Story-telling...

...is another one of those vague concepts IC people worry about.  It comes up more and more on the Black Belt and I've always found it rather problematic.

I say problematic, not because I don't like stories.  In fact the reverse is true and I even had negative feedback from a Black Belter who couldn't bear any more of my anecdotes!  Maybe it's my Irish blood.

No, I mean I struggle with the concept because much of what is written is actually quite vague when it comes to the practicalities.  I get the idea that people connect more to a narrative than they do to dry facts - seems pretty obvious to me.  But what does that mean in practice?  Do we have story-telling sessions at 3 pm?  Should the CEO talk about their personal life?  Does the legal department have to approve official tales?

Many of the write-ups of story-telling are connected to specific products that someone is trying to sell.  So the literature tends to be of the "this stuff is really important and if you want to do something, call our sales team on..." variety.  Not very useful if you just want a bit of inspiration about how to work into next year's strategy.

If it's not linked to videos/learning maps/CEO speech writing services the companies I respect are naturally loathe to give away the secrets of processes they have spent years developing!

One recent insight I got into this world came in the form of an HBR article that a friend (Thanks Jack) sent me.

It's an interview with Hollywood screenwriter Robert McKee who makes me stop and think.  You'll need to buy the article for yourself but I was struck by the following points:

• a compelling story has drama; a struggle against opposing forces
• the protagonist has clear human desires and human emotions
• a credible story needs to acknowledge frailty, uncertainty and even ignoble motives
• great stories are born out of self knowledge.

As I read it I ran a mental slide rule over presentations I've done or encouraged others to do containing cold and dry data and started to feel uncomfortable.  I found it a really challenging read and would urge people involved in coaching leaders on speeches or presentations to take a look...  Investor relations might not like it but...

Liam

Comments

[Alison Esse]

Hi Liam,

How long have you got?!!

You echo many of the frustrations that professional IC's voice to us. You're right, storytelling is an intangible, ethereal art which makes total sense in theory (and believe me, there's a lot of theory about) but is so often difficult to apply in a clear-cut, practical way. I know many organisations which claim they have a 'storytelling culture', but the reality is that unless stories have a natural 'home' and practical process they can quickly degenerate into gossip or gripes, or become gratuitous feel-good stories with no particular relevance.

Relevance to what? Exactly. Stories from organisations need to hang off clear messages, to give them relevance, so you need to be clear about what you are trying to achieve strategically as an organisation. For example, a story that is a great example of customer service / going the extra mile is the kind of story an organisation needs to encourage if customer service is at the heart of their strategic journey. If you are trying to reinforce values, look for stories about exemplary behaviours from employees. You need to have some sort of capture and share mechanism too to keep the momentum going.

It's not easy to give just a few hints and tips in five minutes and expect it to be easy to implement. We have spent years developing our approach. We've learnt so much along the way, are still learning, and will learn a lot more in the future. Making storytelling practical was precisely why we designed our programme in the first place - to create a series of physical, tangible tools (or props) which can act as an anchor for storytelling and then apply a simple, clear methodology to make it happen. And you're right, my loyalty to our IP means I'm not going to give it all away here and now! IC's, however, can do a few simple things to start the ball rolling:

1. Identify the priorities of the business (or desired values/behaviours) so you know what kind of story to look for. Make sure that everybody understands them, and articulate them in a simple way.

2. Encourage managers to look naturally for stories within their teams during team meetings as a way of getting feedback, to open up a dialogue with people and celebrate and reward stories of success. Don't impose 'storytelling' on people as a fad or initiative. Start with the leaders of the business.

3. Work out a way to capture and share stories on an ongoing basis to keep the interest alive and momentum going (use your existing channels of communication as well as more creative methods, eg posters, podcasts etc) You may want to appoint a specific individual to hold this responsibility.

4. Use recognition schemes as a source for stories, and when people are recognised, tell the actual anecdote rather than just naming 'John for his attitude to customers'.

5. Introduce a storytelling page in your company magazine or intranet, and select a few different stories that relate to the priorities or values that have been identified as the strategic priorities.

6. Keep it simple. Look for simple stories about the small things people have done in service of your strategic goals. And use simple language rather than high-brow management speak. They need to be stories that people can relate to, absorb easily and are accessible. Anecdotes about climbing Mount Everest are awesome, but not terribly helpful for a city head-office receptionist in need of a bit of inspiration.

I have no doubt whatsoever that people will read this and still feel frustrated that they haven't got a practical solution. Apologies for this, but I don't want to give it all away. Just know that there are practical solutions out there, and even by putting just a few things in place can make a difference.

