To succeed in business -- and every other realm of modern life -- you need to master storytelling.
In practically every profession these days -- business and the law, journalism, government and public policy -- professionals need to analyze and explain complex problems.
Ultimately, all analysis is just storytelling at a higher level of abstraction. Stories offer accounts of “one time only” events—particular people doing particular things at particular times, with particular outcomes. Analysis shows recurring patterns of events by looking at large samples of people and things.
While stories focus on the actions of characters, analysis looks at variables. Models offer a shorthand for analyzing problems in all fields. Most models simplify problems into three variables. You can use these models in both natural and human inquiry.
In this concise how-to guide, Charles Euchner explains how to:
• Analyze complex issues with stories and characters
• Give your narrative analyses suspense
• Let ideas unfold, one by one
• Use beats to make arguments
• Work With "Super Models"
To see how to put these skills into action, this guide offers case studies of Norman Doidge’s "The Brain That Changes Itself," Barry Bluestone’s “The Inequality Express,” some of the leading works of social science, the "social contract" theorists, and a number of journalistic works.
Each chapter also offers exercises you can do to apply the skills, right away.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Euchner — a case writer at the Yale School of Management and the author or editor of a dozen books — is the creator and principal of The Writing Code.
In the past three years, Euchner has published a series of books on writing and civil rights. His books on writing — including The Writing Code Series (a 14-part series of ebooks that includes this work), "The One-Minute Writer," and "Write the Book" — offer a complete system for all genres. Now available only on Amazon, these and other works will be available on all book platforms and in pulp form by fall.
Euchner is also the author or editor of ten books. His latest book "Nobody Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington" (Beacon Press, 2010), has been praised as a dramatic reinterpretation of the civil rights movement. Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, called it “dynamic ... sharp, riveting.” Juan Williams, author of Eyes on the Prize, called it “compelling and dramatic.”
Euchner’s other books include a trilogy on the state of sports in modern America ("Playing the Field," "The Last Nine Innings," and "Little League, Big Dreams"), grassroots politics ("Urban Policy Reconsidered" and "Extraordinary Politics"), presidential politics ("Selecting the President" and "The President and the Public"), and regional politics (the two-part "Governing Greater Boston" project).
In practically every profession these days -- business and the law, journalism, government and public policy -- professionals need to analyze and explain complex problems.
Ultimately, all analysis is just storytelling at a higher level of abstraction. Stories offer accounts of “one time only” events—particular people doing particular things at particular times, with particular outcomes. Analysis shows recurring patterns of events by looking at large samples of people and things.
While stories focus on the actions of characters, analysis looks at variables. Models offer a shorthand for analyzing problems in all fields. Most models simplify problems into three variables. You can use these models in both natural and human inquiry.
In this concise how-to guide, Charles Euchner explains how to:
• Analyze complex issues with stories and characters
• Give your narrative analyses suspense
• Let ideas unfold, one by one
• Use beats to make arguments
• Work With "Super Models"
To see how to put these skills into action, this guide offers case studies of Norman Doidge’s "The Brain That Changes Itself," Barry Bluestone’s “The Inequality Express,” some of the leading works of social science, the "social contract" theorists, and a number of journalistic works.
Each chapter also offers exercises you can do to apply the skills, right away.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Euchner — a case writer at the Yale School of Management and the author or editor of a dozen books — is the creator and principal of The Writing Code.
In the past three years, Euchner has published a series of books on writing and civil rights. His books on writing — including The Writing Code Series (a 14-part series of ebooks that includes this work), "The One-Minute Writer," and "Write the Book" — offer a complete system for all genres. Now available only on Amazon, these and other works will be available on all book platforms and in pulp form by fall.
Euchner is also the author or editor of ten books. His latest book "Nobody Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington" (Beacon Press, 2010), has been praised as a dramatic reinterpretation of the civil rights movement. Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, called it “dynamic ... sharp, riveting.” Juan Williams, author of Eyes on the Prize, called it “compelling and dramatic.”
Euchner’s other books include a trilogy on the state of sports in modern America ("Playing the Field," "The Last Nine Innings," and "Little League, Big Dreams"), grassroots politics ("Urban Policy Reconsidered" and "Extraordinary Politics"), presidential politics ("Selecting the President" and "The President and the Public"), and regional politics (the two-part "Governing Greater Boston" project).
