Why Should the Boss Listen to You?: The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor

8.5. War Stories

Over the course of nearly thirty years of working in devastating civil, criminal, corporate, and government situations, I've amassed a rather amazing collection of scenarios. I call them war stories, and they occupy a significant portion of the file space in my office. Throughout most of my career, as urgent matters have arisen, I have established files for them. Mostly they contain newspaper clippings and magazine writings about these matters. Should these situations arise again in my practice, I can instantly review topical information and immediately begin to apply the lessons of patterns and forecastable circumstances to the questions my clients ask. I also create files for scenarios I believe my clients will be asking about ...