Storytelling's a fundamental part of every great brand. Right? Every great brand that has longevity in the retail space. Every great product, every great service, every great institution has a story behind it. Every great brand has a story and that story connects to the emotions, the characters, the values of the people that, that live that product every day. Storytelling's always been a part of business. It's just now we're overtly talking about it as a tool that leaders can use as opposed to just an aid in our brand's and the products that we give to people. What I think storytelling does, is it brings a different element. Storytelling says it's not about the list of things we have to do, it's about the connection that we give to people about a piece of information that we're trying to share. A good story at its essence, is simply conveying a message that has logic. It has emotional connection, and it also has larger purpose. Storytelling is the difference between solving a problem and creating a cause. Right? Lets solve a problem. Here's an issue we face, let's create a pro and con list about how to solve it, pick the best option from there. A cause is something that ignites people, and unites people. And I think that's what a good story does, is it creates a cause. There's a few things you have to do as a manager to create a, a really good story. The first and foremost thing you have to do, is you have to know your audience. A good story, is designed for the audience. It may not connect to you, it may not always make sense to you, it's not using words you might be familiar with, but it's things your audience understands and your audience knows. So I think that's rule one, is who's your audience, where do they come from, and what do they need. I think the second part of a good story is a clear sequence of events. You listen to a great story teller, there's a very clear sequence of events that moves the story from the beginning to an end. And I think last but not least is having moments of reflection. Or questions that remain unanswered, that build suspense, that build intrigue, and that have someone sitting on the edge of their seat. To have you answer them. The great storyteller asks and answers questions along the way. They build suspense, and they reduce that suspense by answering this, the questions. Storytellers that aren't so good leave those questions hanging, in the air, and so people walk out confused, unsure, uncertain about the direction to take from there. If you have a compelling story, something that is of interest, something that is powerful people are going to listen no matter what the medium is. And what we get trapped by is the expectation that, that the audience doesn't want to be compelled. Most business leaders are honestly bored with 90% of the conversations they have in a day. They, they sit there and they have power point after power point, and they have meeting after meeting, and they have to do list after to do list. And they're looking to be inspired. And so as a student, I think the biggest thing you have to get over at the start, is your own uncertainty about whether or not the tool works. What does your audience need, a business leader? They want a little bit of data. They want hard fact, and they want recommendations. The space in between that and how you get to those things, that's where storytelling can be compelling. Locate the most powerful part of your message and lean on it. Is it one piece of data? Is it a single profile? Is it a single conversation? And last, but not least, is make sure that, that you create moments of reflection. There's big powerful questions sitting in front of this leader to think about. There's a variety of stories that a leader can tell in an organization. And when we talk about design thinking, when we talk about, what type of story is most appropriate. When you're trying to drive transformation. In this story the figure of the story, the main character, is the big wicked problem facing the organization. And so some things that you need to do typical in that type of story, is first you have to sell the challenge. You have to help the audience understand how the current state, Is more dangerous than any other possibility out there. You have to get them in the frame of mind that they want to take this on and make this challenge a cause that they can invest in. And that's fundamentally the first thing you have to do. Then you have to be able to talk very intelligently about the fellowship. Or what I would call kind of the, the people that are involved in the challenge. Whether that'd be the customers you're observing, the stakeholders in there, make sure that they have a good understanding of all the people involved. Last but not least, you have to give them the chance to talk about the tensions that exist. Right? This challenge creates tensions for us. In our business today, we have a big challenge around, doing the right thing, around sustainability. How do you build a good business that actually does good? If you can present those tensions, you create a place where people want to get involved because they want to have that debate and that conversation. And last but not least, you have to present on the very end the possibilities that there is a way to get this solved. That there is a, a path that we can head to make movement in that regard. And so I think that story when you put the challenge as the, as the figure. Becomes down to just really making sure that they understand how big it is. What the tensions are that exists. And what you can do. I think the question of why is storytelling is important to leadership In tomorrow's world. I think that's a fundamental question of what makes storytelling a compelling tool to learn about, to find out about, and to understand. As I look towards the world we live in, there's three basic challenges that leaders, leaders face. One is that they only have about 20% of the people that they lead. Only about 20% of their attention. And so, storytelling allows you. To get them to pay attention, for just a little bit longer. For a little bit more time, with a little bit more diligent energy. I think that's important. If you can raise the level of engagement in your business, you will do wonders to your performance. And storytelling allows you to create energy and passion and excitement around something. So I think that's one reason why leaders need to start using storytelling in [INAUDIBLE]. Secondly, storytelling allows you to make strategy accessible. Strategy's accessible, accessible only for about three groups of people. Right? The leaders that write it, the consultants that help them do it, and the professors that create case studies around it. For everyone else, strategy is a difficult thing that causes complexity and uncertainty in our lives. And I think what storytelling does for leaders in terms of strategy, is it makes it simple. It makes it relate-able, It gives strategy color, and life In character and plot. And it, allows the line worker, working your manufacturing unit to vice president running marketing to have the same understanding of what we're trying to do. And so for me, those are two reasons, and there's a number more about why storytelling is an essential tool for leaders to become competent in and experts in as they move forward.
