Storytelling Secrets for Engaging Business Leadership
Episode 1 · 19 August 2025 · 58 minutes
How do you make a complex idea matter to the people you need to reach? Dr. Tarek Omran joins Ondrej Papanek to explore storytelling for business leadership: communicating a vision, connecting with an audience, and using AI without losing your own voice.
For leaders, founders, and technical experts who want to explain their ideas clearly and inspire people to act.
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts
What you'll take away
Start with your audience. Ask “What's in it for me?” from their perspective before explaining your idea or presenting product features.
Make the value tangible. Use language and examples people can connect to, whether that means safety, peace of mind, or a better experience.
Use AI as an assistant. Let it help with research, feedback, and routine work while keeping your own thinking and voice at the centre.
Give your story a clear shape. Tarek describes five elements: a protagonist, a journey, tension, a learning outcome, and visualisation.
Practise in small steps. Try one new speaking technique, seek human feedback, and treat imperfect attempts as part of learning.
Connect the story to action. A shared narrative can help teams understand what they are working towards and why it matters.
Topics and timestamps
These times refer to the supplied transcript and may differ from the edited audio on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
01:34 From dentistry and research to Science Pitchers
05:20 Turning your internal story into a shared narrative
09:22 What an AI workshop taught Tarek about original thinking
15:51 Communicating a vision through storytelling
24:21 Three principles for connecting with your audience
31:01 Five elements of a memorable story
41:48 Moving beyond your comfort zone in small steps
48:04 Where to practise and find human feedback
51:59 Netflix and the power of a shared company narrative
57:05 Leaving things a little better than you found them
Meet Dr. Tarek Omran
Dr. Tarek Omran is a scientist, storytelling coach, and co-founder of Science Pitchers. He helps scientists and innovators communicate complex ideas through human stories that connect with audiences and inspire action. In this conversation, he shares lessons from research, training workshops, and his own journey from dentistry to storytelling.
Host Ondrej Papanek is a business transformation and leadership coach who helps leaders and teams communicate clearly, collaborate, and turn change into practical results.
Guest links and resources
Connect with Tarek Omran on LinkedIn
Resources mentioned in the conversation
Juhana Torkki: books and author profile
Toastmasters: find a speaking club
Also discussed: Steve Jobs' “bicycle for the mind” analogy and examples involving Apple, Disney, and Netflix. The company stories are presented as the speakers' anecdotes and perspectives.
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Full episode transcript
Edited for readability from the supplied transcript. Filler words, repeated starts, and grammatical errors have been tidied while preserving the conversation's meaning. Some brief acknowledgements have been omitted. Timestamps refer to the supplied transcript, not verified playback positions.
Ondrej Papanek · 00:01
Hello, my name is Ondrej. You're listening to Business Transformation Journey. I'm a business transformation coach, helping business leaders and executives drive innovation and better collaboration. Today we have a special guest, Dr. Tarek Omran. He's a bridge between brilliant ideas and the rest of the world.
A PhD scientist and co-founder of Science Pitchers, he found his calling not just in the lab, but in helping others share their life's work. He specialises in finding the human story within complex science, creating narratives that inspire action and support. Since 2018, his approach has empowered over 1,750 innovators to raise over €800,000.
This passion for connection extends to his advocacy with Help Yourself, a mental health platform that has touched the lives of over 700,000 people. Tarek believes that when people feel empowered to tell their story, they can truly change the world. Welcome, Tarek.
Tarek Omran · 01:25
Thank you so much, Ondrej, for having me, and thank you for the lovely introduction.
Ondrej Papanek · 01:29
It's my pleasure to have you here. Tell me more about yourself.
Tarek Omran · 01:34
That's a lovely question. I could go beyond my name and my CV and tell you about one of the things that really guides me. My north star is this question: in this very short life, what can I leave a little better than I found it?
That question has been at the back of my mind. Life is really short. What can I do in a positive way? It has helped guide me ever since college. I studied dentistry, and you get to understand that many things in our field aren't the best. For example, a lot of people don't like us, Ondrej. That's terrible!
