My book Louder Than Words begins with the line “attention for your work is not a birthright.” I believe this to the core of my being. Some people think that simply making something great entitles them to the attention of people around them, but it’s simply not true. If you want their attention, you must earn it.

This is equally true in leadership, sales, or any other arena where you must cultivate awareness and attention for your ideas in order to succeed. The best way to capture attention is through the power of story. Story binds us. It reminds us of what we have in common. It builds empathy and trust. And, it allows you to leverage common ground to inspire people to move toward your vision.

Think about the last time you were inspired by someone. I guarantee it was because they were sharing a story that resonated to the core of your being. We are defined by the stories we believe.

On this episode, we talk about the power of story, and how leaders can use it to help those on their team do better work, stay aligned, and produce great work each day. Our guest is author Paul Smith, whose new book is called The 10 Stories Great Leaders Tell.

This episode is sponsored by Skillshare. Get two months of access to over 25,000 classes absolutely free! To sign up, go to Skillshare.com/AC.

The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.