The Story Chair

How stories travel

I'd like to share with you story from our counterparts at The Storytellers UK.

This story is from one the UK's leading express carriers which has successfully adopted storytelling as part of their culture.  It's a great example of how inspirational stories travel quite naturally, and can be used to promote the brand to customers as well as inspiring and motivating employees.

Christmas Shopping

Four days before Christmas, a customer  in Glasgow dispatched a box of gifts to his family in Norwich

, several hundred miles away.  Unfortunately, the box became stuck in the carrier's system, with virtually no chance of arriving at its destination by Christmas.  It would be standard practice for the carrier to apologize and send financial compensation.  However, this was Christmas, and the team in East Angliarealized that there was just no chance that the customer would have time to re-purchase, re-wrap and re-send the gifts in time for 25th December.  The East Angliateam contacted the Glasgowteam, who traced the customer to find out exactly what he had bought his family.  They then went out and re-bought the gifts themselves, wrapped them up and delivered them on Christmas Eve. 

This story was told by the Managing Director on his blog.  It was later heard being told in a depot in another part of the country.

Two weeks ago, a sales executive from the same company was talking to a prospective corporate customer who was looking to sign a contract with an express carrier, and had heard that this carrier offers good customer service.  The sales exec told the same story and signed a new contract on the back of it. 

Employees act out the story

Gerard Brown talks about having employees act out the story themselves. They become the players and present, for example, the future scenario of the organization. It's a bold and interesting notion and one not suited to every culture.

But can you imagine the power of being a player in a future scenario for your organization? A springboard story with you creating the lead role. Now that's engagement.

Let the story do the preaching

A friend, who is a school counsellor, told me of her nervousness in inviting a holocaust survivor to speak to the grade 11s at her school. Kids can be brutal and she did not want the survivor to be ignored or embarrassed.

As it happened the kids were entranced, not a cell phone rang and my friend said you really could hear a pin drop. Respect for a retired grandmother - how did she do it?

She told a story and connected right into the emotional centres of the 16-year olds she was talking to. She did not preach instead she let the story do the teaching. She gave them the gift of her story and let them re-make it to their own world. We all know what that's like - it's the kind of hearing that makes you want to rush out and do something - because the cause is now yours.

It is the power of the CEO who is able to emotionally connect with, and inspire employees, through story.

Yes, your story does need to be specific

I have the pleasure of teaching corporate storytelling at a local university. Although teacher is but one of many roles I play, it is a very instructive one, if you will forgive the pun. Seldom do I come away from a class without feeling that I have learned and been enriched by my students.

Such was the case this past week. In this class we were developing corporate stories. We began by identifying key elements of a successful story – one of which is to ensure your story deals with a specific situation.

When it came to creating their stories a number of students struggled to present a single incident – the inclination was to jump into the bigger picture behind the story. I had to think and pick a few brains before I figured it out.

Storytelling by its very nature is freewheeling. That is why it works. When you tell an inspiring story people immediately begin to think about how they can apply it. You’ve lost control of the story but gained an advocate who feels personal ownership of the story.

When you are telling a story, particularly for the first time, your mind will do the same thing and bring in all sorts of associations. You will think about what’s important to you in relation to that story - trouble is in bringing those associations into the telling can dilute the power of your story.

The challenge is to channel your thinking in a disciplined fashion so that you are using a specific incident to tell the story and not slipping into the stuff behind it. Let your readers do that or you risk sounding preachy.

If you are interested in learning how to craft a corporate story check out my article in the resources section of our website: http://www.strategicconnections.com/resources/articles.asp?ID=sy-0002

I’d be most interested in hearing your suggestions on how to craft a successful story.

Story: communication suited to our times

I have just created my own font! First Starbucks with your customized coffee and now your very own typeface.

We live in a world of customization - where individual needs really do matter. We’ve left behind the notion of mass production and relating to customers and employees as groups. We are into a whole new era of connectedness that appeals to the individual.

Storytelling is a perfect fit for the new age of business. Stories are about the particular; people relate to them in a very personal fashion. In the old organization we told groups of people what to do and how to shift their focus; memos were the chosen means of communication. In the new organization we need to inspire change in individuals and nothing works better then a good old fashioned story.

,br>

Do you know of a story that has inspired personal change? I’d love to hear about it.

    

Story Induction

I have recently heard of some companies using stories as a means of relating to employees the behaviours they would like to see exhibited.  They do this by sending the employees, on a weekly or daily basis, stories that encapsulate the values and actions behind the desired behaviours. It has been described as sort of a, "Story Induction". I am wondering who is doing this, the mechanics of it all and if it is truly successful?

Buy-in is happening quickly

When I talk storytelling with executives I get buy-in very quickly. Good leaders understand the value of connecting at a personal level with employees. They might not be clear on how to apply storytelling beyond using it in presentations, but they get the concept. Are we spending too much explaining why storytelling works?