Stories that Inspire Action

Here's a new article by Gary Hirsch and Brad Robertson of On Your Feet. They explain: "We hear stories all the time. We tell stories. We are stories... Stories are told in business too; stories are told by leadership, by peers around the water cooler, by consumers upon leaving a store. Stories are told pretty much everyplace but those silent elevators.

But stories, unorganized, may not be enough to inspire either internal or external organizational action. They need a structure to fit into, so that people better understand what the stories are about, and how the stories can help catalyze action. This article explains how we created the “Story Plotter” and how you might use it to organize your stories and inspire action within your organization."

I especially liked their challenge to avoid Fat Words: "Instead of utilizing stories, organizations often try to drive action by developing phrases or words that they hope will inspire and motivate. The global overnight shipping and delivery company had developed valuesbased language that they hoped would inspire good customer service. They used words like connecting, simplicity, and certainty. Our friend Brian Lanahan (who was once a brand manager at Coke and now collaborates with us through a consultancy called Character) describes such language as “Fat Words.” Fat words are words that are so universal that they can mean something different to anyone using it."

Brad and Gary go on to look at ways to use the power of story to help an organization grow - identifying behaviours that support values, getting clear about behaviour that needs to change, inspiring interest in new possibilities and dealing honestly with doubts and fears.

Anyone interested in building a brand using the power of story will enjoy this. Download the article (pdf file).

Posted by Johnnie Moore on May 11, 2005 04:19 AM in Articles
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