jaywalking

The word "storytelling" often evokes images of fairy tales or ghost stories told around a campfire (with a flashlight held under the chin for dramatic effect, of course). But telling a story can also be applied in the workplace and can be an effective tool for employee communications. Whether it is sharing company values, navigating changes, or celebrating successes, storytelling plays a vital role in shaping organizational culture. That about sums it up... At its core storytelling is crafting a narrative that is both compelling and relatable. It is about building rapport and empathy with the audience using stories and narratives to which they can relate. When done effectively it can engage, inspire, and motivate people to do their best work. Having an engaged and inspired workforce is the goal of any communications professional, so why not weave a story into the usual message flow? On a personal note, I always responded more favorably to workplace communications where I felt...

Over the course of my career in foreign exchange I was witness to many market upheavals, including the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the adoption of the Euro in 1999, and Brexit in 2016. I suppose I could have thrown "Y2K" in there, but we all know how that turned out. One event I did not mention, but that really stands out for me is the Swiss National Bank (SNB) removing the Swiss franc (CHF) peg against the Euro (EUR) in 2015. Whereas the other crises I mentioned unfolded over the course of months or even years (Brexit even had a scheduled vote), the SNB acted abruptly and without warning. This is what we call in the markets a  Black Swan event -  completely unexpected and catastrophic.   Deceptively Beautiful Just minutes after the announcement, the EUR/CHF rate plunged 20%, and the trading desk where I worked was in chaos. As the events unfolded, we went into crisis communications mode. We first had to make sure we were getting accurate information, as there wa...