Ritz Carlton Hotel Staff

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Ritz Carlton Hotel Staff
Storytelling is an important part of The Ritz-Carlton culture. The employees of The Ritz-Carlton—known as The Ladies and Gentlemen—write up special moments and share them with the corporate office. These write-ups are called “Wow” stories, and several thousand stories are collected each year. “Wow” stories can happen when Ladies and Gentlemen interact with customers, residents, colleagues, and even during community service events.…
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Howard Schultz

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Howard Schultz
An executive from Seattle visits Milan and is entranced by the coffee culture. He describes it as “the symphony of flavor, the romance and showmanship that coffee could create.” He sees the potential to develop a similar culture in America. He returns to Seattle with an idea to create a “third place between work and home.” Of course, like any good story,…
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Bethany Hamilton

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Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Hamilton went out to surf at Tunnels Beach in Ha’ena, Hawaii with her best friend, Alana Blanchard, and Blanchard’s father and brother. While lying on her board, Hamilton suddenly felt intense pressure on her left arm and was pulled back and forth for a few seconds before the flurry passed. Initially feeling no pain, she noticed the water around her had…
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Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs
On September 23, 1997, Steve Jobs told his staff that Apple had eliminated some 70% of its product line. “It’s way too much stuff,” he said. “Apple has drifted away from doing the basics really well. We’ve focused on 30 percent of the gems.” Then, Jobs explained why he had chosen to slash the product offerings. It all started with a profound…
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Funlayo Alabi

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Funlayo Alabi
Nearly seven years ago, Funlayo Alabi’s business, Shea Radiance, was thriving. And when her company got its all-natural skin and hair care products onto the shelves of Target (one of the biggest chain retail stores in the US) , she thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Shea Radiance first appeared in over 300 Target locations in 2012. But rather than…
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John Chambers

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John Chambers
As the CEO of one of the world’s most valuable companies, John Chambers of Cisco not intend to ever share the fact that he had a learning disability growing up. But his attitude changed during an event for Take Your Children to Work Day. Chambers was speaking to about 500 employees and their kids when a young girl raised her hand to…
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Abraham Lincoln

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Abraham Lincoln
Long before Lincoln crafted and delivered the famous Gettysburg Address— he became known as a storyteller, honing his skill on the American frontier. If it hadn’t been for Lincoln’s skill as a storyteller, he would not have won the presidency and America may look far different than it does today. – At the age of six or seven, Lincoln listened to the…
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Coca Cola

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Coca Cola
High-tech vending machines installed in two popular shopping malls in Lahore, Pakistan and New Delhi, India – two cities separated by only 325 miles, but seemingly worlds apart due to decades of political tension – invited consumers to put their differences aside and share a simple moment over a Coke. – The “Small World Machines” provided a live communications portal linking strangers…
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Stephen Hawking

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Stephen Hawking
Seemingly bored with the constant hypothesising and speculation on whether time travel may or may not be possible, Stephen Hawking decided he would answer the question once and for all in the only way one of the most well-known and respected physicists of all time could—by throwing a party. – The premise was simple: In 2009, the professor decided to host a…
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Nujeen Mustafa

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Nujeen Mustafa
Born with cerebral palsy, the 16-year-old has spent her life in a wheelchair. She had little formal education in Syria but taught herself English by watching US soap operas. In 2014 her home town of Kobane was at the centre of fierce fighting between Isis militants and US-backed Kurdish forces, forcing her family to flee across the border into Turkey. – Accompanied…
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