/qa-with-a-story-guru-stewart-m.html" target="_blank">first installment here</a> and click through to find subsequent pieces. If you would like to contribute to the discussion then I encourage you to comment over on A Storied Career, where I will join you!</p>  </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/interview-with-kathy-hansen-on-a-storied-care">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/interview-with-kathy-hansen-on-a-storied-care#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/RP8oqZ0IbF4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/interview-with-kathy-hansen-on-a-storied-care Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:15:22 -0700 Coming Soon: Case Study Series on Financial Storytelling http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/I6dJdpWb4U8/coming-soon-case-study-series-on-financial-st http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/coming-soon-case-study-series-on-financial-st <p> <p>Over the coming weeks I will be posting a series of short financial storytelling case studies. The aim of these is to provide insight into what financial storytelling is and how it can be applied. Subscribe to this site to be notified when the series launches and also to stay up to date with the latest news from Stewart.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/coming-soon-case-study-series-on-financial-st">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/coming-soon-case-study-series-on-financial-st#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/I6dJdpWb4U8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/coming-soon-case-study-series-on-financial-st Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0700 Good Companies have Stories by Raf Stevens http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StewartPos/~3/BrSWHi9hkXA/good-companies-have-stories-by-raf-stevens http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/good-companies-have-stories-by-raf-stevens <p> <p>The below presentation was brought to my attention the other day. I think it does an excellent job of explaining why Storytelling is a Strategic Business tool.</p> <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/rafstevens/no-story-no-company?type=powerpoint" title="No Story No Company" style="margin: 12px 0pt 3px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">No Story No Company</a><object height="355" style="margin: 0px;" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=nostorynocompany-124561421912-phpapp02&rel=0&stripped_title=no-story-no-company" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=nostorynocompany-124561421912-phpapp02&rel=0&stripped_title=no-story-no-company" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="355" width="425" /></object><div style="font-size: 11px; font-family: tahoma,arial; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/" style="text-decoration: underline;">OpenOffice presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/rafstevens" style="text-decoration: underline;">rafstevens</a>.<p /><br /></div></div><br /> <p> I would extend Raf's metaphor that a company is like a human being. I see the financial aspects of a company as vital signs. They are, to use the traditional word, indicators of a company's health. They tell their own story. In the same way you can learn a lot about someone from their smile and how they look, you can also learn a lot from how they say they are feeling. Are they tired, fighting off a headache or living every minute with in constant pain?</p><p>If you meet someone who looks healthy, has a positive mindset, smiles a lot and is comfortable in their own space you take notice. If you were asked whether you thought they could run a 4 minute mile, you would be optimistic. You would have a degree of confidence. However if the signs are not as positive it's easy to become cautious and at worst cynical.</p><p>Raf says in his presentation that there is a problem. People hate facts. I agree, especially when facts are numbers. I also agree that Keeping It Super Simple is absolutely key with numbers. To borrow Raf's language again, numbers have no value on their own. They need the context, they need the <em>essence</em> of what they represent communicated effectively. </p><p>The financial story of a company is <strong>not</strong> knowing their heart-rate or sugar level at one point in time, it's about regular check-ups!. It's about knowing when it's time to take more exercise, change your diet or simply slow down. Anyone can hit a home run: that gets you some instant and short lived glory. However if you hit a home run in every game, game after game, month after month, season after season, then people take notice. As spectators they look to the coach and they start to live your story as they watch every at bat. </p><p>Financial Storytelling is about making sure you are in the game.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/good-companies-have-stories-by-raf-stevens">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/good-companies-have-stories-by-raf-stevens#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StewartPos/~4/BrSWHi9hkXA" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/647138/stew-nv10_kk_.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3snDlEf2uZCF Stewart Marshall Rightantler Stewart Marshall http://stewartmarshall.posterous.com/good-companies-have-stories-by-raf-stevens