It’s circa 2010 and I’m running the software company I co-founded with my husband Mark. One of our clients is among the largest advertising agencies in the world and they’re preparing a big pitch for Nike. The stakes couldn’t be higher for them to win this business.

Since our software creates communities and includes a customized matching engine, the Chief Strategy Officer uses it to search for all worldwide employees of his agency who have a passion for photography and clubbing. He finds them instantly within a couple of clicks and gives them a challenge:

“Tonight, go to the clubs in your area and take pictures of all the trainers you see.” He wants them to photograph people’s sneakers at the clubs in Berlin, Tokyo, Budapest…  wherever they may be.

By Monday, they’re able to use those photos to show Nike that they’re able to activate a global community to come together in this way… and also that they have a pulse on what’s happening in youth culture around the world. This way, they can influence what happens next in Nike’s story.

Speaking of activating global communities, my guest today, Tyler Skinner, has also spent a good part of her career focusing on bringing women together to create something for the greater good. And in this episode of the Storytelling School Podcast, you’ll learn how making connections (whether it’s two or three people or more) can be life-changing for a person or a business and get answers to questions such as:

How do you take a dire situation and use it to influence or change the stories of others (or create a new one for yourself)? Why is vulnerability as a storyteller not always about sharing sad things? And what can happen when you put your story out there for the first time?

• How ripples can turn into waves that expand the stories of multiple people
• How to shake yourself out of a story you no longer want to experience
• How naming your year can have a significant impact on you and your story

Tyler is the CVO and Founder of Connected Communities and Women Making Waves and also serves as President for the Central Coast Chapter of NAWBO (National Organization for Women Business Owners). As a multi-passionate entrepreneur, she has reinvented herself again and again to create and cultivate connections and community collaborations that enhance social & cultural shifts by bringing people together to believe in something bigger than themselves and to see the magic in motivating others. 

During the 2020 pandemic, she launched the platform Women Making Waves as a leadership development program of dedicated women committed to co-creating a future where they can personally & professionally emerge to lead in a new way. Tyler is building a revolution of women through curated workshops, events, and adventures to allow women to see, do, and be more because women deserve to be supported and seen.