I started thinking: can we improve our patients' experience? Can we improve the quality of treatment they receive? One thing led to another, and I was in Finland at one of the world's most prestigious universities, researching how to improve the filling material that goes inside people's teeth so they can visit us less and smile for longer.
While I was doing my research, there was one thing I couldn't look away from. I tried to ignore it, but it kept nagging at me: the lack of connection between what we do in the labs and society.
Tarek Omran · 03:19
I could have continued my research and postdoc and ignored it. But I thought, why not make things a little better? There is a disconnection between society and science, between innovation and society, and the impact and improvements we can make.
It was funny: when I talked to people about going ice swimming in Finland, they were excited. “My God, tell me more!” But when I told them about the state-of-the-art research I was doing, nobody cared. You could hear crickets.
I thought, “You know what? I would love to help my colleagues.” That's how I started Science Pitchers, to help scientists pitch their science and use the power of storytelling to create impact. Could I leave the scientific community a little better than I found it?
Ondrej Papanek · 04:19
That sounds like an amazing journey: studying for a PhD, graduating, finding your purpose, and helping others communicate what they do. As you mentioned, you want to leave something behind, something memorable.
When you help individuals with storytelling through your company, how do you see them improve? You mentioned the disconnection between people in the labs and other people or patients. What role is communication and storytelling playing today?
Tarek Omran · 05:20
There's a lot of effort around storytelling, and also a lot of misconception. Some of my clients think storytelling is a magical tool I'm about to tell them about. I always say, “Wait a minute. I'm not here to reinvent the wheel or tell you something you don't know.”
Every innovator, CEO, and change-maker, even somebody doing their nine-to-five, has an internal story that keeps them going. You wake up every morning, do the grind, come back home, and repeat. Some people grind much more than others, and they have a very different story. Storytelling is always present, but it's internal. There's an internal dialogue happening.
Tarek Omran · 06:25
We try to help people in tech understand that it isn't the complexity of their innovation or their amazing models that connects people to them. Those things can be cool and impactful, but that's not how people connect.
People connect when you share what's truly going on in your mind. Use storytelling skills to open up the microphone. Instead of keeping that story in your own ears, let us hear it with you. That's how it becomes a social narrative, and how you get people to want to do things with you.
The AI we were discussing before this session is an example. People think this work has lasted 60 years, but it goes back even further. Imagine somebody coming into a class and asking, “Can computers have neural networks?” They're linking a mathematical computer process, ones and zeros, to a network in your brain with synaptic gaps. That's storytelling.
That story continued beyond the professor. Now we're using chatbots and large language models because somebody started rewriting a narrative. A lot of people told him, “You're crazy. Computers aren't brains or neural networks.” Well, look at us now.
Ondrej Papanek · 08:06
Technology is helping us and changing how we communicate. It can help with research and give us feedback on how we talk and how to improve. ChatGPT can even use a camera to recognise objects.
In your work with clients over the last two years, how have you seen AI shape and help storytelling and communication for individuals and companies?
Tarek Omran · 09:07
If I understand your question correctly, are you asking whether AI is helpful on our storytelling journey?
Ondrej Papanek · 09:16
Yes. How have you seen AI help over the last two years?
Tarek Omran · 09:22
I ran a workshop with AI engineers, a very smart group. Some were even working with ChatGPT, so you can imagine the level of complexity they dealt with. They wanted to develop their storytelling skills.
I thought I'd be innovative and created a custom GPT for them. It was connected to all the models I teach, everything we work with, and information about them and their projects. In my mind, this was a powerful tool they could use to become the best storytellers in the world.
Twenty minutes into the workshop, as soon as I gave them the custom GPT, I realised I'd failed. I'd destroyed the session by introducing the tool. The moment they understood how powerful it was, they switched off their minds.
Ondrej Papanek · 10:54
They relied on the technology and AI instead of using their minds?
