The Mindy Kaling Guide to Entrepreneurial Domination

The Mindy Kaling Guide to Entrepreneurial Domination
By her own admission, Mindy Kaling is an unlikely celebrity.

She’s even more of an unlikely leader. The daughter of first-generation Indian immigrants with an Ivy-league education in (gasp) playwriting, Mindy is the antithesis of just about every Hollywood stereotype there is.

Still, the creator, producer, writer and star of FOX’s The Mindy Projectdoesn’t shy away from the responsibility her entrepreneurial fame entails.

Related: Success Lessons From 2 Innovators Who Came Out Swinging

What can the world-dominating success of an unlikely entrepreneur teach us?

1. Be passionate

As trite as it might sound, nothing trumps passion. Carmine Gallo, in his insightful book Talk Like TED, lays it out plain:

"In any language, on any continent, in every country, those speakers who genuinely express their passion and enthusiasm for the topic are the ones who stand apart as inspiring leaders."

Gallo’s point is that while mastery of a particular skill gives people a “platform,” it’s the passion that undergirds that mastery that makes them “connect.” Why? Because passion is contagious. People love it.

So, what inspires Mindy? The answer (as unlikely as it sounds) is tragedy.

Related: 9 Traits That Will Lead You to Success

Two years ago, on the very day The Mindy Project was green lit by FOX, Mindy’s mother -- an obstetrician -- passed away from pancreatic cancer.

However, far from undoing her, her mother’s death became fuel for the fire. As Mindy explained, “My dream is to be able to become so famous that I can actually make a difference in pancreatic cancer research.”

In other words, rarely will our skills be coterminous with our passion. Mindy is a master at comedy. And yet it’s what lies behind her mastery -- the dream to make a difference -- that really set her apart.

What’s yours?

2. Be everywhere

You’ve heard the old adage: “Jack of all trades. Master of none.”

Now, I’m not one to buck tradition, but in Mindy’s case, the proof’s in the pudding.

In a recent Elle Magazine cover story, Bela Bajaria, executive vice president of Universal Television, described the staggering extent of Mindy’s on and off-set omnipresence:

"She’s in the writer’s room, she’s on set, she’s in postproduction, she’s e-mailing studio and network executives at two in the morning. … She’s so creative, but she has an appreciation and understanding of the business part, too."

Getting your hands dirty lies at the core of all genuine success, especially entrepreneurial successful. Such ethos is risky because it means going “out there” into the real world -- into the lives, workplaces, and trenches of the people you work with and for.

The classic example of getting out there was Richard Anderson’s miraculous turnaround of Delta Airlines. Anderson, who took over as CEO in 2007 just two years after Delta filed for bankruptcy, credits a major portion of his success to his monthly cockpit rides with Delta’s pilots and a single two-day event in which he solicited suggestions from over 2,000 employees.

Related: How to Think, Train and Thrive Like a Champion

Sure being everywhere is scary. But don’t let that fear hold you back.

3. Be a gangster

This wonderful nugget comes from B. J. Novak, Mindy’s one-time squeeze and current co-collaborator. “She’s a gangster,” Novak explains, “This is not a girl who waits by the phone. This is a girl who picks up the phone and calls whoever she wants.”

Case in point, when Mindy wanted long-time friend James Franco to guest star but his schedule wouldn’t allow it, no wasn't an option.According to Franco, “She just made it happen.”

In other words, to be successful you gotta know what you want and gotta go after it.

It’s absolutely insane how few people can actually articulate what they want. And yet, having a clear, impassioned vision for where you want to go is the very first step in getting there. In fact, as author and consultant Warren Bennis famously wrote, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Without vision, the people perish.

But being a gangster means more than just knowing what you want. It also mean getting it.

4. Be voracious

Alongside her aforementioned omnipresence, Mindy is also a voracious learner.

