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ONE Why Bother with Storytelling? The Payoff Is Executive Presence Is storytelling really that important? Communication is a necessary component of the job description for vir- tually any business leader. It’s not enough to simply do the work. You have to be able to explain yourself fluently in clear, crisp language. You need to deliver forceful, colorful, compelling messages, translated into narratives, with human actors, sensory details, and drama. As I always tell my ­ children, now 21 and 26, presentation skills are not just for the podium. “One day,” I’ll say, “your boss or a colleague will suddenly appear at your office door and ask, ‘So how’s that project going?’ If you can describe your work succinctly and, you hope, with nuanced logic, you’ll make a good impression. If not . . .” As this is a book about storytelling, let’s begin with a story. A cabinet official at the Lincoln White House was startled to see the commander in chief engaged in a rather mundane task: “Mr. President,” he asked, “are you shining your own shoes?” Without taking a beat, Lincoln replied, “Whose shoes would I shine?”1 This anecdote reveals that our 16th presi- dent was at once unpretentious, humble, and quick witted. Those traits point toward executive presence—an elusive quality that is easy to recog- nize but hard to describe. One useful definition is the “ability to connect authentically with the thoughts and feelings of others . . . to motivate and inspire them toward a desired outcome.”2 To achieve this, you must first ask yourself a very tough question that will stun a room into silence: “Why would anyone want to be led by you?”3 Would your colleagues use any of these words to describe you: inspiring, motivating, commanding, credible, confident, or compelling? If you’re the boss, you are on stage all the time.