The Power of the Tale: Using Narratives for Organisational Success

JULIE ALLAN is a chartered occupational psychologist in private practice, whose work is focused on supporting sustainable individual and organisational development. She draws on a wide range of whole-system approaches, including gestalt and complexity, to help individuals address both strategic thinking and behavioural change. With a prior career in writing and publishing with the BBC, she is particularly interested in communication and applied creativity, and has recognised and put to use the vital role played by storytelling across all her working involvement, as well as in general life.

GERARD FAIRTLOUGH is a biochemist with 25 years' experience at Shell. Later he was founder and CEO of biopharmaceutical company Celltech, and has helped set up several other businesses in biotechnology and IT. Gerard has been specialist advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology, advisor to the LIFT Business/Arts Forum and is widely published in the areas of organisation learning and innovation. He is currently a director of Xenova Group plc and Chair of the Advisory Panel of SPRU at Sussex University.

BARBARA HEINZEN is a geographer and freelance consultant in long range scenario planning and policy analysis. She specialises in working with organisations to help identify the driving forces of change in developing and restructuring societies. Barbara has worked with a variety of major multinational companies and public and voluntary organisations in Europe, Asia and Africa on both commercial and public policy issues. Like Gerard, she is an advisor to the LIFT Business Arts Forum, but also co-founded BEAD, Business Exchange on AIDS and Development, and is a Senior Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.