The Power of Storytelling >
By Charlie Sheppard <
MCS Communications <
Developing High Performance Cultures<
http://www.mcscllc.com/index.php <
To introduce new employees to its corporate culture, Nike tells them the story about a track coach and a waffle iron. All Restoration Hardware employees hear stories about their four values directly from their senior leadership team. Leaders know that employees need more than lofty mission statements and industry buzzwords. To understand and appreciate what their organization stands for, workers need to hear about its people, its values, and its history. Smart leaders tell stories. They periodically gather their "tribe" around the corporate campfire to recall the legends and share new tales. By touching the hearts as well as the minds of their employees, they create a legacy of experience that inspires generations. >
Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools in your leadership toolkit. To understand and appreciate what an organization stands for, workers need to hear from their leaders directly, clearly, consistently and often. They need to hear about the organization’s people, its values and its history. They need to understand what it takes to succeed. That’s why great leaders tell stories. >
Stories are often about the relationship of your team and your values. One of the interesting things that has been discovered is that your values are expressed in your stories. They reside in the narratives that people tell, and the behaviors that are consistent and compatible with those stories. There is a profound relationship between stories and values.>
Stories also stay with people longer than facts and figures because they reach the heart as well as the mind. The powerful way to persuade people is to unite an idea with an emotion in a compelling story. Stories have always been the "glue" connecting people with their cultures and with one another, and some social scientists say that humans are hardwired for storytelling. >
- Good stories strengthen your culture
- Good stories are succinct - they are easy for people to remember
- Good stories are relevant to the listener - they have a point and make an emotional impact
- Good stories make sense of something - they show you how to behave or solve a problem or why something happened the way it did >
For example, few would argue about Apple’s success at integrating different technologies into a compelling product. For Steve Jobs, he feels this is a result of deep collaboration between all of the relevant departments at Apple. He makes his point by talking about what happens when you don’t have deep collaboration through the parable of the concept car. "Here’s what you find at a lot of companies," Jobs says, "You know how you see a show car, and it’s really cool, and then four years later you see the production car, and it sucks? And you go, what happened? They had it! They had it in the palm of their hands! They grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory!” “What happened was, the designers came up with this really great idea. Then they take it to the engineers, and the engineers go, ‘Nah, we can’t do that. That’s impossible.’ And so it gets a lot worse. Then they take it to the manufacturing people, and they go, ‘We can’t build that!’ And it gets a lot worse.” He conveys the idea of deep collaboration quickly through this story.>
Nike uses the power of a story to ensure its employees understand the company’s heritage and philosophy. Founded more than 40 years ago, the company still uses a story about the late co-founder Bill Bowerman to keep staff motivated. The University of Oregon track coach was eating waffles for breakfast one morning when he was inspired to pour latex on his wife’s waffle iron. That impulsive act led to the development of Nike’s famed waffle soled running shoes. >
The other type of story to elicit the values of an organization is an advocacy story. Restoration Hardware systematically tells stories like this to make heroes of employees who go beyond the call of duty of fulfilling the company’s promise to its customers. While at a leadership conference at Restoration Hardware, Gary Friedman, the CEO, told a story about a manager who leads the shipping department at their main distribution center. There came a time when he wasn’t happy with how the trucks were being unloaded and loaded. He decided to move his desk and phone and computer to the actual loading ramp. With every truck that came in or went out he was right there moving the product around with his team until his standards for quality were established. He stayed out on the loading dock until everyone was doing the new behaviors. This kind of story helps you celebrate your corporate heroes. It is why at every State of the Union address the President will point to someone in the stands and tell their story to make a point. >
A scar stays with you forever and a good story should also. Use the scar model to build out a story that illustrates a key value for you.
S. Situation. The situation should be a little bit like a newspaper headline; it needs to “grab” people’s interest. Play up a detail of the story that catches people’s attention. Every good story is built on an unusual situation.
C. Challenge. What was the challenge or obstacle you had to overcome? It can be as momentous as starting a company or as simple as finding your keys. People who always have stories don’t have unusually eventful lives. They take note of ordinary challenges in daily life and recount them in entertaining ways.
A. Actions. Explain how you found a solution. How did you overcome the embarrassing situation? Include bits of humor where appropriate. A funny story is highly memorable, and a witty comment inserted periodically into a serious story provides necessary comic relief. Briefly and clearly describe how you met the challenge.
R. Results. Explain the impact of your actions. Tie the point of the story to the core value you want to emphasize.
What is the core story of your organization? Of your team? Of your leadership? How frequently and how effectively are you telling it? Your culture is dependent on the stories you tell.>
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Charlie Sheppard is President of Management Communication Systems, Inc., a company on the forefront of next-generation behavioral assessment technologies. MCS is an organizational development consulting company that focuses its efforts on helping organizations create high performance cultures. He brings experience in organizational development, specializing in the assessment, design, and delivery of development programs with an emphasis on strategic alignment, leadership development, team development, and negotiation skills. By developing innovative technologies and delivering creative solutions, MCS is an active partner in the selection process, in the creation of effective teams, and in ongoing organizational development. Charlie coordinates the activities of MCS's consultants and serves the firm as the lead developer of assessment technologies and courseware.
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http://dreamlearndobecome.blogspot.com This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.
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