My guest Kai-Jürgen Lietz has written a book about storytelling called "Storytellity". He explains the power of telling stories. Although it goes back to the stone age, you can easily apply it to modern day (business) contexts. We talk about different basic structures such as the "Hero's Journey" and the "Man in the Hole". Kai explains simple tricks to build up a repository of personal, authentic stories you can use in work or business contexts. He also reveals why it's better to watch daily soaps rather than movies to become a good storyteller. .fusion-button.button-1 {border-radius:2px;}.fusion-button.button-1 .fusion-button-text {text-transform:none;}View full shownotes

Wholegrain Leadership

Tell convincing stories

In this solo episode, I explain what leaders should read and listen to to get insights and perspectives. Contrary to popular belief, leadership is less about talking and more about listening. I tell you what I read and consume and how you can get out of your bubble to get the crucial perspective that will make you an effective leader. .fusion-button.button-1 {border-radius:2px;}.fusion-button.button-1 .fusion-button-text {text-transform:none;}View full shownotes

How to get perspective

Becoming a thought leader is an essential part of transitioning into senior leadership roles. It's not enough to be an expert. You also have to be able to communicate your ideas to a broad audience. My guest Rhea Wessel, a journalist by training, is the founder of the Institute for Thought Leadership. She explains what a thought leader is and how you can find the sweet spot between your passion (purpose), your credentials (experience), and your "big idea". The intersection of those three is your thought leadership niche. I also get an impromptu coaching session when Rhea asks me to explain the motivation and purpose of my podcast. And Rhea shares how she got drawn into the world of thought leadership. {powerpress] See full show notes

Become a Thought Leader

How do you generate or refine a business model? In this episode, I introduce the Business Model Generation canvas developed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur. I describe the nine building blocks and dive into different business models: the long tail, multi-sided platforms, freemium models, and open business models. Finally, I explain the phases of a business model generation process. See full show notes

Business Model Generation

Defining and executing strategy is one of the most important tasks of a leader. In this episode, I explain what strategy is, what it isn’t, and how it differs from other concepts such as operational excellence. I discuss two principles you can apply when developing your strategy: the Blue Ocean strategy and mission-driven strategies. Furthermore, I explain how you can analyze your company’s situation or develop a new strategy using a simple SWOT analysis or the more sophisticated business model canvas. See full show notes

What is strategy?

Wellbeing is on everybody’s mind. Who doesn’t want to be well, healthy and happy, after all? In this episode, I’m talking to a real expert in this field, Dr. Anat Itay-Sarig. We discuss what well-being means, why it’s more than just the occasional yoga class or a latte macchiato in the morning, and why you as a leader should pay attention to the issue. We cover the spheres of public policy, where wellbeing has been discussed for quite some time now and is part of the official government policy of countries such as New Zealand. Still, we also talk a lot about what this means for businesses. Finally, we connect the dots between wellbeing, which can be a fluffy concept at times, and the hard world of numbers and statistics. My guest Anat is a data scientist, after all. See full show notes

Why is wellbeing important?

As a leader, you will have a message that you want to communicate to your customers, your staff, the general public. Your message is important to you, so people should remember it. For that, it needs to be “sticky”. If you want to persuade people, you should follow six basic principles that I will explain in this episode. The principles come from a great book called Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive, and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath. The authors analyzed many ideas and tried to find the magic sauce that made some of them viral, whereas others were quickly forgotten. Interestingly enough, it does not depend on the merits of the idea. Instead, six factors make it likely that people will remember it. A message should be simpleunexpectedconcretecredibleemotionaltold in stories See full show notes

Make your message stick

We negotiate things big and small constantly, often without even noticing it. Despite this, many feel uneasy when facing an important negotiation. Often, we’re also not good at it. In this episode of the Wholegrain Leadership Podcast, I speak with Anja Henningsmeyer. She is an expert on communications and negotiation and works as a trainer and coach. She has recently published a book specifically looking at how women negotiate. Among other things, we discuss: why negotiating is so importantif there are different negotiation styles of men and womenwhy so many people have difficulties with negotiation situationsif there are differences between cultures when it comes to negotiationthe importance of one’s reputationthe role of emotions in negotiationshow to prepare for a negotiation See full show notes

Negotiate like a professional

Giving and receiving feedback is one of the essential capabilities of a leader. In this episode, I will explain a straightforward set of rules to apply when giving and receiving feedback. If you are the person giving the feedback, always speak from your own perspective; be concrete; focus on things that can be changed; and balance the pros and the cons. If you receive feedback, listen and shut up; be thankful; and think about the feedback carefully afterward. See full show notes

Giving and receiving feedback

The Wholegrain Leadership Podcast looks at leadership from a holistic – wholegrain – perspective. Hence the title. Are you a current or aspiring leader? Do you want more than just the quick fix? Do you want to improve your skills continuously and broaden your horizon? Then this podcast is for you! Dr. Matthias Catón interviews guests with exciting, new perspectives on leadership issues. Solo episodes cover particular topics. No matter the guest or the subject, the aim is always to both inspire you and to give you practical insights that you can apply immediately.

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Wholegrain Leadership

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