Ever since Homer and before, we’ve listened to stories of heroes and their incredible feats. Even in our day and age and our business environments, we sit around imaginary campfires and talk about our heroes. The colleague who did that, the guru who solved that problem that nobody else could. Stories of heroic deeds are seductive and viral, but they are dangerous as well. With our focus on the flash of the extraordinary, we risk missing the wisdom of the ordinary, and it is that which makes or breaks us.

1. Stories of Heroes
and the danger of all stories

2. What makes a hero?

3. A hero ventures forth from the world of common
day into a region of supernatural wonder:
fabulous forces are there encountered and a
decisive victory is won: the hero comes back
from this mysterious adventure with the power
to bestow boons on his fellow man

5. Perseus

6. Achilles

7. Greuceanu

8. Greuceanu

10. Luke is the Accounting Supervisor with the Finance Department and has been with the
city for over 32 years! (she started when she was in grade school! Just kidding..) Luke has
been the “go to girl” for the Finance department for many years, and has at one time or
another, filled in or performed every job in that department---including Interim Finance
Director! Luke works many long hours every week to be sure all the City’s accounts are
balanced, our investments are in line, and customers are well taken care of.
Luke never complains and is the first to pitch in and help her staff with whatever duty
needs to be done. Her quiet sense of humor and positive attitude make her a joy to work
with, and work for. She is someone her staff and boss can count on, and we do!
Recently, we upgraded our accounting software programs to a newer version of the
program we use. Anyone who has been through such an event will immediately recognize
how very stressful this is to undergo. Luke kept our accounts straight through the
transition, and made sure all our finance employees were supported as we struggled
through some very stressful days.
Congratulations Luke, and thank you so much for all you do for the City, your co-
workers and our customers!

11. a pattern we look for

12. Employee of the month
template
1. Establish baseline
2. Challenging & changing circumstances
3. Rising to meet them
4. While being a kind person

13. What is a story?

14. plot
characters
narrative point of view

15. Seductive
Viral

16. Heroes are seductive
Heroes are simple to understand
We want it to be true
So stories work
And stories of heroes work

17. But we’re missing
important things

18. Dreaming big is great
Not confronting
knowledge full on is not

19. Knowledge has been
TED-fied

20. We pay too much attention
to feeling good about it

21. We don’t learn when we
feel good
We don’t learn by being
entertained
What do we learn?

22. Complexity
Hard problems

23. Ambiguity

24. Unclear victories

25. Contradictions

26. Losing

27. Agency
&
Context

28. GOT is Better than TED

29. So what’s my point?

30. Stories make culture
Easy stories make the
wrong culture

31. URGENT NOT URGENT
NOT IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT

32. Don’t take the easy way
out

33. Thank you