Strategy #40: Write your own story

At some point five or six thousand years ago, people began telling stories, and they have been a staple of human communication ever since. Down unto this day, we are still influenced by some of these ancient stories, as told in the Bible, the Iliad and the Odyssey, and the Bhagavad-Gita. Story-telling touches people heart and soul, and is often the requisite to being able to reach them at an intellectual level.

If you want to cultivate a high-loyalty organization, you must appreciate that it is first and foremost an endeavor that requires emotional involvement. And what is the best way to create a significant emotional experience? First, let me tell you what it is not: you do not create significant emotional experiences by reading a speech from a script, by sharing a spreadsheet full of numbers, or by calling a staff meeting.  You create significant emotional experiences by telling stories.

Try this:  My client West Central commissioned me to write their story in the form of a short book featuring a fictionalized history of the company, and their commitment to values-based life and leadership skills exemplified in The Twelve Core Action Values. The Farmer has been shared with every employee (and all new employees) at West Central Cooperative, as well as their shareholders, suppliers, and others. It’s also a great recruiting tool; how many companies have their story told in an easy-to-read book? (It’s also been a wonderful resource for me to share with other prospective clients what it would be like to inculcate The Twelve Core Action Values into an organization’s corporate culture and operating philosophy.)

How can you most effectively tell your story –  do it in a way that engages people at an emotional and spiritual level, and makes them proud to be a part of that ongoing story? What are the key elements of that story? What supplemental talent do you need, and where can you find it?

Next >