Related: The 4 Habits You Need to Be Successful

As Novak tells Elle, “She has a big me-too-ism in her. She always wants to know what everyone else is doing and if that’s more fun.”

The discipline of lifelong learning is a constant refrain among the world’s most successful people. Steve Jobs’ famous two-part takeaway from his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address captured this principle perfectly: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

The problem with being successful is just that: “being.”

As soon as you get full or get smart -- as soon as you arrive -- you’ve lost it. The key is to cultivate your hunger … and your foolishness. Always be willing to learn, to grow, to make mistakes, to admit limitations, to embrace other people’s ideas, to do what’s new and uncomfortable and to pursue humility as an end in itself.

5. Be noble

A lot can be said about Mindy’s nobility. In fact, a lot is said.

There was her epic commencement speech at Harvard Law Schoolearlier this year: “Please, just try to be the kind of people that give advice to celebrities, not the other way around.”

There was the controversy surrounding the Elle magazine cover story: “What, Elle, you can't put her big, fat body on the magazine?”

But, perhaps the best example came a few days ago when she stopped by HuffPost Live and revealed that her character’s on-screen love interest Danny and her wouldn’t be splitting up for the sake of ratings. As Mindy explained:

"A lot of shows I think break characters up for no reason because the show has to last for seven or eight years. We thought, no. People can still be interesting when they are together."

While it might not seem like a big deal -- certainly not as big a deal as beauty and body image -- Mindy’s bravery to stick to her guns, to be an “artist” (even when her art is a weekly sitcom) speaks volumes about what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.

As Mindy told Lena Dunham in a Rolling Stone interview:

"I love women who are bosses and who don't constantly worry about what their employees think of them. I love women who don't ask, “Is that OK?” after everything they say. I love when women are courageous in the face of unthinkable circumstances."

Call it credibility. Call it courage. Call it ethics. Call it a backbone. Heck call it whatever you want ...Success by any other name -- unlikely or not -- would certainly smell as sweet.

By Aaron Orendorff

Source: Entrepreneur

Why You Should Never Wear Orange To An Interview

Why You Should Never Wear Orange To An Interview:
Why Your Brown "Power Suit" Could Be Making You Look Passive, Why You Should Ditch Navy If You're In A Creative Field And Never Wear Orange

Color has a lot of power. It can calm you, make you hungry, and even put you in the mood for love, color psychologists say. But can it get you a job?

While it won’t make up for lack of experience or qualifications, wearing the right color can start you off on the right foot during an interview, according to a recent study by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder. A survey of hiring managers and human resource professionals revealed that employers associate personality attributes with the colors candidates wear to job interviews.

For example:

Black conveys leadership.
Red was a color of power.
Blue gives the impression that the person is a team player.
Gray reads as logical and analytical.
White gives the feeling of being organized.
Green, yellow, orange and purple are associated with creativity.


“In terms of projection, your appearance tells more about you than what you say or how you say it,” says New York image and style expert Carol Davidson. “And out of all of the elements of your wardrobe, color speaks first.”

In addition to polishing your resume and interview skills, selecting the right clothing is an important element of finding a new job. The best color to choose depends on the industry, says Davidson, who teaches a class about wardrobe color planning at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Before you grab a garment from your closet, consult this list of popular clothing colors:

DON'T WEAR NAVY IN AN INTERVIEW FOR A CREATIVE JOB
Navy sends a message of being enterprising, trustworthy, honest, and credible, says Davidson. It’s a great choice for industries like law or finance. If you’re interviewing for a more creative environment, however, it could be considered too conservative.

Employers from the CareerBuilder survey recommended blue most often, with 23% of hiring professionals identifying it as their most preferred wardrobe color choice.

WEAR BLACK IF YOU ARE INTERVIEWING FOR A MANAGEMENT JOB
Black is an extremely strong color and is highest on the authority scale, says Davidson. “Most people figure that’s a good thing, but for a first interview you don’t want to run the risk of overpowering the person in front of you,” she says.

