Reflection - Storytelling 

 Challenge 

 My challenge is to make my company ’s service of acoustics consultancy chargeable at rates   30 % to 40 % higher than the market rate in Singapore . Currently , my company is grouped   similarly to other acoustics consultancy firms who charge much lower prices than us . The   incumbents have been in the market for > 20 years . They are able to charge lower because of   the following reasons : 

 ● Their cost basis is lower 

 ● The customer does not know how to judge acoustic consultancy service levels . 

 ● There is limited regulation to maintain good acoustics within buildings so the number of   jobs is limited causing high price competition . 

 ● Since there is limited regulation , acoustics consultancy is often seen as a minor service   in the building industry . It is analogous to a cleaning service with the caveat that no one   wants to pay for it since it is not a “ requirement ” . 

 ● It is often the first thing cut from construction budgets due to its perceived minor   importance . 

 Selection 

 Tool Selected : Storytelling     Why did I choose storytelling ? Simple . Because a good story lasts a long time , if not forever .   The story is also immeasurable in its value and is easily passed from individual to individual . It   utilizes the medium of language which is becoming increasingly important due to our reliance on   search engines such as Google , which are language based .     One other reason why I selected it is because I believe I have a weakness in telling stories . It is   an avenue of growth for myself . In my view , I am not always able to tell a story from the point of   view of my audience . Empathy is difficult for me , sometimes .     I would also like to explore the balance in a story - how much of it is told in things that the   audience understands / knows and how much of it is a magical surprise . I believe stories that are   good always surprise you . They have an “ aha ” moment that deliver insight . They should also   make you reflect deeply about your view of the world . Choosing storytelling allows me to hone   my skills . 

 Another reason why I chose storytelling is because I believe in the power of good questions .   Good questions can move people to change the world . Our organization is driven by   collaboration and having the right conversations with our customers is very important .   Storytelling with its ability to spark questions and conversation is key to this .     The stories created by the storytelling tool will also be very useful for our people , not just our   leaders . Our people at all levels will be able to carry our stories with them . They will be able to   recount them to not just our customers , but to their friends , family , neighbours and even   strangers . 

 Application 

 The tool of storytelling was used to get people within our organization to understand why we   lose deals due to client budgets and how we can deal with our competitors . 

 I prepared for the usage of the tool by calling an all - hands meeting with everyone in our   organization . I started the story by framing the challenge using an analogy describing our   current work as “ a cleaning service that no one wants ” . Using this tension , I guided people on a   path and discussion . Eventually , we pivoted from our old story of being an “ Acoustic consultant   that creates the best sounding spaces ” to a “ Design collective that collaboratively creates artistic   sound projects that wow ” . I felt that the former was written in the words of a “ problem fixer ” . The   latter was written in words that our customers care about .     Through this reframing , we realized that our customers are interested in spending money but   they were not interested in paying the old story of “ Creating the best sounding spaces ” . They   were interested in paying things that were unique and sparked their imagination . 

 Our whole team has been galvanized by our new story . Increasingly , the team is collaborating to   create mini - experiments and prototyping novel new solutions . We have started taking a wider   view of what we do and even began working on product design for sound . There is excitement   building within the team . 

 Our marketing department is also excited by the idea of collaboration for sound projects and is   increasingly working this into their digital campaigns . They are crafting stories with customer   lingo in their tweets and shares .     In terms of non - successes , on another occasion , I had a slight hiccup selling parts of the Design   Thinking methodology to our team . I proposed the tool of “ Learning Launch ” as a tool to guide   one of launch our events but this was summarily ignored by everyone involved . I believe this   was due to a couple of reasons : 

 - People do n’t get why we want to do a “ Learning Launch ” 

 - The method used was not strong . I posted the Coursera lecture video for the Learning   Launch tool on our organization ’s chat channel on a weekend . 

 - I did not proposed a clear path from beginning to end . 

 - People had other ideas about what is important for the event . 

 Insight 

 The insight that I gained from the tool is that you are only as good as your story . The story   should also be broadcasted loud and clear in all mediums . You should also be able to back up   the story you are telling .     The other insight I gained is about how to tell a good story . A story requires both internal and   external stakeholder buy in . It should be backed by real data and real things . It should have a   clear path and not leave questions hanging .     In terms of the insight about Storytelling & Design Thinking , I believe storytelling will remain the   easiest starting point for me to get people involved in a design thinking exercise . This is   because storytelling is not technical and people have been doing it for thousands of years . It is   the perfect jumping off point to a more methodical collaboration method . 