Alison

[Liam]

Blimey - that was useful! And quiet a few practical thoughts - thank you very much.

I'm wrestling with a quality programme at the moment that is so right for the senior people to talk about the consequences of mistakes but the leaders are nervous of anything sounds remotely soppy to them. They're engineers and 'engineers like hard facts' - right?

So that's my challenge...

I loved the ParcelForce story that Melcrum published in SCM a while back...

Liam

BTW did you know that Big Brother is getting fewer viewers than bird watching with Bill Oddie at the moment? http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/springwatch/

[Alison]

Thanks! Engineers are used to being delivered hard facts, but they're still human beings, and you'd be surprised at how the most gritty audiences appreciate the simplicity and clarity of a story that's relevant to what they do in their organisation. We ran a leadership meeting using our approach with a big global manufacturing company the other day and the consensus was that it was the best conference they'd ever had. They loved the sharing of stories - it's all part of building pride in the company and they saw instantly how it brought the strategic priorities to life. That said, you have to be sensitive to culture and expectations - language and tone is important and we often refer to 'the journey' as opposed to 'the story' etc. Keeping things simple though doesn't mean dumbing things down or being soppy. Mind you, some of these stories about what people do for their customers do raise the odd tear....lots of throat-clearing and furious note-writing going on.

I'm not surprised about Big Brother viewing. Birds are graceful, beautiful, methodical, intelligent, hard-working, hygienic and fascinating to watch. How people can watch BB and feel proud to be British is beyond me.

Great site, well done.

[Tony Quinlan]

As always, great stuff from Alison.

I think stories are a topic that many people struggle with because there's an element of "but we do that all the time" but without conscious thought. And in places in comms we think we're doing it, but actually aren't.

For instance, stories in the newsletter etc that should be interesting but aren't. Too often there are simple flaws - problems that authors/film directors would spot instantly. No tension, no risk, no problems - no decision/choice being made. All elements that McKee (if you liked the article, read his book "Story" or go to one of his seminars - eye-opening!) emphasises strongly.

And where are you putting your camera - who's the main character - elements that'll tell you mountains about what's actually important in the organisation. Subtle points - I remember a conversation with a comms director a few years ago on "putting customers first" and how he ran stories about staff helping customers. But the response wasn't what was hoped for. Yet the customers were secondary in the story - the focus was on the staff. So, not first then.

There's a degree to which the term "storytelling" also gives the wrong steer on using stories. The most important uses of stories are not those that we're telling, but listening and interpreting the stories that others are telling.

Collecting stories from around the organisation (including outside it) can help in shifting understanding and perspective further up the organisation more effectively than any survey results I've ever seen.

One of the common issues I find - and that you've alluded to in your post - is the degree to which a story needs to include elements that are often anathema to the standard operating model for IC.

Like acknowledging problems, vulnerability, a lack of answers.

One of the most common applications we've found for narrative is in the overall understanding of change programmes and building useful communication frameworks for the programme. In the story of change, it's too often about definite routes, abstract principles and milestones along the way.

And everyone knows that's not how change happens. And even if it were, it'd be a very boring story!

Instead, build story frameworks can work with people, building pictures of recognisable characters in the organisation, the obstacles they're going to face, the skills they bring, the things they're going to have to learn along the way. The overall plot for the organisation, subplots for different divisions/departments. All without having the answers beforehand.

But critically, get them to put together their own stories, don't hand them out. The very process of putting together such a framework will shift their thinking.

And - as Alison's said above - a story framework gives IC professionals clear places to look for the stories of success in making changes happen. A couple of years ago talking to a high street retailer, we got round to talking about the lack of stories of good customer service. And I had three stories from a store less than three miles away fifteen minutes earlier - but only because I'd known where to look and what to look for.

It's also about individuals, small-scale pictures rather than the big abstract organisation. So it's which single person did what to what specific problem. Too many organisational stories are about the organisation as an entity.

I'm in danger of rambling now - it's late on Friday...

And as Alison says, we've taken to avoiding talking about "story" except with colleagues who explicitly get it. For everyone else, it's just a tool - a way of getting results. And it's easy for preconceptions around "story" or "storytelling" to block participants.

All that, without even starting on metaphors, organisational mythology, etc.

And while I'm happy to give out specifics on exercises so people can go ahead and use them themselves (just done exactly that on the masterclasses), there are two drawbacks to it.

Firstly, these exercises are not magic bullets or a set recipe. They adapt and change according to context.

And secondly, there's a level of understanding that's usually needed first - like having gone through them as part of a training exercise or workshop.