Anecdotally Speaking Shawn Callahan & Mark Schenk

In Episode 212 of Anecdotally Speaking, delve into the gripping tale of the Mann Gulch fire, a story that will challenge your views on underlying assumptions and problem-solving.



In Episode 212 of Anecdotally Speaking, Mark recounts the gripping tale of the 1949 Mann Gulch fire. This harrowing story offers profound lessons and business insights, including the importance of challenging assumptions and fostering innovation and creativity under stress.

Shawn and Mark delve into how to effectively use sidebars, enhance your narrative, and avoid common pitfalls that can disengage your audience. Additionally, they discuss how the Anecdotally Speaking podcast can help you effortlessly build your story bank, enhancing your communication both at work and home.

To enquire about workshops, refreshers and more, please contact us at people@anecdote.com

‘Thank You for Arguing’ by Jay Heinrichs (book)

For your story bank

Tags: Storytelling, Creativity, Problem solving, Change, Natural Resources, Firefighting, Innovation, Assumptions

The story begins at 2:19

On August 4, 1949, a lightning strike ignited a tree in remote Mann Gulch, Montana, sparking a fire. By 4:10 PM the following day, a group of elite firefighters known as smokejumpers parachuted from an aircraft to combat the blaze. This team of 15 smokejumpers, aged 15-28, were highly fit, with military experience, and considered the best of the best. Their foreman was Wagner Dodge.

Upon landing, they met up with a ranger and took a quick break for a meal before setting out to tackle the fire, which they expected to have under control by 10:00 the next morning, referring to it as a “10 O’clock fire.”

As they moved toward the fire, Dodge spotted the fire jump the Missouri river, racing toward them about 200 feet ahead. Noticing that no one else was aware of the approaching danger, he immediately shouted for everyone to turn and run. The team, burdened with heavy gear, began sprinting up a steep 76-degree hill, knowing that reaching the ridge would slow the fire down. It was a 700-yard dash to safety, and after eight minutes, they had covered 500 yards.

The 30-foot flames were closing in faster than they could run. Desperate, Dodge ordered them to drop their equipment. Some complied, but others held on to their gear. When they were just 200 yards from the ridge, Dodge began lighting the grass ahead of him with matches, much to the disbelief of his team. He urged them to come to his position, but they ignored him and continued racing up the hill.

Dodge lay down in the burnt patch he had created, covering his airways with a wet cloth. Tragically, only two of the team made it to the top of the hill. The remaining twelve smokejumpers and the ranger perished in the fire, some still holding their equipment. Wagner Dodge survived.

In Episode 211 of Anecdotally Speaking, discover Ronald Read’s secret and its application to staff development and job design.



In Episode 211 of Anecdotally Speaking, Mark tells a fascinating story about a man named Ronald Read, who led a double life unbeknownst to anyone until his passing. This prompts Shawn to share a striking personal anecdote of his own.

Today’s story reinforces the age-old saying, “looks can be deceiving,” and is suitable for use in a business setting, particularly in the contexts of staff development, performance management, and job selection/design.

Mark and Shawn further discuss the importance of context in storytelling, building suspense, and why it is often better to use your own stories.

The Story of Ronald Read (A video by Brattleboro Memorial Hospital)

Learn more about the upcoming events discussed in the episode here

For your story bank

Tags: Storytelling, Performance, Job design

The story begins at 1:04

There was a gentleman called Ronald Read, born in 1921 in Vermont USA into a very poor family. His father used to mow lawns and chop wood on an extremely low income. He would walk 4 miles to school every day, he was the first in his family to graduate from high school, upon which he joined the army. He returned from World War 2 and worked for 25 years as a gas station attendant and mechanic. He then retired from the gas station, had one year off, then took a part-time job as a janitor at JC Penny where he worked until 1997. His life was a modest one, he wore old clothes, drove an old car, and lived in a simple house he purchased decades before. When his clothes tore he wouldn’t replace them, rather he would mend them with safety pins. He always went to one specific café as they served the cheapest coffee in town, on one particular day a patron of the café paid for Ronald’s coffee, mistakenly thinking he would not be able to afford one. When he retired he went to the local hospital (Brattleboro Memorial Hospital) every morning simply to have an English muffin with peanut butter for breakfast as it was the cheapest in town. From all accounts, he was a very simple man who lived a very frugal lifestyle. He passed away in 2014 and to the great surprise of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Ronald Read bequeathed them 5 million dollars and another organisation 2 million dollars. Without anyone else’s awareness, he had accumulated 8 million dollars throughout his life through careful spending and genius stock trading.

Episode 210 of Anecdotally Speaking gives insight into how salespeople can increase value and customer buy-in through story.



In Episode 210 of Anecdotally Speaking, Shawn tells a story about how two journalists managed to increase the value of trinkets by 16,000% through the power of storytelling.

This episode provides insights into the significant value a story can bring, especially in a retail setting.