If you are interviewing for position where you would be in charge or if you’re demure in your appearance, however, Davidson says black could be a great choice. Fifteen percent of the employers from the CareerBuilder survey recommended wearing black.

YOU PROBABLY SHOULD AVOID BROWN ALL TOGETHER
Polar opposite to black, Davidson says brown conveys the message that you’re simple and slow to change. In fact, she doesn’t recommend wearing this color to an interview in any industry.

”Like every color, brown does have some positive attributes; it can read comforting and reliable,” she says. “But in an industry that is fast-paced and innovative it may give the impression you’re staid and passive.”

GRAY IS GOOD FOR ANY INDUSTRY
A great choice to wear on an interview for any industry is gray, says Davidson. “Gray sends a message of being rock solid, wise and reliable,” she says.

Since gray also reads a bit more understated, Davidson suggests adding a bolder accent color depending on the industry. For example, someone applying for a job at an advertising agency might add a red scarf, yellow shirt or purple tie to add a bit of personality and flair.

RED MIGHT BE A BIT TOO MUCH
Red comes across as bold and assertive, and Davidson advises against wearing it for an interview. In many industries it can come off too strong.

“Red can send less favorable messages about the candidate--that he or she is domineering, rebellious and obstinate, for example,” she says. “There is a fine line between assertive and aggressive, and red is a risky choice for an interview. That said the feisty quality of this color might be well-suited in sales or law.”

WANT TO APPEAR THAT YOU HAVE ATTENTION TO DETAIL? WEAR WHITE
In contrast to red, white is a reassuring color that can convey a feeling of new beginnings, impartiality, cleanliness and purity.

“It’s 'immaculate' quality can suggest an attention to detail and therefore makes it a good choice for an interview,” she says. While you probably don’t want to wear white suite, a crisp white shirt is appropriate for any industry.

PUT THE INTERVIEWER AT EASE WITH GREEN, SEND THE MESSAGE THAT YOU'RE UNIQUE WITH PURPLE OR YELLOW, BUT PLEASE DON'T WEAR ORANGE

Green is a color often associated with a sense of calm and wellbeing, as well as wealth and prosperity. Davidson says it’s a good choice for an accent color as it will not only put the interviewer at ease, it will send a message of possibility and growth.

For more creative environments, Davidson suggests wearing a color that pops such as purple or yellow: “Purple sends a message of being artistic and unique, while yellow signifies optimism and creativity,” she says.

Orange, however, topped the CareerBuilder list for the worst color, with 25% of employers saying it was the color most likely to be associated with someone who is unprofessional.

LIGHT AND DARK
No matter which color you choose, Davidson says you should also consider its tone. “All colors can be scaled from authoritative to approachable,” she says.

Dark colors are perceived as formal and authoritative, while light colors make the wearer appear more friendly and approachable. Bright colors convey confidence while muted colors are conservative and less threatening.

And contrasting colors can send a message, too: “The higher degree of contrast--wearing black and white, or navy and white, for example--the more powerful you will appear,” Davidson says. “The lower the degree of contrast, the more approachable and friendly you seem.”

By Stephanie Vozza

Link: Fast Company

How To Stop Putting Things Off And Make Yourself Get To Work

How To Stop Putting Things Off And Make Yourself Get To Work

No more excuses: Stop procrastinating and get to work with these tips

One of the biggest problems you need to solve if you work for yourself is how to make yourself do work.

The best entrepreneurs have figured it out and just pound out the work they need to do.

But many others put off their dream careers, or stay in jobs they like, because they’re afraid to figure this out. Being in a job, or staying in college, means that you have someone else imposing work and deadlines on you, and you’ll get fired (or dropped from school) if you don’t do the work. So you put off doing the work until you can’t anymore because of the fear of being fired.

What does this say about us? It’s saying that we can’t trust ourselves enough to figure out how to motivate ourselves. I know, because I was in this boat for many years. It wasn’t until I started to learn to solve this problem that I found the courage to work for myself.

