I recently had an interesting debate with a client over the value of storytelling in companies.

The client was preparing for an annual retreat with his company’s top 80 leaders. The group was getting together to talk about the company’s strategy and business plans for the year ahead. Culture was to be a key component of the discussion. What a great opportunity to use storytelling as a way of breathing life into the company’s cultural model!

I had a hard time persuading my client, however, that spending 90 minutes on something as ethereal as storytelling would be a good way to use busy executives’ time. Would a storytelling exercise come across as too “touchy feely?” This was a business meeting, after all, not some slumber party.

Eventually my client agreed his fellow leaders would be better equipped to talk about concepts like vision, mission and values if they could tell stories about colleagues whose work epitomized those concepts.

On the day of reckoning, my client’s chief legal officer gave a brief presentation on storytelling. He did a masterful job relating his days as a trial lawyer to the importance of weaving a good narrative. To win over a jury, he said, you need to capture both their minds and their hearts. Facts get their minds. Stories get their hearts.

Then the audience worked in small teams to come up with stories they felt epitomized the spirit and culture of their company. There was a very positive buzz in the room as teams brainstormed to come up with the single best story at their respective tables. After 20 minutes it was time to pass the microphone.

I sat off to the side, quietly praying that the stories these leaders came up with would connect and electrify the room.

Then it happened. Seconds after the first volunteer began telling his story, he had to pause for a moment and regain his composure. His story was so meaningful and so personal to him that telling it choked him up.

After that first story, others eagerly shared their own tales. Some stories were funny, some serious. But each connected with the people in the room on an emotional level. And I believe they left the meeting with a greater sense of pride – and, I think, a commitment to drive the kind of culture the company wants to achieve.

This example reinforces a growing trend. Melcrum Publishing recently surveyed more than 1,600 HR and communications professionals at companies around the world. Among those who said employee engagement is high on their agenda, 49 percent said they use storytelling to drive engagement.

Storytelling works because of the way it humanizes key business principles in an organization. Stories help people see how the work they do can have a meaningful impact on the business of their company. Stories help change and shape behavior. And stories are viral. People like telling stories, and good ones make their way around a company and become legend.

Making this argument with my client paid off in the end. His colleagues made an impression on one another by sharing more than a dozen meaningful stories. In fact, my client himself got past his own skepticism to tell a meaningful story himself – one that clearly related his reasons for being so passionate about the company. And in the weeks since the conference, a storytelling culture continues to grow at his company.

Storytelling has grown in prominence among CMG companies, with examples including the model developed for Microsoft by Weber Shandwick and an internal branding program developed by GolinHarris known as “Real People, Real Stories.”

back to top

If you’re considering a storytelling program for your organization, keep the “Five C’s of a Great Story” in mind.

Every story must have compelling characters. These are the people your employees can relate to and emulate in their own daily work: the guy on the assembly line or the woman working at your customer call center, for instance.

Although listeners will interpret stories differently based on their personal circumstances, it’s best to have a clear objective in mind and to craft your story accordingly. What do you hope to accomplish by telling this story? How is your objective reflected in the goals of the story’s characters?

You should also build context into your story. This is the situation in which your characters find themselves. It helps explain why they are trying to achieve their goals.

All stories have conflict. There are always obstacles or challenges standing between your characters and their goals. Perhaps they are working against unusually short deadlines. Or maybe they are working to satisfy a particularly challenging customer.

Finally, every story should have a connection to your company’s broader goals and objectives. Perhaps the characters are living your values, for example. Or maybe they are working against the principles of a core business strategy.

By working with these Five C’s in mind, your people can develop stories that will have a lasting impact on the organization.

Five C’s of a Great Story

back to top