A Car Ride Home

Storytelling is an often-overlooked tool that invites and engages one to become a participant within an unfolding experience. The stories presented for the graduate course, DYNM 673: Stories in Organizations: Tools for Executive Development were written to show how to use narrative as a vehicle to explore the meaning of an incident and to appreciate divergent points of view. The paper was also written to demonstrate the efficacy of storytelling as a medium for deeper learning and understanding. Because they concern conflict based on differing perceptions, both are organizational challenges that managers face daily. Effective management requires reflection on how competing opinions influence interpretation of a problem and how conflict affects decision making and problem solving. Suggestions for enabling effective reflection are offered through a review of literature, organizational examples, and the use of the opening narrative.