“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come, and Disney has a monopoly on the storyteller business. You know what? I am tired of that bullshit, I am going to be the next storyteller.” – Steve Jobs in 1994, when he was CEO of Pixar
We live and operate as professionals in a staggeringly complex, crowded and competitive world. A world where capital, talent, market share, technological advantage and brand recall are all simultaneously overabundant and fleeting.
And yet, some companies and leaders are able to not just stand apart from their peers and rivals, but they’re able to compound their leadership over time using the most innocuous of resources.
Words.
An authentic, compelling and well-crafted narrative is the differentiator that convinces investors, customers and talent to trust a company over its competitors. Or a leader over her peers.
Great narratives are timeless assets. They are resilient. They can be extended. They’re differentiators. And unlike most other assets, they strengthen with frequent and repeated usage.
But if narratives are assets, who creates them?
Narrative leaders do.
If Design Thinking was (and still is) one of the key skills for leaders, regardless of their company, sector or role, then Narrative Thinking is the one for the age we live in.
Great narratives differentiate companies and leaders in crowded spaces. They make their own case in the minds of customers, investors or talent. They help create brands with purpose and power.
And if the ability to think, craft and deliver compelling narratives in a variety of circumstances is what differentiates great leaders and their companies, then who better to learn it from than some of the most experienced narrative experts at The Ken, India’s most respected business narrative storytelling platform?
Announcing The Ken’s First Ever Workshop for Leaders
The Ken’s exclusive hands-on workshop is targeted at leaders, founders and executives of ambitious, high-growth organizations. Over half a day, three different instructors with three very distinct sets of skills and experiences will help participants to become effective business storytellers.
Using an original curriculum drawn from nearly 5 years of The Ken’s experience formulating its own distinct narrative techniques, the workshop will cover concepts, examples, mental models and application techniques.
The Ken is India and Southeast Asia’s most respected independent business publication. Founded in 2016, it publishes original, deeply reported and sharply narrated stories on startups, business, policy and economics every day of the week. With over 30,000 premium subscribers, we write for an enviable base of founders, investors, executives, policymakers, professionals and students across India, Southeast Asia and the world.
Our instructors have a collective experience of over 4 decades between them, including nearly 15 years at The Ken writing compelling business narratives for the intelligent and discerning. Additionally, their background in business and economics allows them to operate authoritatively and knowledgeably at the intersection of business and storytelling.
Ruhi Kandhari, Lead Instructor
Ruhi leads The Ken’s learning offerings and also writes Inciting Incident, a weekly subscriber newsletter that decodes and explains the biggest narratives around us. Before this she was a Staff Writer with The Ken. She has over 10 years of experience in narrative journalism and holds an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics.
Praveen Krishnan, Co-Instructor
Praveen is The Ken’s COO and also writes The Nutgraf, a weekly subscriber newsletter that connects the dots and synthesizes an explanation of the biggest events around us. He has over 15 years of experience across technology, products and narrative journalism. Praveen holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
Rohin Dharmakumar, Co-Instructor
Rohin is The Ken’s CEO and has written dozens of long form stories on startups, policy making, telecom and entrepreneurs. He has over 20 years of experience across technology, marketing, communications & narrative journalism. Rohin holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.
The workshop is designed to leave participants with a clear and fungible set of storytelling skills they can apply in their daily work, whether it be a product launch, sales presentation, marketing campaign, all-hands deck or even an introductory email to someone important.
Since no workshops, including this one, can deliver meaningful and lasting learning in just a few hours, The Ken’s offering is structured and offered as an annual subscription. The subscription is designed in a way that most of the learning is front-loaded into the classroom-style workshop, followed by personalized feedback, access to subscriber content, fortnightly tips and optional add-on workshops and sessions.
There will be only a limited number of these workshops every quarter. And if you would like to reserve one of those for your organization or team, please submit this form.
Disclaimer: The Ken’s Learning team is not involved in editorial decisions and operates independently of its Editorial team.