It’s solvable. It’s not easy, but it’s doable. And you can do it just as much as I can--I’m no superman, trust me. I feel lazy, I procrastinate, I fear failure, just like anyone else. But I’ve learned a few things that work for me.

What works for you will be different, but here are some ideas I use that might help:

SHOW UP

If you need to write, the main thing you need to do is just to sit down in front of your text editor. If you start cleaning the house, or watch some videos, or read stuff online, to put off the moment when you have to start to write, then you’re never going to write. Instead, show up. The rest will come.

THINK ABOUT WHO YOU’RE HELPING

Sure, there’s a lot of fear involved in doing hard work. But when you look at the fear you’re only looking at the downside. What about the upside? By showing up and working, you’re going to help someone. I think about readers who might need what I have learned. But sometimes you’re just helping yourself, building a new career or business. And that’s okay--you’re a person deserving of that help, and that’s a worthy endeavor.

RUTHLESSLY CARVE OUT THE SPACE

You’re too busy? Bullshit. Make the time if it’s important. Stop watching TV, reading news, browsing things online, looking at social media, saying yes to other people’s requests, going to lunches, get out of being the head of those committees, whatever. Carve out the time. Put it on your calendar daily and make it happen. Make that time sacred, and don’t let anything interfere. You have to be incredibly ruthless to make this happen, but you can do it.

DO THE SMALLEST POSSIBLE STEP

Yes, I mean smallest possible. That doesn’t mean, “Write the first section of that report” … it means, “Go to your computer and open a document.” Or “Get up off the couch.” Or “Write one word.” Call that a success. Trust me, if you can take that first tiny step, the next step is a little easier. Get over the initial hurdle by making that hurdle as low as possible, and then keep clearing really easy hurdles until you’re an unstoppable force of nature.

LET YOURSELF FEEL THE FEAR

We tend to not want to be afraid, and so we think about anything else. We don’t admit the fear to ourselves until we have to. Well, it’s time--you have to. Admit that you’re afraid, and see that that’s okay. We’re all afraid. I certainly am, all the time. It’s perfectly okay to be afraid--let yourself feel it. Be open to the feeling of fear, be present with it, really experience it. See where it’s coming from. What scenarios have you imagined that cause you to be afraid? Are those scenarios real? What would you do if they happened? Could you survive? I bet you could.

COMMIT TO OTHERS

Social motivation is probably the most powerful motivation there is. If you’re having trouble, ask a friend for help. Ask for some accountability. Give yourself a consequence if you fail. Don’t fail. You can do this.

You can make yourself work even if you’re afraid.

You can ruthlessly make the time, take the smallest step, feel the fear and overcome it, find inspiration in the people you’re going to help. You can show up.

This article originally appeared in Zen Habits and is reprinted with permission.

By Leo Babauta

Source: Fast Company

5 Simple Ways To Bring Out The Best In Your People

5 Simple Ways To Bring Out The Best In Your People
It’s something all managers want to do, yet, as every manager knows, it’s easier said than done: bringing out the best in your people. How often as managers are we frustrated by chronic employee under-performance? Studies routinely show that an unacceptably high number up of employees – up to 70 percent – are disengaged, emotionally disconnected from their companies. Yet the most effective management is often the simplest and most basic. All five of these management tips have a common cost: nothing.

“Tone at the top” – Lead in a way that makes it easy for others to want to follow. Setting the right example by your own business behavior – your own evenhandedness and ethics – makes it easy for your employees to respect you. Nobody wants to follow somebody they don’t respect, yet they’re eager to follow those they do. It’s always surprised me how often management doesn’t play by the same rules they ask others to – when setting a fine example costs nothing and only breeds productivity.

