Having started working with fairy tales by inviting groups of facilitators to use them as a way of chartering their journeys and learnings, we have also found the fairy tale to be powerful within organisational contexts. After describing the genre, its characteristics and reviewing where fairy tales fit into the wider management literature, the article will provide as a case study a practical example of how fairy tale has been used. The article concludes with reflections on the fairy tale genre and how it provides opportunities for safe, humorous and appreciative frames of inquiry within as short a time frame as 45 minutes.