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By Dean Summers
 Someone
asked a computer, “Will computers ever learn to think
like humans?” The computer answered, “That reminds
me of a story!”
An Excel spreadsheet is a wonderful tool, but it’s
not a story. Certainly there is a story there, buried beneath
the facts and figures, but to bring the story to life, you
need the plot, the characters, and the setting. You need to
tell the story.
A friend of mine is a musician. He can look at the notes
on a page and hear the music. I wonder if an accountant can
do that with a spreadsheet. Maybe so, but the rest of us still
need stories. That’s why, in the Dependable Strengths
Articulation Process, the emphasis is on stories—the
stories we call Good Experiences.
In a Dependable Strengths Workshop, we do learn to write
a report, but as it turns out, a Dependable Strengths Report
is really just the table of contents for a batch of stories.
In the Dependable Strengths Articulation Process, articulation
means storytelling.
As the editor for DSNews,
I’m always on the lookout for stories. People like to
send me reports. Reports are useful, but stories are delightful!
When I ask for a story, the response is often hesitation.
“I’m not a writer,” someone will say. But
that doesn’t matter. If you’ve been through the
Dependable Strengths Articulation Process, you’ve discovered
that you are a storyteller!
In the Quad Experience, three people (not one, not two, but
three people!) confirmed
your talent as a storyteller. In the Job Magnet Process, you
polished your storytelling skills, and now you are an accomplished
storyteller!
As an accomplished storyteller, with stories to tell, you
will be looking for opportunities to tell your stories. On
behalf of the readers of DSNews,
let me make the offer I know you can’t refuse: “Tell
us a story!”
Tell us about a Good Experience with the Dependable Strengths
Articulation Process. Send your story to ds@highline.edu.
Dean Summers is a DSAP facilitator and
a CDS Project Manager at the Center for Learning Connections,
Highline Community College, Des Moines, Washington. CLC provides
administrative support for the Center for Dependable Strengths.
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