Take a sincere interest in the course of their careers –Studies show that high-performing companies routinely motivate their people by emphasizing career development. Any manager can too, easily. It’s human nature and only makes sense. All employees at all organizational levels are keenly interested in the course of their own careers. Showing genuine interest in helping employees gain the skills they need to succeed is a solid way to build lasting loyalty.

Ambitious but not unrealistic expectations – Both in formal job objectives and informal day-today managerial expectations, you want to set targets that stretch your employees but are attainable. Let them know you have high (but not unreasonable) standards, and at all times expect excellence. Competence breeds confidence, and successfully achieving ambitious goals motivates them to do it again.

Provide honest insightful feedback on a regular basis – The key word here is “honest.” As in candid feedback traveling in two directions – positive and negative, up and down… feedback that neither ducks the hard stuff nor ignores the positive stuff. If employees aren’t receiving regular feedback, how will they know if they’re doing well or need to course-correct? How can they give their best if it’s not completely clear what their best looks like?

Get to know who your people are - If you want to bring out the best in your employees, you have to, at least to some extent, understand them. Gain a basic understanding of what interests them, what bothers them, what they care about, what motivates them. Is it money, respect, praise, a bigger office, or a chance to spend more time with the kids? There are a multitude of possibilities. The better you know your people, the better chance you’ll have to pull the right managerial levers.

I’ll be the first to admit nothing on this list is inordinately complex. But just because something is common sense doesn’t mean it’s commonly practiced. The best managers are insightful and employee-centric. They understand their employees, and know that bringing out the best in them – to ultimately drive positive business results – is the absolute best thing they can do as a manager.

By Victor Lipman

Source: Forbes

3 Things Failing Miserably Teaches You About Leadership

3 Things Failing Miserably Teaches You About Leadership

Skip the painful process of falling flat on your face, and learn these important lessons from one CEO who has stumbled badly.

You've no doubt been told countless times to stop fearing failure and accept it as a growing experience and precondition of innovation and accomplishment. It's a popular mantra, but in a world filled with corporate CYA and zealous reputation management, examples of it in practice are pretty light on the ground. But there is one standout example: meet James Altucher.

A serial entrepreneur who has started 20 companies (17 of which failed), Altucher has built a massive following by admitting in detail all the incredible ways he's screwed up. But reading Altucher's work isn't all about reveling in another's missteps. He's also a generous giver of advice on what all that failing has taught him.

Take, for example, a recent in-depth answer he wrote to the question, "What is the most important thing you have learned about leadership?" on question-and-answer site Quora. In his response he once again admits his shortcomings. "They fired me as CEO. Then they fired me as a board member," he writes. "The reason? I was a bad leader. Here are some things I didn't know about my own company: I didn't know what our product did. I didn't know any of the clients. I didn't know how much money we made. I didn't know how much we lost. And I had crushes on the secretaries and maybe two or ten other employees."

But he doesn't stop there. Altucher also goes on to share what his failure actually taught him about leadership, offering up 10 lessons he took away from these experiences. That's handy as a practical illustration that all those touting the educational value of failure might be on to something, but better yet, it offers entrepreneurs hard-won knowledge without actually having to walk Altucher's painful path. Here are a few examples:

1. Yes, and...

Saying no is easy. Far more difficult than shooting down ideas is encouraging creativity and drawing out better ones. In order to do this you need to take a page from improv comediansand learn to tame your knee-jerk, "No!" response to innovative suggestions. You need to get better at fielding ideas and improving them. You need to develop the habit of responding with "Yes, and..." Altucher lays out his bullet-pointed suggestions for a better way to give constructive criticism:

• "Yes, and"
• List what's good
• How you would improve
• Figure out the vision that is the base of the idea that you are talking about.
• Connect the "Why" of what you are suggesting to the initial vision. Does it work better than the initial idea?
• Be open to the fact that you might be wrong. ALWAYS ALWAYS you might be wrong.

