What if you could win over potential new colleagues with a well-crafted story that makes people want to join you, tugs at the heartstrings, and creates a sense of belonging from the very first day? How would you do that? You might consider telling creation stories.
The story of how things began can be enormously compelling. Maybe your company was founded 50 years ago. Perhaps it converted to employee ownership 15 years ago. Not everybody loves to hear old people talking about what happened long before they were born or joined the company. Even a riveting story, if plainly told, will be quickly forgotten. What are we to do?
Consider the stakes. In fiction, we are instructed to include the big three: loss of life, loss of love, or loss of career/credibility. Focus on overcoming obstacles. As the saying goes, “That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” Stories about that time it almost went down the drain push us to the edge of our seats. They are the stories we remember long after they’re told.
Include a conflicted protagonist. Who hasn’t faced an impossible choice? In real life, we want to create win-win scenarios where everybody gets what they want, but that doesn’t make for a compelling story. Think about how you can weave impossible choices, compelling conundrums, or secrets that are hard to keep into your story.
Author Kyle Wierks encourages crafting an inspirational story by creating a relatable protagonist, developing empathetic conflict, and delivering a shred of hope—see his blog post on this subject.
Let’s consider Lucille Ball, star of the groundbreaking sitcom I Love Lucy. Lucy wanted to be a big star, but Ricky was the performer in the family. Lucille Ball had amazing comedic timing, but the character she played had bad luck, could not sing, was too klutzy to dance, and couldn’t get out of her own way. Yet, every now and then, it looked like she might catch a break. In many episodes, the story held off to the end before poor Lucy’s hopes were dashed (yet again), and viewers believed that maybe, just maybe, this time she might be discovered.
We’re often tempted to tell stories that make us seem heroic, but we have the chance to make a greater impact when we tell stories about the times we failed, disappointed people, or fell short.
One time, at a conference, Sue Butler and Tracy Till from Butler/Till gave a presentation about the mistakes they have made rather than all of the impressive things that they have accomplished. Adversity is a storyteller’s friend. Give us underdogs and unlikely heroes. Success is more impressive when it comes against all odds.
When we recite our mission, vision, and values, we wonder why our lofty words fall short of winning hearts. What if we showcase our values by telling stories about how people were forced to choose between them? Could we tell a story about how a character wrestled with right versus wrong or experienced an epiphany about values? What if our company decided to focus on a particular value as the result of a tragedy?
Even a super-short story should focus on vivid details that help us experience the story. In historical fiction, we call it world-building. It could be as simple as an object. The senses give us many opportunities: touch or texture, hearing or sound, sight, smell, and taste… and maybe even that sixth sense. Who doesn’t love a whiff of the supernatural?
Words are the basic building blocks of any story. Give your verbs superpowers to help your story soar. Amp up your nouns to make your story edgy. Show restraint when it comes to adverbs and adjectives. Powerful words work together like double word scores in Scrabble. Carefully chosen words are evocative. They help us picture and feel a story.
Consider this 142-word story called “My First Day.”
Stories about our first day on the job are creation stories. Can you relate to My First Day? Can you picture it? Can you feel it?
Storytelling doesn’t need to be a five-volume series. Sometimes the best stories are surprisingly brief. Recognize the power of your company’s stories. Realize the potential value of crafting inspiring stories. You don’t have to be the founder, president, or boss. You can give voice to your own stories and how they can add to your company’s legacy.