Release The Stories In Your Organization

© Acando AB 2009-11-110

Release the Stories

in Your Organization

Robert Stjernström

© Acando AB

Let me introduce you to YOU

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YOU were born some years ago

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like everyone else – YOU have

your ORIGIN

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YOUR stories

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YOUR stories

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here

Age

Joy

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YOUR stories

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to here

Age

Joy

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YOUR stories

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over time

Age

Joy

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YOUR stories

childhood and all the

experiences that made you

WHO YOU ARE TODAY

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YOUR stories

and as of today and YOUR

DAILY EXPERIENCES

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YOUR stories

and YOUR DREAMS ABOUT

THE FUTURE

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this might be true

but what does it

have to do with

organizational storytelling?

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a corporation is an individual consisting of individuals

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with a past, present and dreams about the future

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with stories everywhere: individual, collective, conscious,

unconscious, contemporary, historical, future

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and what the corporation creates

Annual reports

Branding

Products and services

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Branding

Annual reports

Products and services

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so a corporation is a story

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so a corporation is a story

that creates nothing but

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so a corporation is a story

that creates nothing but

stories

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yeah,

but WHY should I

BOTHER?

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#1 information overflow and rapid social

change makes us crave for meaning

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#1 information overflow and rapid social

change makes us crave for meaning

#2 facts convince the rational mind, not

our emotions

30 %

3 years

200 M$

100 M€10 %

3 months

1 year

© Acando AB

#1 information overflow and rapid social

change makes us crave for meaning

#2 facts convince the rational mind, not

our emotions

#3 while facts are dots on a screen –

story connects facts to something

meaningful

30 %

3 years

we must save

in

200 M$

100 M€10 %

3 months

1 year

we must increase

in order to survive

increased market share

© Acando AB

#1 information overflow and rapid social

change makes us crave for meaning

#2 facts convince the rational mind, not

our emotions

#3 while facts are dots on a screen –

story connects facts to something

meaningful

#4 when the naked truth walk through

town everyone shut their windows

incompetent employees

lousy leadership

inefficiency

high

spending

low

value

better

competitors

© Acando AB

#1 information overflow and rapid social

change makes us crave for meaning

#2 facts convince the rational mind, not

our emotions

#3 while facts are dots on a screen –

story connects facts to something

meaningful

#4 when the naked truth walk through

town everyone shut their windows

#5 stories transcends us to an alternate

state of mind, a sort of hypnosis

once upon a time …

imagine

picture

yourself

what if?

© Acando AB

© Acando AB

70 % of change initiatives fail (Kotter)

managers talk 78 % of the time (Mintzberg)

storytelling is the most important

success factor (McKinsey)

no large investment

immediate

result

we are already

storytellers

we can all be better storytellers

inclusive - invites to

collaboration

makes people

remember

makes sense of sequences of events

no technology required

© Acando AB 2009-11-1128

I get it

now show me

HOW!

© Acando AB 2009-11-1129

Me!Me!

© Acando AB 2009-11-1130

unexpected, credible / true, human

The Me Story

Communicate traits and experiences to

make a lasting first impression and

increase trustYou!You!

You!You!

You!You!

You!You!

You!You!

You!You!

You!You!

You!You!

You!You!

You!You!

© Acando AB

move the audience, unexpected, credible / true, human, emotional, simple

The Success Story

An example of a successful activity

to create a feeling of possibility,

increase trust and communicate

values.

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credible / true, simple

The Change Story

An example where the change

already has occurred to create

understanding and motivation

Facts may convince executives

Stories ignite action

What’s in it for me, my

colleagues, my organization

Stories about what we do and

are going to do

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credible / true, simple

The Company Value

Story

Communicate the company’s values

through it’s true actions

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human, credible / true

The Rumor Anesthetic

The use of facts or irony to decrease

the impact of false rumors and

contra-stories

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credible / true / factual, simple

The Knowledge and

Experience Sharing Story

An example of a problem or a

challenge and the methods used to

solve it

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“Everything that exists is

here because someone

dreamed it up”Neil Gaiman

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The Vision Story

Envisioning a future state to create

understanding and motivation

move the audience, simple / no details, credible / true, emotional

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simple / short

The Coffee Machine

Story

Quickly communicate your values

and why you and your ideas are

valuable

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simple / short

The Coffee Machine

Story

Quickly communicate your values

and why you and your ideas are

valuable

You speak at a rate of 100 wpm

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simple / short

The Coffee Machine

Story

Quickly communicate your values

and why you and your ideas are

valuable

You speak at a rate of 100 wpm

1 minute = 1/3 of a written page

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simple / short

The Coffee Machine

Story

Quickly communicate your values

and why you and your ideas are

valuable

You speak at a rate of 100 wpm

1 minute = 1/3 of a written page

How much do you prepare?