2. Be the Storyteller-in-Chief

There are limits to how many people any individual human can build meaningful connections with (your 600 Facebook friends notwithstanding). Altucher calls this the 30/150 rule: below 30 people you're a tribe; from 30 to 150 you can know of everyone by reputation at least; after 150 forget about personal connections entirely. So what ties together organizations as they grow past this 150-person barrier? Stories.

"We united with each other by telling stories," Altucher writes. "If two people believe in the same story they might be thousands of miles apart and total strangers but they still have a sense they can trust each other." Leaders need to leverage this truth by telling visionary stories such as "we are delivering the best service because... We are helping people in unique ways because... A good story, like any story ever told, starts with a problem, goes through the painful process of solving the problem, and has a solution that is better than anything ever seen before."

When you're past the point of listening to and taking care of every employee individually,telling these sorts of unifying stories is essential for a leader. "Companies live and die on this," Altucher insists.

3. Lead Yourself

Altucher isn't the only leadership expert who makes the incredibly essential but all-too-frequently overlooked point: You're unfit to lead others until you're pretty good at leading yourself. So before you develop lofty aspirations of guiding others, make sure you've done the necessary work on yourself.

"Before I can lead anyone I have to lead myself. I have to read. I have to try and improve one percent a week. I have a handful of interests and I have a lot of experience. I have to get better at the things I'm interested in. I have to understand more deeply the painful experiences I've had, I have to every day practice the health: physical emotional mental spiritual, that I suggest to everyone else," he writes.

What leadership lessons have you taken away from your failures?

Source: Inc.

By Jessica Stillman

8 Entrepreneurial Qualities That Contribute To Success

8 Entrepreneurial Qualities That Contribute To Success There are entrepreneurs who are extremely successful and everything they touch seems to turn to gold, and there are some that do not see as much success. What are the deciding factors that separate those that crank home run after home run and those that struggle at the plate? While the majority of entrepreneurs have no problem working hard, not all work smart and possess the following entrepreneurial qualities responsible for driving success. 1. Not being afraid of delegating tasks. As entrepreneurs, we tend to always have a full plate and feel that we can take on any task. In reality, if we keep adding to the already-full plate it is eventually going to collapse and create a mess. Don't be afraid to delegate tasks to an experienced member of your company that has the ability to get tasks completed. 2. Managing time effectively. Proper time management is necessary to distinguish between extremely urgent tasks and those that can wait. Use a notebook or whiteboard to prioritize your tasks by writing them down. Mobile devices and tablets have calendars and notepads, but nothing is more effective than actually writing down your "to-do" list. Focus on one task at a time and don't let new "to-do's" disrupt your focus. Knock them out one at a time. 3. Visualizing goals and success. You need to see your goals and success in your mind first if you plan on making them a reality. Not only do you need to visualize the end result, but you also need to visualize every step that it is going to take to get there. Napoleon Hill said it best: "What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve." 4. Listening and communicating well. If you aren't a good listener and communicator it will result in miscommunications and wasted time, not to mention added work to correct the miscommunications. Time is one thing that all entrepreneurs would like more of. How often have you wished there was more hours in a day? Avoid wasting priceless time repeating and redoing tasks due to poor communication. 5. Understanding your time is valuable. While it would be great to be able to give everyone the time that they wanted, it would leave you with little to no time to accomplish the things that you need to get done. If a sales representative has a question, they should address it with the sales manager. If a customer has a question they should be speaking with your customer-care representative. While people might demand your time, it doesn't mean that you have to grant them the time. Your time is valuable, so don't waste it on disruptions that should be handled by other members of your organization. 6. Seeking help when you need it. We often let our stubbornness prevent us from asking for help. Have you ever been stumped and someone comes along with the answer and you think, "Why in the world didn't I think of that?" Often times a clear mind and different viewpoint can quickly solve a problem or provide an answer to a question. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it, as it can also help to strengthen the communication within your organization. 7. Getting out of the office. As an entrepreneur, you have probably spent several 18-hour days behind your computer or worked through the night late at your office until the sun came back up. It is important to break your day up, for both your physical and mental health. Take a few breaks throughout the day and walk around the office or take a walk outside to clear your head and give your eyes a break from the computer. Leave your office for lunch, even if you bring it — go eat outside and get some fresh air. Want to jumpstart your day and have healthy energy throughout the day? Go to the gym bright and early before you hit the office every morning and get a good workout in. You will have a clear mind, abundant energy and improved mental focus. 8. Giving back. It is important to understand how lucky we are, as entrepreneurs, to do what we love. When you are appreciative of what you have accomplished and then take a step back to see what you can do to give back, it gives you a feeling like no other. My company helps several 501(c)(3) organizations with their nonprofit marketing each year. Helping several nonprofits that support causes I believe in is a great feeling. "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want," said Zig Ziglar. Nobody said being an entrepreneur is an easy thing to do, and while these qualities will not translate into automatic success, they sure can help. By Jonathan Long Source: Inc.

