This is the ‘Win with Stories’ newsletter. Every week I send an email with a message wrapped in a short story. I also share one actionable tip and a few content recommendations to help you enhance your business storytelling skills.
Before I start, we still have a couple of spots left for today’s webinar which starts at 6pm(on Wednesday, 13th July 2022). Register here to get the meeting link in your inbox right away. Now on with today’s story…
Rajiv Bajaj, Luck and Why Stories Matter.
Over the weekend, my friend, Gowri Priya Sethuram sent me a video on Whatsapp. She said it might be of interest to the business storytelling coach in me.
She was right.
The video featured Rajiv Bajaj, the MD of Bajaj Auto, and the edited clip was about a story he narrated from his younger days.
He narrated that his great-grandfather Jamnalal Bajaj was born to a poor family. As a child, he was playing out in the sun one afternoon.
Something about the kid appealed to a wealthy merchant passing by. His name was Bachraj Bajaj, and he decided to adopt the kid. That’s how Jamnalal Bajaj came into wealth.
One day while standing near to Jamnalal Bajaj’s original home, Rajiv realised that his security guard was actually their neighbour. He also realised that day that he would have been a security guard, and his neighbour would have been chairman of Bajaj Auto, had it been his great-grandfather playing outside.
Rajiv Bajaj surmises in the video that all this talk about ‘I have done this. This is mine’ is all wrong. That your circumstances are much bigger than you, and where you are today is a matter of luck more than anything else.
A communication tip for today:
I spent more time thinking about this video clip than most people would. It made me realise two things. One, that Rajiv Bajaj is humble and reflective.
But more importantly, I realised that when you lead, narrating stories is not just a skill, it is your responsibility.
As a leader, you traverse different worlds and find an audience in most places. Rajiv has access to the past, while working in the present and building the future of Bajaj Auto. He also connects many physical worlds of the company. Think, the factories of Bajaj Auto, its head offices and its shareholders – a leader like Rajiv Bajaj brings them together in a way.
In such a situation, it is stories that he narrates that give these diverse group of people a sense of belonging, access to a shared heritage and an understanding of their mission. While it is true that storytelling helps organisations achieve their goals, but as a leader the stories you narrate give people identity and currency in the first place.
So, lead with stories because your people need you to.
Some of my work from the past weeks you could read or watch:
- How our homestay business achieved profit and recognition in four months(Linkedin post)
- How to use rejection as a tool to progress(Linkedin post)
- A secret tip to deliver memorable talks and presentations(Linkedin post)
- I did my first Insta live with a super cool content writer, Tanishka. You can watch the conversation about storytelling in writing here
- You can also watch Rajiv Bajaj’s in-depth interview with Outlook Business. Here’s part 1, and here’s part 2
That’s it from me this week. Tell me one thing that will make you share this newsletter with friends and colleagues 🙂
If it’s already share-worthy, then please forward this to your network right away. Let’s all win with stories.
If you received this email from someone, and like what you read, then you need to hit this link.