Tarek Omran · 10:56
Exactly. It was shocking. Luckily, we had multiple sessions. In the second session, I set a rule: no tech, no phones, no watches. Let's go back to the classic approach.
My training sessions are usually interactive and hands-on. I like to challenge people just outside their comfort zone, without overwhelming them. If this is your limit, let's work there.
I went back to pen and paper. No more ChatGPT or custom GPT. We started the exercises, and they worked together, thought outside the box, and had ideas about communicating with investors. Then I saw the difference.
When they came on stage, nobody held a laptop to read the amazing script the GPT had created. I heard amazing scripts from them.
That's my answer. AI can help with research, acquiring data, and many mundane tasks. But it can't think for you, because if it does, it strips you of your potential. You become only as strong as the model I've built.
Tarek Omran · 12:41
You can be stronger than that. That's where I'd draw the line: use it as a tool. I use it intensively every day, but I still think. I work with it as an assistant.
“Let's check this out. I want to use storytelling to create a script. Show me the script. I don't like it; I'm going to write you something. Interview me.” I do that a lot with chatbots: “Interview me and use my words to create a story, a narrative.”
Ondrej Papanek · 13:13
Technology can help us, but we don't want it to change who we are or how we communicate. If it has more examples of our communication, such as video transcripts, it can help us create something that fits our needs and sounds like us.
I've tried creating content from videos, and sometimes what AI produced didn't resonate with me. I ended up discarding about 75 percent, rewriting it, and starting again. Then I had something that resonated with me, my audience, and my customers.
Technology should be our assistant. Our main potential is still ourselves, and going beyond our limits means getting uncomfortable. That's how we improve our communication skills, whether we're speaking online or in person.
In person, you also have body language and eye contact. Today I'm in Sweden and you're in another part of the world. Technology makes this recording possible, but sitting next to each other in Stockholm would feel different. We have both options.
Ondrej Papanek · 15:34
Speaking of communication, how can leaders communicate their visions clearly using storytelling?
Tarek Omran · 15:51
One thing leaders should keep at the forefront of their minds is the idea behind storytelling. A lot of people think it's about ethos, pathos, and logos: establishing credibility, using sound logic and reason, and giving examples to support your argument.
I think it goes deeper. I'm going to tell you a little story, and I want you to guess who said it.
Ondrej Papanek · 16:34
All right, let's try.
Tarek Omran · 16:35
This person said, “Let me explain what we can do with this computer. Imagine having Einstein with all his theories, his physics, quantum physics, relativity, everything he'd been working on, even his scribbled notes, memoirs, and lab notes.
“Then imagine putting all of that into a computer and being able to use Einstein's thoughts, dreams, and values to answer our most pressing challenges in day-to-day life.”
I'll give you a hint: this person said that in 1982.
Ondrej Papanek · 17:45
Was this person involved in IT or technology?
Tarek Omran · 17:47
Yes, very much.
Ondrej Papanek · 17:52
Are you and I using their products?
Tarek Omran · 17:55
Yes. Nice one.
Ondrej Papanek · 17:58
I think it has to be connected to Apple: Steve Jobs.
Tarek Omran · 18:02
Exactly. In 1982, he built a narrative that we're living today. We enter an LLM and write, “Act as if you're Einstein and solve this problem,” or “Act as if you're Barack Obama and create a speech.” That's what we're doing now, and this was 40 years ago.
Ondrej Papanek · 18:29
That's amazing. It's happening now with technology.
Tarek Omran · 18:35
That's the power of storytelling: it transcends time. Many people intuitively know this. We used to sit around campfires sharing ideas and stories, including mythological stories we still remember today.
How much marketing budget was put into Jesus? Yet we all know him. He didn't have Facebook, run ads, or have a landing page.
Ondrej Papanek · 19:13
Other people helped spread the word through the Bible, churches, and other means.
Tarek Omran · 19:24
And they were very motivated. It was a valuable story. Anybody who studies storytelling deeply will recognise that. But there's one more thing many people don't realise. Once leaders unlock it, they unlock the world. Can you guess?
