Business Use
Managers use the book to connect with their employees
Since the original book was published in 2006, hundreds of managers have been using it as a tool for creating 
employee satisfaction and engagement, reducing workplace stress and improving productivity. Originally written to help customer service professionals deal with angry customers, the wisdom and life-changing philosophy of The Napkin, the Melon & the Monkey has resonated with broader audiences including health care, education, government agencies and non-profit organizations.
- Call center employee engagement improvement case study.
- Leadership training for customer care professionals
Top 8 Reasons Why
Today’s leaders unleash the ancient power of fables and parables
1. Stories have a unifying effect on groups of employees. The shared experience provided by reading the same story creates an instant connection.
2. Stories validate the employees’ experiences. It is reassuring to know that many of our hopes, dreams, disappointments and experiences are shared by others.
3. Stories help leaders and their employees communicate: Realizing others feel the same way makes it easier for employees to talk about our own situation.
4. Stories provides a unique vocabulary. When we read the same story we have a shared vocabulary that can be referenced again and again.
5.Stories are easy to read. Unlike other “business” books these simple stories are informative, entertaining and easy to relate to. (Even “non-readers” say they enjoy them.)
6. Stories and the lessons they offer, apply to all areas of the employees’ lives. Employees are more motivated to read books that aren’t “just about work.”
7. Stories have been used for thousands of years as a powerful vehicle for sharing knowledge and teaching life lessons. Simple, easy-to-read wisdom stories are even more relevant today.
8. Stories have the unique ability to change employees’ attitudes. Research has shown that in order to change a behavior you must first change the attitude.
“My team was a lot like the “fighting melons” in the story. Their nitpicking and gossip was affecting our performance. It took reading The Napkin, The Melon & The Monkey to get my people talking about what really mattered to them. They had something they could all focus on. This book really hit them where they lived.”
– Mike B., contact center supervisor
Top 15 Ways to use The Napkin, The Melon & The Monkey in customer service
- Supervisors use the book as a communication tool. The challenges faced by the main character in the book are similar to situations faced by most employees. That is why supervisors use the situations in the book as a jumping off point for discussing a wide range of important employee issues, such as: managing customer relationships, handling stress, maintaining emotional control, juggling multiple priorities, dealing with change, achieving work/life balance, as well as what it means to take personal responsibility for outcomes.
- Supervisors looking for fresh, new topics for their regular team meetings use the book’s ideas to energize and empower their employees. Employees embrace the book because it portrays what it’s like to work in a company. A FREE Team Leader Guide is available with the purchase of the book.
- Use the 22 Aha!s in the book to reinforce core values. One company used specific Aha!s in the story to illustrate how employees can apply core values in every day situations. For example, the core value “We treat our employees with respect and dignity” was matched with Aha! #15 Remember we all share the same vine.
- Supervisors have discovered the magic of using the book to improve agent morale. Managers are delighted to see the attitudes of their employees immediately improve after they read the book. In fact, supervisors and managers say that the concepts and techniques in the book become a permanent part of the company’s vocabulary – and its work culture.
- If agent retention is a problem, consider using the book as part of a strategy to reduce negative turnover. Managers find that when supervisors are trained to use the book as a coaching and mentoring tool, that agent commitment improved significantly.
- Prepare new employees to be successful faster and reduce post-training turnover by making the book required reading. Trainers say that what they like about using the book is that it depicts what it’s like to work with customers every day. When employees are equipped with practical tools for dealing with the demands of their new job, they are more apt to complete their training and remain on the job.
- Use the book as the theme for Customer Service Appreciation Week. Since 2006 companies have used the book as the theme for a week’s worth of activities based on the Aha!s in the book. Event planners who were polled raved about the reception the book got and said that employees were still talking about and implementing the ideas several weeks later. (Contact Barbara for a complimentary copy of the Best Ever Customer Service Week Appreciation Activity Guide.)
- An element of the book that proved very powerful was the telling of stories as a way to create a stronger, more cohesive team. Facilitate a story circle as a teambuilding exercise. Supervisors discover that the sharing of their stories creates an unshakable bond between team members.
- Provide the book to every new supervisor. The book is packed with valuable, highly relevant lessons any supervisor can use to be an effective leader, coach and mentor.
- Use the book as part of your company’s strategy for improving employee engagement scores. Engagement surveys typically reveal the need for supervisors to do more to recognize, reward and praise their employees. This book is a creative solution that is easy to deploy and gets results. A good example is the Vertex project in which employee engagement scores rose by 10% in the first quarter. (www.barbaraburke.com/consulting/case-study)
- Create a Napkin Melon Monkey Book Club for supervisors, employees and support staff. The book has been a top pick for employee book clubs because it is so easy to read and relate to. Even people who don’t normally read the book enjoy it. Over 90% of employees who receive the book read it once if not twice in a matter of days.
- Supervisors use the book in performance coaching sessions to illustrate what to do (and not do) when handling customer situations. When the employees and their supervisor read the same story, it becomes a shared experience that can be easily referenced. Supervisors say coaching sessions are more productive when they can site situations in the book in which the main character had a similar challenge.
- The book makes a thoughtful employee gift. Buy a book for team members to thank them for completing a project or reaching a performance goal. Give the book to employees to honor their birthday, employment anniversary or as a Holiday present.
- Reduce agent stress and improve schedule adherence by encouraging reps to “unplug” during the day in whatever way works for them. Many companys now have designated quiet rooms where employees can go to “unplug.”
- Invite Barbara to introduce employees to the power of the SODA Principle at your next company meeting, brown bag, division meeting or annual summit. Each keynote presentation and seminar is customized to fit the unique needs of each audience and guaranteed to entertain, inspire and educate. Make the event extra special by including a book signing.
