Ah…the power of storytelling. Every company has a story. No, not the, “you’ll never believe what happened at the Christmas party…” kind of story (although most have a few of those), I’m talking about one of those ah-hah stories that becomes a legend and lives through the various generations of employees. Perhaps there is a story about how the company came to be named “Ikea”, or “Lululemon” (that’s a good story), or how it accidentally invented PostIt Notes through a failed experiment. In the end, the stories are there, but what is often lacking is the art of capturing, crafting, and breathing life and longevity into the stories to serve a higher purpose.
Higher purpose?…
Seriously, higher purpose? Are you kidding me? No – ok, maybe that sound a bit pious, what I mean is a core purpose. What stories do for companies, memories do for human beings. They give a sense of history: “this is where I came from and what I’ve evolved from,” and they give relevance: “this is what I stand for and what is important to me,” and they give a sense of identity: “this is who I am”.
The core purpose is brand, plan and simple. The brand, acting as a foundation from which we extract values, vision, mission, objectives, strategy, identity, messaging, policy, and so much more, is so perfectly represented in our corporate stories.
When a company tells me, “these are our values” I’m often skeptical. It’s like being a comedian and saying, “hey look, I’m really funny”, or an investment advisor saying, “no really, I’m good with money.” Prove it. Show it to me. Walk the talk. Stating values is one thing, and it’s important to do that, but living them, demonstrating them, enacting them…well, that’s a whole different thing.
The gap between “promise” (values) and “delivery” (demonstrating values) is a deep one. Fall in and you lose credibility with your key stakeholders.
Consider the power of storytelling as a means to capture your history, your relevance, and your identity and then craft it for your audience so it resonates, builds trust, establishes credibility, and hopefully a long-lasting relationship.
In addition, there are a few articles in Google Docs and My Delicious that you should read regarding Storytelling. Post some of your findings here too. Please.
It makes sense to have a story for your company. Most companies wont hire people without some background information first. It makes them feel like the right person is being hired for the right position. We as consumers would feel, and do the same with companies.
I can’t think of an interview I’ve had, or conducted, that hasn’t started with a story. Usually the candidate gives their story of what brought them to this place, and so often the interviewer tells the story of the company and how it came to be. I agree – storytelling is such a rich and powerful way to convey the essence, values, purpose, etc. of a company (and/or its products) in a meaningful and memorable way!
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I enjoyed this post. I’m curious to know how good storytelling can aid a company in crisis. For instance, in the case of a BP or Enron, how does their corporate story unfold or is it forever tarnished? It seems people naturally gravitate toward stories with happy endings so I guess we just wait and see..
What a great question/comment. I think storytelling in times of crisis can really help – if nothing else, it’s the time for companies to remember what their values are and what should be guiding their actions. We’ll look at this more during our Crisis class. But for BP…perhaps the story is being played out right now. I’m curious to see how they take this devastation and try to use it as a learning experience and ultimately some attempt to aid their damaged reputation.
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