There was only one choice.

We take for granted that we have choice.
Strike that...choices!

In support of our soft skills development resource, The Box, we challenged ourselves to just pick one of the boxes that informs the others. The one that if you could only have one, would be the one that best includes the others.

That would be story. The power of story is best captured in the imaginative face of a child while listening to a story. Fully present. Actively engaged. Thoughtful. Demonstrating grace & courtesy even though they want to explode with curious questions, "what?", "wait, but...", "show me the picture!" And on and on and on...to the recursive moment, "Please...again, Please!"

So it is with adults too, if we let it. Stories engage and  challenge us. They require us to pay attention if we want answers. My example of the power of a story is passing my exit, by miles, due to being immersed in the story I'm listening to as I drive. Then being so satisfied with the experience, I'm not mad!

The skills employers seek are not the hard skills. They are predictable and quantifiable. Performance is expected within a degree and if not then we can find another. The wild card - the intangible that leverages the ordinary to unforeseen heights - is the soft skill set. That part of the employee's story that cannot be judged by its cover. The one that continues to change as called upon and presented with the opportunity to improve, reinvent and imagine. The never-ending story!

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