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“The choice for leaders in business and organizations is

not whether to be involved in storytelling – they can hardly

do otherwise”

Steve Denning

ok,

but where do I use the

stories?

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“Sensemaking consists of attempts to integrate a new

event into a plot”

Barbara Czarniawska

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Change Management

The Me Story, The Success Story, The Change Story, The Rumor Anesthetic, The

Vision Story, The Coffee Machine Story

70% failure

Storytelling most important

success factor

Creates a sense of meaning

Understanding and motivation

© Acando AB 2009-11-1145

Knowledge Management

The Knowledge and Experience Sharing Story

Learning by sharing

Transform tacit knowledge to

explicit

Dramatic stories with vivid

images are easy to remember

Storytelling is not good for

critical skills

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“To start a culture change

all we need to do is two

simple things:

1. Do dramatic story-

worthy things that

represent the culture we

want to create. Then let

other people tell stories

about it.

2. Find other people who

do story-worthy things

that represent the culture

we want to create. Then

tell stories about them”

Peter Bregman, Harvard

Business Review

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Corporate Culture

The Company Value Story, The Rumor Anesthetic, The Knowledge and Experience

Sharing Story

Stories stores the culture

Stories to identify existing

culture

Stories to influence existing

culture

Stories creates counter stories

© Acando AB

Branding

The Company Value Story, The Rumor Anesthetic

True stories to convey value

Made up stories to add value

and entertain

Based on the organization,

product or service

Story most important for the

total experience of the brand

© Acando AB 2009-11-1149

Information Management

The Success Story, The Change Story, The Knowledge and Experience Sharing

Story, The Vision Story

We need to understand the

information at our fingertips

Information leads to knowledge

Leads to decision

Leads to change and new

information

© Acando AB

“The choice for leaders in business and organizations is

not whether to be involved in storytelling – they can hardly

do otherwise”

Steve Denning

wait a minute,

this is overwhelming ...

where do I start as a

co-worker, manager or as a

consultant?

© Acando AB 2009-11-1151

co-worker, manager,

consultant

The Me Story, The Success Story, The Change Story, The Company Value Story,

The Rumor Anesthetic, The Knowledge and Experience Sharing Story, The Vision

Story, The Coffee Machine Story

Understand the power of stories

Know different kind of stories for

different occasions

Tell your and other’s stories,

and let others tell yours

Keep a library of stories

© Acando AB

“The choice for leaders in business and organizations is

not whether to be involved in storytelling – they can hardly

do otherwise”

Steve Denning

fair enough

and where

do I find

the stories?

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“Stories are all around

us, in words and

sounds, in what we see

and in what we feel;

everything is a story,

everything tells a story”

Frank A. Mills

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Identify Stories in Your

Organization

telling a story leads to people opening up and sharing their stories

Stories already exist in your

organization

© Acando AB

Identify Stories in Your

Organization

telling a story leads to people opening up and sharing their stories

Stories already exist in your

organization

Clarify strategic purpose

© Acando AB

Identify Stories in Your

Organization

telling a story leads to people opening up and sharing their stories

Stories already exist in your

organization

Clarify strategic purpose

Elicit through interviews or work

shops

© Acando AB

Identify Stories in Your

Organization

Stories already exist in your

organization

Strengthen, communicate

and…

Clarify strategic purpose

Elicit through interviews or work

shops

© Acando AB 2009-11-1158

if you love someone

© Acando AB 2009-11-1159

set them free

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© Acando AB 2009-11-1161

Thank you!

© Acando AB 2009-11-1162

Robert Stjernströmmanagement consultant that helps organizations

optimize their business using Storytelling and IT

www.enterprisestorytelling.se

robert.stjernstrom@acando.com

twitter.com/rbrtstar

special thanks to Oscar Berg and Lisa Stjernström

for inspiration