Ondrej Papanek · 19:53
That's a hard question for me.
Tarek Omran · 19:57
I'll answer it. Stories don't just transcend time; they also transcend humanity. Let me explain.
Tarek Omran · 20:14
Look at the iPhone you're holding. It's the same iPhone somebody in Brazil, China, Japan, or Australia is holding. We have a leader of a tech company creating a product that people across the world use. How? Why?
Ondrej Papanek · 20:42
It's recognisable and memorable. The iPhone is connected with Apple's founder, Steve Jobs. People know how it started. When people queue outside the stores, that's free advertising.
They've developed strong storytelling in how they communicate, open a keynote, and release new products. They don't just promote megapixels and camera specifications. They show emotions and stories that stick with people.
Tarek Omran · 21:42
Exactly. It wasn't just about processor power. It was about values: what does this mean, and what's in it for me? It could mean something as simple as peace of mind.
Ondrej Papanek · 22:06
Peace of mind and safety. They share stories about Apple Watches or iPhones with satellite connections in remote areas, where somebody's location helps an ambulance or helicopter rescue them. They share how technology helps us, rather than focusing only on specifications.
Tarek Omran · 22:40
These stories aren't just marketing anecdotes. They're real. I have a professor, now about 87, who loves wildlife and nature photography. He fell and lost consciousness. Because of a feature in his iPhone, his wife was notified and came to rescue him.
That's a feature you want to build and promote in the right way. Explain what's in it for people. Talk about the value, such as safety. You're developing something useful.
Ondrej Papanek · 23:39
They share those safety stories in videos. It's emotional when a product helps save somebody's life. That memory stays with the person and with the people around them who hear about it.
Tarek Omran · 24:21
If we summarise these techniques into three, the first thing leaders can do is tune into a radio channel called WIIFM. Have you heard of it?
Ondrej Papanek · 24:48
Not really, but please share it with us.
Tarek Omran · 24:52
WIIFM means “What's in it for me?”
Tarek Omran · 24:59
That's the radio channel everybody is listening to. All your users, clients, and audience members are tuned in. They aren't thinking about you, your amazing innovation, or your product features. They're thinking, “What's for lunch?” or “What's in it for me? Why are you talking to me?”
Every leader should write WIIFM at the top of the page and think about what's in it for their audience.
Tarek Omran · 25:23
Write those things down. It will drastically change your speech and your story.
The second thing is the power of language. People tell you not to use technical terms: use words the audience understands. Yes, but take it further. Use words people can relate to, emotional words.
Again, Apple doesn't just sell headphones; it sells AirPods. It doesn't sell a laptop; it sells a MacBook. They've created a language around what they do. You don't just cast a screen; you AirPlay.
If you're creating a technology, make it relatable. Give it a feeling, an emotion. Use the power of language.
Ondrej Papanek · 26:34
We're more connected to emotions and feelings than to words without meaning.
Tarek Omran · 26:46
The third thing should really have been first, because it's the most important: respect your audience.
Sometimes we speak to customers as if they don't understand anything. “They don't get me, but I have amazing technology.” Companies can reduce people to numbers or statistics on a sheet. Perhaps investors push us to think that way. We may have started with a fire inside us and a desire to make an impact, but something changed along the way.
Respecting your audience means seeing them on the same level. That alone is powerful because it puts you in their shoes. They become the hero of your story. You speak their language and use their values.
Instead of giving you ten things you need to do to become a storyteller, I'd say: respect your audience. It's a good start.
Ondrej Papanek · 28:03
As a coach and mentor working with people and teams, I sometimes need to share something technical. I rephrase it as a story or use characters people can remember. Putting ourselves in our customers' shoes is important.
We also need to watch how the audience reacts. Are they connected to our story? Are they smiling or looking at their phones? Whether we're on stage, in a business meeting, or running a session, we want that connection. If something isn't working, we need to adapt. Reading and understanding the audience matters.
Tarek Omran · 29:28
Exactly. ChatGPT can help with a lot of that research.
