Last week I was speaking in Las Vegas at a conference for the International Society for Performance Improvement. And I was fortunate to share the platform with a remarkable woman, Louise Anderson, the president of Anderson Performance Improvement Company (www.andersonperformance.com).

I spoke on building “change-adeptness” within an organization and on leading people through transformation. Louise talked about how to make change fun and profitable. She told a story about how her company, which designs and implements behavior-based incentive programs, worked with a bank during their merger. The fear was (as usually happens) customer service would take a dive. The result that Louise and her team achieved for the bank was 110% customer retention. Pretty impressive!

While in town, I visited the new and spectatular Wynn hotel – with its man-made mountainside, lake and waterfall – and had dinner there at Bartolotta. In a town of great dining experiences, this has to be one of the best. If you go, be sure to order the sheep's cheese ravioli. Quite possibly the best dish in town.

I received a call this morning from an organization asking me to facilitate an offsite meeting for a group of managers. I asked about the goals of the meeting and who else was going to speak at the event. The meeting planner told me that the organization was going through major change and that cost-cutting was high on the list of crucial objectives. The company leadership wanted me to present my program on “creative collaboration” as a way to stimulate problem solving and engage people in the change.

When I asked if the audience had been presented with the business reasons behind the cost cutting, I was assured that it had. But when I asked if people had the financial background to understand the business rationale, there was a long pause on the other end of the phone.

After working with organizational transformation for over twenty years, I’ve learned a few things. And one of them is that the more employees understand about how the business works, the more likely they are to accept and support change. (Especially change that involves cutting back on costs.) Most organizations have very few finance majors on their staff, and yet all employees need a clear “line of sight” – a direct connection between their jobs and the objectives/mission of the organization. To really build that connection takes people who understand the “business” of the business.

So here’s what I said to this meeting planner: Sure! I’d love to work with your group. But if you can only afford one outside speaker, pick someone who can teach business literacy. It will be the best investment you could make.

The joke goes like this. . . A reporter was interviewing Mary Todd Lincoln shortly after her husband was shot: “So, aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?” Frightfully un-PC and in questionable (okay, really bad!) taste, but also as American as motherhood and apple pie - we look for the humor in tragedy. As soon as disaster hits, the tee shirt slogans are ready and the jokes are flying. It may seem callous, but to me it is our unique way of healing. As one friend in crisis told me, “I can cry or I can laugh. I prefer to laugh.”

Another friend was at this summer's Boy Scout Jamboree, which started with the devastating news that four leaders were killed. His report: “As there was a lack of credible information, the informal rumor mill took over. The day that 300 kids were taken for medical attention because of the heat, the rumor sweeping camp was that 10 kids had died. On a lighter note. . .the rumor spread that some of the Swedish Scouts (a co-ed troop) would flash their breasts in exchange for a vanilla pudding that came in a bag lunch one day. I did notice that boys seemed to be hoarding their vanilla pudding.”

Not much to laugh at with Katrina, but one piece of news coverage made me smile. Last night a rescue worker was standing in front of a New Orleans apartment house, shouting up to the second story: “Okay, come on out. We know you’re in there. We saw you dancing!”

Much has been written about Katrina - but here is something from a professional communicator who was there. When you get a chance, read Charles Pizzo's comments on why people didn't leave New Orleans. (http://raganpostcard.blogspot.com)

Storytelling has been around for thousands of years, and it’s arguably our most powerful tool for stirring emotions and creating mental pictures. We all think in image and narrative. Storytelling is a natural “pull” strategy, engaging listeners into imagining outcomes toward which facts alone would not lead them. By telling the right kinds of stories, and presenting the right kind of mental images, we can bring about profound change.

In my current role as a consultant for large-scale organizational transformation, I’m constantly searching for ways to get employees involved. How can they help design the change? How can they feel ownership? How can they optimize change for personal and organizational advantage?

For me, it all begins with stories: I want to find out how employees already wed their own stories into the change process. What are their tales of the past - the successes and accomplishments? How do they see the future - what are their stories of coming challenges and opportunities? I want their words, their images, their metaphors, and their unique ways of explaining change. Because then I can use those powerful examples to help people talk constructively and meaningfully about what is going on.