Story’s Sell, Facts Tell.

𝘉𝘺 𝘙𝘢𝘮𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘶, 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘩𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘥 𝘎𝘪𝘵𝘢

Every time I walk into a new organization, I don’t begin with charts or strategies. I begin with listening.

Why? Because behind every role, every goal, every great team—there’s a deeper story. And in those stories lies something powerful: the spark of joy that often gets buried beneath routine.

At 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗶𝗻, we help people discover the joy, strength, and purpose that already exists within them.

Sometime back when I visited the India Insure office in Hyderabad, I saw a vibrant, energetic, enthusiastic group of executives. Technically sound. Delivery-focused. Sincere. As their HR head Sunil put it, “𝘙𝘢𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺’𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.”

We started our journey with India Insure about 20 years back and ever since I have witnessed the growth of the organization. Their service qualities ensure that their clients are delighted.

When we started our “𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗶𝗻 – 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗻” Program with them last year we began by asking them a simple question:

“What’s one moment that has made you happy to be part of this team?”

At first—silence. Some chuckles. A few unsure glances. And then, slowly, a story emerged. One team member shared how everyone stayed back one night to solve a client issue—not because they had to, but because they cared. Another spoke about being comforted by a teammate during a tough personal time.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱.

Laughter followed. Heads nodded. Smiles widened. Stories created space for the team to bond with each other.

That very afternoon, the team decided to start “𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲” in every team meeting.

Someone shares a work moment that made them feel alive. No rules. No slides. Just authentic human connection.

And what changed?

• People began being there for each other.

• Conversations deepened.

• “I Can’t” turned into “I Can”.

One young customer service executive told me, “𝘚𝘪𝘳, 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.”

That’s what joy does. It reminds us we matter.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗱 𝗚𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀:

“Shraddhavan labhate jnanam” — One with sincerity and faith finds wisdom.

And storytelling nurtures that sincerity. When people are seen and heard, they bring their whole selves to work.

At Born to Win, we believe that leadership is not about fixing people—it’s about awakening what’s already within.

That’s why joy doesn’t have to be loud. It doesn’t need applause. It simply needs space to breathe.

𝗔 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

This month, invite your team to share one meaningful work story.

Ask: “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵?”

Then just listen. With presence. With warmth.

Because in that listening, cultures are shaped. And from that space, performance—and joy—grows.

If you’d like to explore how storytelling can help your team discover its true potential, write to me at ramseshu@borntowin.co.in. I’d love to hear your story too.

Let’s keep discovering the joy that already lives within our people. Together.