Ondrej Papanek · 29:34
For example, I've recorded online sessions with previous clients, transcribed them, and asked GPT how I could make future sessions more engaging. Did I ask good questions? Sometimes there were silences.
The transcript doesn't show the visual side, but it can help me rephrase questions and encourage engagement. I might also use an interactive collaboration tool like Miro.
It helps me make questions clearer, less like something straight out of a book, and deeper. That's one way we can improve our communication. Online sessions are easier to record than in-person ones, but that's a scenario I can share.
Tarek Omran · 31:01
That's beautifully put. We can also give your audience a simple five-step technique. We were just saying we shouldn't give them a five-step technique, but we can still share one!
One of the best storytelling models I've come across was developed by a dear friend, Juhana Torkki, one of Finland's bestselling authors.
Tarek Omran · 31:31
He writes about rhetoric, the science of communication, and stoicism. He's a deep philosopher who has studied the ancient Greeks and their speeches. Much of the advice in self-help books about becoming a better speaker comes from books that are 2,000 years old.
We were sitting in a sauna on one of those nights when it's minus 20 in Finland and you're going to jump into a frozen lake afterwards. Using the fog on the glass, he started describing a beautiful model.
Ondrej Papanek · 32:15
On the glass window?
Tarek Omran · 32:16
Yes. The model has five elements. The best stories have them in one form or another, like ingredients in a recipe you can mix and match.
The first is a protagonist, a hero. Even WALL-E has a robot we can sympathise with. A company can play that role in an underdog story: “We're new. There's an old company that isn't innovative but holds a monopoly, and we're bringing a new offering.” The company is the hero.
The second element is a journey. Picture that protagonist walking through a forest, crossing rivers, taking a boat across an ocean to get to the other side. There's a goal, a climax, or a turning point that changes the story.
The third element is tension. Imagine the protagonist on a boat, playing a ukulele. It won't make the right sound unless the strings are tuned and under tension. But if they're too tight, they'll snap. You need the right amount of tension.
Tarek Omran · 34:17
That tension creates the melody. The fourth element is the learning outcome. There's a saying: never make a point without telling a story, and never tell a story without making a point.
The best speakers, storytellers, and leaders sit quietly before they speak and ask, “What point am I trying to make? What's the learning outcome of this talk or interaction with my colleagues? What story will I use to make that point?”
What would you say the fifth element is, Ondrej? Can you guess? Perhaps your audience can too.
Ondrej Papanek · 35:24
Could it be the ending, a takeaway from the story?
Tarek Omran · 35:39
That's the learning outcome, number four. What could number five be?
Ondrej Papanek · 35:54
Could you give me a clue?
Tarek Omran · 35:56
If it isn't present, the story won't hold. It won't resonate with you as a human being, as a storytelling animal. It becomes something else.
Ondrej Papanek · 36:27
Something we remember from the story, perhaps the emotions or feelings?
Tarek Omran · 36:37
No. I hope somebody in the audience has guessed it by now! Thank you for trying. The fifth element is visualisation.
Tarek Omran · 36:57
I was sitting in the sauna. There was steam and glass. There was a hero crossing a river in a boat with a ukulele. You can see what I'm saying. You visualise it.
Ondrej Papanek · 37:14
We connect our thoughts and memories with visualisations: pictures, video, or a drawing on glass. When we recall the story, we remember the glass window, and that gives us a clue to what was being shared in the sauna.
Tarek Omran · 37:55
Visualisation is a powerful memory technique. If you want somebody to buy into something and become a supporter, they need to see it.
There's a story about Walt Disney's daughter at the grand opening. Somebody asked, “Isn't it sad that your father passed away before seeing Disney World come into existence?” She replied, “No. My father saw it long before you saw it today.”
Ondrej Papanek · 38:40
He was visualising and dreaming about it. His vision was shared with his family and the company that built it. Even after he passed away, the story resonated with the people who made it happen.
Tarek Omran · 39:08
Exactly. You're on point.