Mark and Shawn further discuss opportunities and pitfalls from their experience working with retail outlets and share some techniques to further immerse listeners in your stories.

To see details of the upcoming events discussed in this episode, visit our events page.

Visit the significant objects site discussed in the episode here.

For your story bank

Tags: Storytelling, Marketing, Retail, Sales

The story begins at 1:56

Back in around 2009 a couple of journalists by the names of Rob Walker and Josh Glen start an experiment where they go to thrift shops and garage sales and buy small objects that must be inexpensive, no more than a couple of dollars. They would photograph these objects and pair each object with a writer. This writer then has to make up a fictitious story about the backstory of the object. They would then put the photo accompanied by the backstory on Ebay. They sold a $1 plate with a cow on the front for $41 on Ebay. They sold a 50 cents bird figurine for $52. Most impressively, a 99 cent maiden statue sold for $157.50. Simply adding a story to these objects caused phenomenal increases in value.

In Episode 209 of Anecdotally Speaking, discover how asking the right questions brought us GPS – and how you can take these lessons into your work.



In Episode 209 of Anecdotally Speaking, Mark shares the fascinating origin story of the GPS system. Learn how curiosity and a fresh perspective enabled Johns Hopkins physicists to transform a simple concept into a life-changing innovation.

Today’s story can inspire new ideas in the workplace by encouraging inquisitiveness using ground-reversal creativity. It also highlights the importance of asking the right questions with an open mind.

This story is sourced from an interview with Martin Seligman on the HBR Idea Cast

For your story bank

Tags: Storytelling, Creativity, Ideas, Innovation, Physics

The story begins at 0:26:

In 1957 Russia launched Sputnik 1 which was the first satellite. This was part of the first stages of the space race, so America waned to be able to track the Russian satellite. There were two physicists at the applied physics department at John Hopkins University who figured out within hours how to accurately track where Sputnik was. They managed to do this using the Doppler Effect whereby the frequency of sound changes depending on whether objects are moving toward or away from you. They found that by monitoring the frequencies of Sputnik from two different locations on Earth they could determine its whereabouts. Using extensive calculations and one of the most powerful computers at the time – the Univac. And so the job was done… or so they thought. Roughly a year later the deputy director of the applied physics laboratory at John Hopkins queried about doing the inverse – using two satellites to find the position of someone on earth. That one question caused a plethora of prototypes that would eventually lead to the GPS system, which became fully operational in 1995.

References:

David, Murray S. “That’s Interesting! Towards a Phenomenology of Sociology and a Sociology of Phenomenology.” Philosophy of the Social Sciences, vol. 1, 1971, pp. 309-44.

In Episode 208 of Anecdotally Speaking, discover how to make abstract concepts relatable and humanize data in business settings.



In Episode 208 of Anecdotally Speaking, Shawn tells a story that vividly illustrates the difference between a million and a billion.

Today’s story exemplifies how abstract topics can be simplified and made relatable, enhancing universal understanding. This approach is particularly impactful in business settings, where such techniques can humanize data, enabling employees to better grasp their organization’s key metrics and objectives.

Additionally, Mark and Shawn discuss the use of time in storytelling and how storytelling techniques can encourage active listening and foster deeper understanding.

For your story bank

Tags: Storytelling, Numbers, Communication, Corporate Storytelling

This story is sourced from the book Making Numbers Count

The story begins at 3:57

Your friend and yourself put in for a big lottery with several big prizes. The catch is whatever amount you win, you must spend $50,000 a day until the prize runs out. Your friend ends up winning the million dollar prize. Sure enough after 20 days they have spent all the prize money as per the rules. You end up winning the billon dollar prize. You follow the same rules, however, it takes you 55 years to spend your prize money.

In Episode 207 of Anecdotally Speaking, learn the origin of “The Streisand Effect” and uncover its powerful lesson on perseverance in business.



In Episode 207 of Anecdotally Speaking, Shawn shares a compelling and relatable story inspired by the recent spotlight on Vincent Namatjira’s portrait of Gina Reinhart. This story explains the origin of the term “The Streisand Effect.”

Today’s story demonstrates the illusion of control, especially in business, and the power of perseverance, showing that repeated efforts can eventually lead to great success.

In addition to the main story, three mini-stories are included, offering valuable additions to your story bank.

For your story bank

Tags: Storytelling, Perseverance, Marketing, persistence

The story begins at 0:24

A photographer took photos for a non-profit scientific research project studying coastal erosion. Inadvertently, one of the photos included Barbra Streisand’s mansion, although it wasn’t labeled as such. Streisand filed a $50 million lawsuit against the photographer for including her house. This lawsuit drew significant attention to the photo, increasing its views from just 6 to over a million in a month. Ironically, without the lawsuit, the photo would likely have remained obscure. This incident gave rise to the term “The Streisand Effect.”