All Entrepreneurs Need to Tell These 6 Stories

Think you've got your pitch down cold? Good for you, but your work isn't over.

All Entrepreneurs Need to Tell These 6 Stories

You may have one story down, but you've got five more to go, says Eileen Gittins, the CEO of Blurb. Gittins was speaking at the Dell Women Entrepreneurship Conference in Austin on Monday.

Gittins' company started out as a way for people to make well-designed photo books in somewhat less than an eon. Since then, Blurb has grown into a popular platform for e-books, publishing about 7,000 titles a day and reeling in about $100 million in revenues a year.

As Blurb grew, Gittins learned how important it was for her customers to believe there were real live people behind it, and to trust in them. Blurb has no retail stores and no salespeople--it was all about the computer screen. Gittins found that storytelling was key to developing her brand and her culture, and came to believe that all entrepreneurs have to be able to tell these six stories.

1. The pitch.

The first story, says Gittins, is the pitch, which she calls "the story to get you started." You tell what you are doing, what you have on offer, and why the person listening should care about you. Gittins must have a good one--she's raised $80 million in venture funding, and, as she puts it, "kissed so many VC frogs I don't even remember their names."

2. The story about your company.

This tells what you do, why you do it, and what distinguishes you in the marketplace.

3. A personal story.

"A personal story can advance your business more than you can imagine," Gittins said. Her company has an all-hands meeting every month: "I get the engineers to show up at 8:30, which is an act of god," she said.

At those meetings, each department nominates someone to tell a story of something that happened recently in the business. It can be of success, failure, or something in between. The stories help build trust between colleagues. And, Gittins says, and at some point, "People don’t want to hear from you. What they really want to do is hear from the guy who runs customer support or the CEO's assistant. Those tend to be the personal stories."

4. The catalyst story.

This is the most important one, said Gittins. The form is predictable: There's a hero, there are obstacles, the hero overcomes the obstacles, and all is sweetness and light. But the use of this story is anything but: "One of the great things about the catalyst story is it's a great way to help your people understand some of the change you want to surface at your company," Gittins said.

"We started in the world of personal publishing, where you make a photobook for your mom or the people you know. Now we're doing self-publishing, and if people aren't authors they don't understand it."

The catalyst story, she says, needs to be specific as to date and time. And by the time it's over, it should be obvious to everyone in the audience what would have happened without the catalyst.

5. The branding story.

At a small company, this story may rely heavily on the founder’s own story.

6. 'The vision thing.'

"This is the biggest possible vision of where your company can go," says Gittins. And it often starts out a bit like a children’s story: "Once upon a time…" or "Imagine a world where…"

One of her favorite variations on "the vision thing" is to imagine the characteristics of the hypothetical company that would put her out of business tomorrow. Once you've done that, she says, "you've just defined the vision for what you need to do to pre-empt that from happening."

By Kimberly Weisul

Source Inc.