Ondrej Papanek · 39:12
It also brings us back to Apple. Before Steve Jobs passed away, he shared his vision of what the new headquarters would look like. They had models and approval, but the headquarters was built after he died.
He shared that vision with others, and Apple now has a beautiful headquarters in the San Francisco area. It's recognisable, and their keynotes often introduce us to it.
Ondrej Papanek · 40:09
The architecture and design of the Apple stores also reflect the headquarters and offices. Those visual elements connect the brand and the company. That's what sticks in our minds.
Ondrej Papanek · 40:35
Thank you for sharing those five steps. I really appreciate it. I'll include a reference so our audience can find out more.
Tarek Omran · 40:51
Absolutely. You can also tag my friend Juhana Torkki on LinkedIn. He'll be very happy.
Ondrej Papanek · 40:55
I'm happy to share the source. Sometimes something holds us back from moving outside our comfort zone. What's important for breaking through that discomfort and reaching our full potential as storytellers and communicators?
Tarek Omran · 41:48
Two things come to mind. One is baby steps. I always say in my training sessions, “Relax. We're not going to be Steve Jobs on day one. We need to practise.”
We've talked a lot about him, but there's a lovely talk where he describes the computer as a bicycle for the mind.
Tarek Omran · 42:25
If you search YouTube for “bicycle for the mind,” you'll find Steve Jobs. Many people have seen an interview where he's wearing a suit and talking about research he's read.
If you look further, you can find an earlier recording, roughly 15 or 20 years before, where he has a beard and glasses and is talking behind a podium in a room.
Tarek Omran · 43:14
He told the same story for years, and you want to become the best speaker in one workshop? Take it easy. Baby steps.
Practice makes perfect, and be willing to have small failures. Celebrate them. Say, “Today I'm going to try speaking without my papers and see what happens.” Perhaps you manage half your speech and struggle with the rest. That's okay. You learned to say half your speech and to manage stumbling and improvisation, which is a skill the best speakers have.
Ondrej Papanek · 44:06
Improvisation is important, especially when technology doesn't work or we don't follow our bullet points or script. We need to learn how to handle those situations.
Ondrej Papanek · 44:31
And sometimes the audience won't even recognise that you're improvising.
Tarek Omran · 44:38
Exactly. The second thing that helps people become better speakers and feel more comfortable outside their comfort zone reminds me of a story.
When I was working as a dentist, one of the most crucial skills was diagnosis. With the right diagnosis, you can treat the problem and alleviate the patient's pain.
Ondrej Papanek · 45:20
You're looking for symptoms that give you clues to the diagnosis.
Tarek Omran · 45:26
Exactly. You're looking for signs, symptoms, perhaps discolouration. I remember treating a case, and a doctor said, “That was a very critical case.” I said, “Really? There was a hole in the tooth, and I fixed it.”
He explained that the patient had much more going on, something that could precede a cancerous lesion. He said something that changed my perspective: “Tarek, the eyes don't see what the mind doesn't know.”
Tarek Omran · 46:17
The same goes for speaking and storytelling. You won't know whether you're improving if you don't yet have that knowledge.
Use ChatGPT, but know what you're looking for. Look for concepts and models. Take a great speech and ask, “What makes this good? What techniques did the speaker use?” Sometimes you love a speech without knowing why.
Take the transcript, study it, and learn. Use Google's NotebookLM as another resource. You might discover that Ondrej uses the power of three, or that Tarek uses bullet points. Next time you go on stage, you can try one more technique to become a better speaker.
Ondrej Papanek · 47:26
ChatGPT can help identify what we're using well and suggest other techniques. With all this technology and AI around us, where else can people practise storytelling?
Tarek Omran · 48:04
There are many resources and communities, including Toastmasters. It's lovely to be in a community because other people are there with you.
You can have conversations with a large language model, but sometimes you need human connection. You need somebody to laugh with, be goofy with, see your mistakes, take things less seriously, and encourage you. It feels different.
