Just Story It

This is a Change This PDF that you can view here:

http://changethis.com/manifesto/98.01.StoryWars/pdf/98.01.StoryWars.pdf 

I'm curating this because I like it and I don't like it -- and it is worth taking a look at the assumptions going on in this piece so we can get really smart.

This piece was put together by Jonathan Sachs, author of Winning The Story Wars. Sachs comes from the world of marketing and branding and this is reflected in his point of view.

Let's get what I don't like out of the way so I can chat about what I do like. Here is what puts my teeth on edge:

1. Sachs states that "we live in a world that has lost its connection to traditional myths and we are now trying to find new ones..." Welllllllll, if your slice of reality is the Hollywood, advertising, and branding world it is easy to get sucked into this notion. But we know from Jung, other psychologists, Folklorists, Anthroplogists, and neuroscience how this is not true. There is great irony in this "myth" that Sachs is perpetuating.

2. We are engaged in a war. Hmmmmm. Well, for millenium people have wanted to gain the attention of other people -- so nothing new there. Is this a war?  Could be. But if we are wanting to employ the power of storytelling to find solutions and create change as Sachs advocates, then war does not speak to the greater good but instead speaks to winners and losers where ongoing resentment is inherently built in. That sounds like the perpetuation of war -- same old same old. 

3. Sach's relationship to storytelling is still at the transactional level -- I'll tell you a story and you'll do what I want. While what he really wants it seems is storytelling at the transformational level. That requires a different mind-set and different story skills -- deep listening, engagement, story sharing, etc. And he completely ignores the relational level of storytelling.

4. Reliance on the Hero's Journey as the only story archetype to follow. Well, that's a narrow slice of reality and one geared towards youth. Yet other story archetypes are desperately needed: King/Queen, Trickster, Magician for example in order to affect change.

5. As a result, his 10 simple strategies stay at the transactional level with a few geared towards transformation (figure out what you stand for, declare your moral, reveal the moral). Now any great professional storyteller will tell you these that I've mentioned are essential for any compelling storytelling session. So they land in both worlds of transactional and transformational storytelling.

OK -- on to what I do like!

1. If you want to be heard, you'd better learn to tell better stories.
2. The solutions to our significant problems these days depends on our ability to tell great stories and inspire people to think differently.
3. Storytelling does not take long to learn, but it does take a lifetime to master,
4. Know what a story is and is not
5. Our abilitiy to disseminate stories is greater now than in the past -- because of technology. That is just a reminder to expend your use of different channels in sharing your stories that are now available to us.

Enough! Go read this piece yourself and decide what you think about it. It's a quick read.

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

I promised to curate the next article by Daryl Conner on the four types of burning platforms stories and how they are used in org change work. Well, here it is -- and it is really good.

Any leader, business, or consultant needs to know the particulars in this article. Here is a sneak preview -- the burning platforms stories are NOT really about creating urgency for change.

I appreciate Daryl for clearing up these misconceptions about this story. And don't forget to read his first blog post about the burning platform that I curated below.

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

In our experience, it's rare for a diverse group of headstrong Executive Education participants from around the globe to agree on anything. Our research has shown that more and more leaders — from organizations that range from computer-networking giant Cisco Systems to Hindustan Petroleum, a large India-based oil supplier — are using the power of organizational conversation to drive their company forward.

I love this article! Why? Because it reframes leadership, organizational change, and employee engagement as a conversation. Finally!

The authors don't directly mention storytelling, but if you are going to have a meaningful conversation, you know that storytelling is going to be a part of it.

Actually, promoting conversational storytelling is what I've practiced for years in my org development work. And it's a natural for anyone connected into business storytelling.

This notion fits perfectly with the emerging recognition that stories -- and stories told in conversation -- are the path to change, effective leadership, and engagement.

I like the research the authors shared, also. This article lays the foundation for where and how to engage in conversations/storytelling that make a difference. And don't forget to read the comments at the end of the post -- there's lots of good info there, too!

Enjoy this different perspective. 

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her Just Story It Scoops at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

There are countless books, articles and papers on change and transformation management. Common for most of them is that their underlying premise is one of top-down management control. I have now come across an entirely different approach.

Change is in the air and oh, how I love this article about a newer model for getting organizational change done -- Viral Change!

When a company starts working with stories, it requires re-thinking current models because the dynamics of storytelling (i.e memory, simulation, conversation, listening, sharing, ethics, etc.) demand different models and implementation strategies. 

This article very clearly spells out why most org change efforts fail, and the different thinking/models that we need in order to be successful.  That is because stories are key to change success but they won't work as well in our current approaches.

The author discusses the 1) two worlds of change management, 2) a change model focused on behaviors, 3) selecting change agents, and 4) using storytelling.

There is a book cited "Homo Imitans" by Dr. Herrero Leandro -- looks like I'm ordering a new addition to my library!

The “burning platform” story has become a permanent part of the organizational change landscape. In this series, I’ll offer some background about how I found and introduced the story, what its original purpose was, how that intention has sometimes been misunderstood, and some of the implications for change practitioners who incorporate the metaphor into their practice.

Here is a thoughtful piece about leadership, change, and 'burning platform' stories to get us started this week.

What is a 'burning platform' story? It is often a story leaders tell to galvanize change in an organization.

Here's are the points I really like about this article:

1. It is a fabulous example of how stories change -- both for better and worse -- with transmission.
2. It is a good discussion about how metaphors can be mis-construed.
3. It is a good reminder about making sure you've got the story right if you are going to repeat it.
4. It includes two misconceptions about a 'burning platform' story that have ensued in leadership and among consultants.

Hey -- let's get the story straight! Here is your opportunity to learn from the source of the 'burning platform' story Daryl Conner, and to learn about it's real meaning and use.

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

Did you wake up fresh today, a new start, a blank slate with resources and opportunities... or is today yet another day of living out the narrative you've been engaged in for years? For all of us, it's the latter....

Whoa! Here's a wake-up call for us all. Do you feel stuck with your business? Having trouble finding and telling your stories?

Then maybe it's not about 'them' it's about the worn-out narrative you are operating under.

There are words of wisdom for us all in this latest blog post from Seth Godin. Start your Monday off right and ask yourself the questions posed by Seth here. Maybe today is the start of a new story for you and your business.

To change the story we have to ask ourselves: Which stories define cultural norms? Where did these stories come from? Whose stories were ignored or erased to create these norms? What new stories can we tell more accurately describe the world we see?

I really really like this article (really :)) because it makes a very subtle, but very HUGE distinction about what happens when people hear stories: "It’s one thing to say ‘reading stories makes us see pictures in our head’...we cannot simply visualize the story on a movie screen in our heads, we must simulate it ... The significance of this study to social change stories is important. It suggests there is no such thing as a passive audience."

Bascially the author discusses recent research that says that not only do listeners hear the story, they reenact it in their heads. In the book Influencer; The Power to Change Anything (2007), the studies those authors discuss say the same thing.  That if you want someone to change -- a behavior, attitude, way of doing things -- stories are the second most powerful tool to do that right after direct learning experience.

This is huge -- and is the key to change efforts being successful -- whether it is within a company or in social justice endeavors.

The only thing I wanted more of in this article are more examples. And I want to know more details about the 'narrative power analysis model' the author references.

Other than that, there are many good points in this article, so don't miss it!