What, no stories?
Here's a crazy thought: What would happen if not one person in an organization told a story for a month? No stories, no anecdotes, no jokes, no nothin'. What would happen?
Well, other than being the driest, most boring place on earth, it would likely be a place where many mistakes get made and where morale is low. It would be impossible for new employees to understand the culture of the company and for the rest of the employees to understand how to get their jobs done. It would be impossible to build a strong team based on shared experiences. Successes and failures would only be shown as numbers on a page. All of the trust, color and humor would drain out of the organization, leaving lists, bullets and bits of information.
Yuck! This is bleak. And it's a good thing that this never happens. We humans would not be able to sustain a "no-story" space for long. It's a reminder that we shouldn't take our stories for granted, as they are the tools that infuse color, light, context and fun into our work and lives!
Well, other than being the driest, most boring place on earth, it would likely be a place where many mistakes get made and where morale is low. It would be impossible for new employees to understand the culture of the company and for the rest of the employees to understand how to get their jobs done. It would be impossible to build a strong team based on shared experiences. Successes and failures would only be shown as numbers on a page. All of the trust, color and humor would drain out of the organization, leaving lists, bullets and bits of information.
Yuck! This is bleak. And it's a good thing that this never happens. We humans would not be able to sustain a "no-story" space for long. It's a reminder that we shouldn't take our stories for granted, as they are the tools that infuse color, light, context and fun into our work and lives!
Comments
Without stories, the marketing department would be out of work! It's marketing's job to tell the company's story.
Posted by: Leslie Banks | September 21, 2006 01:30 PM
An environment without stories would be awful, no doubt. I haven't yet read your book, but I'm looking forward to it.
As an educator, it amazes me how intensely young people and adults respond to stories, both written and verbal. But as we grow up, these stories disappear into the fog of quantitative analysis, number crunching, and detailed minutiae.
Students and professionals both often respond resoundingly to emotion - one of the most powerful motivators I've ever seen. Feelings are what fuel the fire for my most successful students and colleagues. Time and again stories have proven, in an education environment, to be an excellent way to elicit dedication, improve teamwork, and strengthen community in people of all ages.
What we think is important, but what we *feel* is so often what drives us. And stories are exactly the way to create the powerful response necessary for achieving excellence.
Quantitative analysis, powerful as it is, only goes so far. Your advocacy for the qualitative is right on!
Posted by: Meat | September 23, 2006 01:33 PM
I have had the pleasure of hearing Craig present! I think there is tremendous power in stories. The beautiful part about it is that we ALL have them. I have seen many people get nervous before presenting. That is natural. It happens to me every time. However, what is calming is to get up and speak about the subject in the form of a story. Make the presentation your own! I cannot imagine even a day without stories! I love the concepts and the tools Craig provides! I cannot wait to read the book!
Posted by: Shelly Daggett | September 23, 2006 09:08 PM