Having a group watching you can bring anxiety or stress at first. You can also think of that physical energy as excitement, like the feeling you get on a surfboard.
Tarek Omran · 49:04
When your heart is pounding, reframe it. To experience that, you need to put yourself in situations where you can speak. Register for a conference or join a webinar and ask a question live. Just asking a question is speaking; you're starting to formulate your words in a particular way. Seek that exposure.
Ondrej Papanek · 49:36
Human feedback matters. There are public-speaking meetups in many cities where people can help you craft a story and give feedback. They're places to practise and improve.
It might feel uncomfortable, but getting outside our comfort zones is how we improve. If you could leave our listeners with one takeaway about storytelling for transformation, what would it be?
Tarek Omran · 50:47
Is your audience more interested in transformation within an organisation or within a person?
Ondrej Papanek · 50:57
I mean transformation through storytelling and communication.
Tarek Omran · 51:04
Within a company, or within the person?
Ondrej Papanek · 51:10
Mostly within a company, in a business context.
Tarek Omran · 51:14
Let me think about something that could give your audience a useful perspective.
Tarek Omran · 51:59
I visited Netflix's headquarters in 2017. As a storytelling coach, I was intrigued by company stories, individual stories, cultural stories, and all the forms narratives take.
I asked a manager showing us around, “Do you have an internal story that guides you as a large organisation?” Netflix had started with DVDs and then completely changed its business model. I wanted to understand the story behind that transformation.
Ondrej Papanek · 52:42
I remember that. They changed their business model.
Tarek Omran · 52:49
He said, “Yes, we have a story, and we all know it. We live by it.” I asked what it was. He said, “At Netflix, we want to win the moment of truth.”
I asked what that meant. He described a moment in people's daily lives: they've had a busy day, come home, open the door, find their comfortable couch, sit down, take a deep breath, and ask, “What am I going to do now?”
“That's the moment we want to win. We want them to think, ‘Netflix and chill.’” I thought it was genius because that's exactly what I do. I come home after a heavy day and want to watch something.
Ondrej Papanek · 54:15
I recognise that moment too. We come home tired and want to relax and watch a film. That's where Netflix fits.
Tarek Omran · 54:36
I was curious to know more, so I asked whether they also had an internal story within their teams. He said they did, and everybody knew that one too.
He told me, “If you do a good job, we'd rather give you your severance package.” I asked, “If somebody does a good job, you'd rather pay them to leave?”
He said, “At Netflix, we don't do a good job. We do an excellent job. We're seeking excellence. Those are the people we hire, and those are the people who will take us forward.”
That's my takeaway: don't underestimate the power of storytelling. Once you say the story, affirm it, and write it down, people can live by it: your customers, your team, and you. You can make something greater than yourself in the world.
Ondrej Papanek · 56:11
Many companies have stories reflected in their visions. Teams connect to that vision. It's what connects people and motivates them to strive for excellence and do their best work.
Ondrej Papanek · 56:50
Thank you for sharing with us today. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you'd like to share?
Tarek Omran · 57:05
I'd love to finish where I started: try to leave things a little better than you found them.
Whether it's a conversation with your employees, a product you're creating, or your relationships with friends, family, and loved ones, perhaps that can be a guiding star we share. Let's leave things a little better than we found them.
Ondrej Papanek · 57:40
I believe in that too. Let's make the world better and create an environment that supports it. Thank you again. Where can our listeners find you or get in touch?
Tarek Omran · 57:57
Listeners can follow me and get in touch on LinkedIn or Instagram. I have several initiatives, as you mentioned in the introduction.
There's a mental health passion project called Help Yourself with Tarek Omran, for people interested in mental health and self-development. You'll also find Science Pitchers, our training and consultancy company, and my own profile.
Feel free to reach out. If I can help in any way, I'd love to help your audience, Ondrej.
Ondrej Papanek · 58:45
It's been a pleasure having you here. Listeners can find the episode on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spotify. See you again in two weeks for our next episode. Bye.
Tarek Omran · 58:48
Likewise.