 Approach 

 If I was to apply the storytelling tool again , I would start first by discovering more about my   stakeholders . I would try to understand better by collecting some data / stories from them . This   would inform my stories and the language I would use to move them . I would also be thoughtful   about my delivery and tell a better story that is clearly mapped out with a clear path from   beginning to end . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection - Storytelling 

 Challenge 

 My challenge is to make my company ’s service of acoustics consultancy chargeable at rates   30 % to 40 % higher than the market rate in Singapore . Currently , my company is grouped   similarly to other acoustics consultancy firms who charge much lower prices than us . The   incumbents have been in the market for > 20 years . They are able to charge lower because of   the following reasons : 

 ● Their cost basis is lower 

 ● The customer does not know how to judge acoustic consultancy service levels . 

 ● There is limited regulation to maintain good acoustics within buildings so the number of   jobs is limited causing high price competition . 

 ● Since there is limited regulation , acoustics consultancy is often seen as a minor service   in the building industry . It is analogous to a cleaning service with the caveat that no one   wants to pay for it since it is not a “ requirement ” . 

 ● It is often the first thing cut from construction budgets due to its perceived minor   importance . 

 Selection 

 Tool Selected : Storytelling     Why did I choose storytelling ? Simple . Because a good story lasts a long time , if not forever .   The story is also immeasurable in its value and is easily passed from individual to individual . It   utilizes the medium of language which is becoming increasingly important due to our reliance on   search engines such as Google , which are language based .     One other reason why I selected it is because I believe I have a weakness in telling stories . It is   an avenue of growth for myself . In my view , I am not always able to tell a story from the point of   view of my audience . Empathy is difficult for me , sometimes .     I would also like to explore the balance in a story - how much of it is told in things that the   audience understands / knows and how much of it is a magical surprise . I believe stories that are   good always surprise you . They have an “ aha ” moment that deliver insight . They should also   make you reflect deeply about your view of the world . Choosing storytelling allows me to hone   my skills . 

 Another reason why I chose storytelling is because I believe in the power of good questions .   Good questions can move people to change the world . Our organization is driven by   collaboration and having the right conversations with our customers is very important .   Storytelling with its ability to spark questions and conversation is key to this .     The stories created by the storytelling tool will also be very useful for our people , not just our   leaders . Our people at all levels will be able to carry our stories with them . They will be able to   recount them to not just our customers , but to their friends , family , neighbours and even   strangers . 

 Application 

 The tool of storytelling was used to get people within our organization to understand why we   lose deals due to client budgets and how we can deal with our competitors . 

 I prepared for the usage of the tool by calling an all - hands meeting with everyone in our   organization . I started the story by framing the challenge using an analogy describing our   current work as “ a cleaning service that no one wants ” . Using this tension , I guided people on a   path and discussion . Eventually , we pivoted from our old story of being an “ Acoustic consultant   that creates the best sounding spaces ” to a “ Design collective that collaboratively creates artistic   sound projects that wow ” . I felt that the former was written in the words of a “ problem fixer ” . The   latter was written in words that our customers care about .     Through this reframing , we realized that our customers are interested in spending money but   they were not interested in paying the old story of “ Creating the best sounding spaces ” . They   were interested in paying things that were unique and sparked their imagination . 

 Our whole team has been galvanized by our new story . Increasingly , the team is collaborating to   create mini - experiments and prototyping novel new solutions . We have started taking a wider   view of what we do and even began working on product design for sound . There is excitement   building within the team . 

 Our marketing department is also excited by the idea of collaboration for sound projects and is   increasingly working this into their digital campaigns . They are crafting stories with customer   lingo in their tweets and shares .     In terms of non - successes , on another occasion , I had a slight hiccup selling parts of the Design   Thinking methodology to our team . I proposed the tool of “ Learning Launch ” as a tool to guide   one of launch our events but this was summarily ignored by everyone involved . I believe this   was due to a couple of reasons : 

 - People do n’t get why we want to do a “ Learning Launch ” 

 - The method used was not strong . I posted the Coursera lecture video for the Learning   Launch tool on our organization ’s chat channel on a weekend . 

 - I did not proposed a clear path from beginning to end . 

 - People had other ideas about what is important for the event . 

 Insight 

 The insight that I gained from the tool is that you are only as good as your story . The story   should also be broadcasted loud and clear in all mediums . You should also be able to back up   the story you are telling .     The other insight I gained is about how to tell a good story . A story requires both internal and   external stakeholder buy in . It should be backed by real data and real things . It should have a   clear path and not leave questions hanging .     In terms of the insight about Storytelling & Design Thinking , I believe storytelling will remain the   easiest starting point for me to get people involved in a design thinking exercise . This is   because storytelling is not technical and people have been doing it for thousands of years . It is   the perfect jumping off point to a more methodical collaboration method . 

 Approach 

 If I was to apply the storytelling tool again , I would start first by discovering more about my   stakeholders . I would try to understand better by collecting some data / stories from them . This   would inform my stories and the language I would use to move them . I would also be thoughtful   about my delivery and tell a better story that is clearly mapped out with a clear path from   beginning to end .
### Output: 