Just Story It

We're willing to bet that more C-suite bottoms sit on Herman Miller chairs than any other brand chair.

Love this video from Hermann Miller that very creatively tells their story -- or at least one of their stories! It's a story terrific for recruiting and for just good ol' plain PR.

And I like that the article discusses what works in this video and challenges us all to step up to the plate to create similar stories for our business. Yes, we can do it -- and need to!

We live in a world of increasing pressure and uncertainty, driven in large part by digital technology infrastructures.

Author John Hagel goes on to explain a vicious business mindset we face today that constricts our opportunities and keeps us either stuck, or trending downward.

There are several pieces contributing to this limiting cycle and the narrative we tell ourselves, and each other, is a HUGE part of the problem. 

Hagel documents the threat-based narrative we are surrounded by and its consequences for our businesses (and political life):

1. Protectionism
2. Polarization
3. Short term focus
4. Magnified risk while sacrificing potential rewards
5. Urgent reactionism
6. Uniformity versus innovation
7. Minimal trust

This is not what we want for 2012. As writer Salman Rushdie says, "Those who do not have power over the story that dominates their lives truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts."

In other words, if you want different results, change the story you are telling yourself.

Hagel brilliantly lays out the mindset problem and narrative we face today, and offers us an alternative.  The alternative starts with sharing a new narrative, and then supporting structures to make it real.

Read this article.  Shift the story. Add reinforcing structures to your business. You can do this in your own life and business -- you don't have to wait for some powers-t0-be to take action first. 

In this case, it is all about you!

Paul Smith I recently spoke to Paul Smith, who is a consumer research executive, keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and author of Lead with a Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives that Captivate, Convince, and Inspire (AMACOM Books, August,...

I've been following Dan Schawbel for years and was delighted to find that he recently interviewed colleague Paul Smith at Proctor and Gamble about his new book on storytelling and leadership titled Lead With A Story.

This interview with Paul that Dan conducted is chock full of good information about the need for leaders to develop storytelling as a core competence. And tips on how companies can make storytelling part of their leadership practices.

What I love about Paul's book is his identification of 21 common leadership challenges where storytelling can help. He based his conclusions on his interviews with 75+ CEOs and executives at companies around the world.

If you want to know more about storytelling and leadership, read this article and then get the book (I have no affiliation with Paul or his publisher).

You will have more tools at your disposal than when you started!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

"Many of us entrepreneurs are drawn to our particular profession by a specific defining moment or series of events that changed everything in our lives."

In this article we have a great example of a business' founding story -- i.e. what got you started.

I love how the author shares her story and talks with us about how you, too have a similar story.  She then poses several questions to help readers find their compelling story.

In articles about business storytelling, not enough attention gets paid to crafting this particular core story -- which is why I've added it to the collection here.

You will get some good insights and ideas from reading this article.