From Olympics to Organizations: The Impact of Storytelling in Business
Welcome to the Executive Connect Podcast! In today's episode, I spoke with Christian Napier, the Knowledge Management Advisor for the International Olympic Committee, who shares insights into the power of storytelling in business.
Christian highlights the often-overlooked stories of behind-the-scenes heroes in major events. He also discusses the impact of stories on changing minds and building connections, drawing from personal experiences.
Our conversation then touches on the evolving landscape of storytelling in organizations, with a focus on harnessing the untapped knowledge of employees at all levels. Christian introduces the concept of "scalably harvesting contextual knowledge" for broader organizational benefit.
We explore practical applications of storytelling, from LinkedIn posts to strategic shifts in hiring practices. Christian also encourages listeners to capture and share their own stories while preserving the narratives of loved ones.
Thank you for joining us on the Executive Connect Podcast, where powerful stories shape meaningful connections!
If you have any questions about today’s show or have a topic you’d like us to cover, reach out to me at executiveconnectpodcast@gmail.com.
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About today’s guest:
Christian Napier is the Founder and CEO of Rakonto Inc., which provides a Software-as-a-Service online oral history engine designed to help people and organizations request, record, compile, and share their most important stories. He is also the Founder and Principal of GPFour Inc., a boutique knowledge management consultancy specializing in helping clients in the major event industry harvest knowledge through storytelling, direct observation data capture, and content collection and curation.
Since 2015 Christian has served as a Knowledge Management Advisor to the International Olympic Committee. In that role, Christian has interviewed more than 1,200 people involved in planning and delivering the Olympic and Paralympic Games, from Salt Lake 2002 through Los Angeles 2028, serving as the lead consultant on the International Olympic Committee’s Structured Interview Project, envisioned as a 10-year longitudinal study of the Games. Christian also hosted the Salt Lake 2002 Retrospective podcast, a historical podcast looking back at the Games through interviews with 98 Games organizers.
About Melissa Aarskaug:
I’m an energetic executive with 15+ years of experience steering companies to new heights of growth and scale. An engineer at heart (I started my career as an engineering manager on one of the world’s largest concrete bridges), I’ve become a trusted leader and business builder in the technology and cybersecurity space.
