The Power Is the Story Tom Peters/ / for Better By Design

Story Power!

“A key – perhaps the key – to leadership is the effective communication of a story.” Howard Gardner Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership

Leaders don’t just make products and make decisions. Leaders make meaning. – John Seely Brown

“We are in the twilight of a society based on data. As information and intelligence become the domain of computers, society will place more value on the one human ability that cannot be automated: emotion. Imagination, myth, ritual - the language of emotion - will affect everything from our purchasing decisions to how we work with others. Companies will thrive on the basis of their stories and myths. Companies will need to understand that their products are less important than their stories.” Rolf Jensen, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies

“The essence of American presidential leadership, and the secret of presidential success, is storytelling.” —Evan Cornog, The Power and the Story: How the Crafted Presidential Narrative Has Determined Political Success from George Washington to George W. Bush

“To win this race, Kerry needs to stop focusing on Election Day and start thinking about his would-be presidency’s last day. What does he want his legacy to be? When sixth- graders in the year 2108 read about the Kerry presidency, what does he want the one or two sentences that accompany his photo to say?” —Kenneth Baer/Washington Post/092604

“Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions. And the first question for a leader always is: ‘Who do we intend to be?’ Not ‘What are we going to do?’ but ‘Who do we intend to be?’” —Max De Pree, Herman Miller

Business’ New Age … of Stories!

“The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind—computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch numbers. But the keys to the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind—creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people—artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers—will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.” —Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

“The era of ‘left brain’ dominance—and the Information Age it engendered— Is giving way to a new world in which ‘right brain’ qualities— inventiveness, empathy, meaning—will govern.” —Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

L-Directed Thinking: sequential, literal, functional, textual, analytic to R-Directed Thinking: simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual, synthetic Source: Dan Pink/A Whole New Mind

Agriculture Age (farmers) Industrial Age (factory workers) Information Age (knowledge workers) Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers) Source: Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

“The MFA is the new MBA.” —Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

Storie$$$$$.

“ Experiences are as distinct from services as services are from goods.” Joseph Pine & James Gilmore, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage

The “Experience Ladder” Experiences Services Goods Raw Materials

“Guinness as a brand is all about community. It’s about bringing people together and sharing stories. ” — Ralph Ardill, Imagination, in re Guinness Storehouse

Experience: “Rebel Lifestyle!” “What we sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him.” Harley exec, quoted in Results-Based Leadership

Bob Lutz: “I see us as being in the art business. Art, entertainment and mobile sculpture, which, coincidentally, also happens to provide transportation.” Source: NYT

“Car designers need to create a story. Every car provides an opportunity to create an adventure. … “The Prowler makes you smile. Why? Because it’s focused. It has a plot, a reason for being, a passion.” Freeman Thomas, co-designer VW Beetle; designer Audi TT

Hmmmm(?): “Only” Words … Story Adventure Smile Focus Plot Passion

One company’s answer: CXO* *Chief eXperience Officer

“Most executives have no idea how to add value to a market in the metaphysical world. But that is what the market will cry out for in the future. There is no lack of ‘physical’ products to choose between.” Jesper Kunde, Unique Now... or Never [on the excellence of Nokia, Nike, Lego, Virgin et al.]

“The sun is setting on the Information Society—even before we have fully adjusted to its demands as individuals and as companies. We have lived as hunters and as farmers, we have worked in factories and now we live in an information-based society whose icon is the computer. We stand facing the fifth kind of society: the Dream Society. … The Dream Society is emerging this very instant—the shape of the future is visible today. Right now is the time for decisions—before the major portion of consumer purchases are made for emotional, nonmaterialistic reasons. Future products will have to appeal to our hearts, not to our heads. Now is the time to add emotional value to products and services.” —Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society:How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business

DREAM: “A dream is a complete moment in the life of a client. Important experiences that tempt the client to commit substantial resources. The essence of the desires of the consumer. The opportunity to help clients become what they want to be.” —Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni

(Revised) Experience Ladder Dreams Come True Awesome Experiences Solutions Services Goods Raw Materials

Furniture vs. Dreams “We do not sell ‘furniture’ at Domain. We sell dreams. This is accomplished by addressing the half-formed needs in our customers’ heads. By uncovering these needs, we, in essence, fill in the blanks. We convert ‘needs’ into ‘dreams.’ Sales are the inevitable result.” — Judy George, Domain Home Fashions

“In Denmark, eggs from free-range hens have conquered over 50 percent of the market. Consumers do not want hens to live their lives in small, confining cages. They are willing to pay 15 percent to 20 percent more for the story about animal ethics. This is classic Dream Society logic. Both kind of eggs are similar in quality, but consumers prefer eggs with the better story. After we debated the issue and stockpiled 50 other examples, the conclusion became evident: Stories and tales speak directly to the heart rather than the brain. After a century where society was marked by science and rationalism, the stories and values are returning to the scene.” —Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society: How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business

Six Market Profiles 1. Adventures for Sale 2. The Market for Togetherness, Friendship and Love 3. The Market for Care 4. The Who-Am-I Market 5. The Market for Peace of Mind 6. The Market for Convictions Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society: How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business

Market Power = Story Power

Brand = Story

Story > Brand

Living the Story.

“It is necessary for the President to be the nation’s No. 1 actor.” FDR

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi

“My life is my message.” Gandhi

Spreading the Story I.

Premise: “Ordering” Systemic Change is a Stupid Waste of Time!

Demos! Heroes! Stories!

“Some people look for things that went wrong and try to fix them. I look for things that went right and try to build on them.” —Bob Stone/ Mr.Rego/ Lessons from an Uncivil Servant

“Find something small that you can turn around. If you’re on a 9- game losing streak, you need to start with one great inning.”—Rudy

MB S A!* *Managing By Story-ing Around/David Armstrong

REAL Org Change: Demos & Models (“Model Installations,” “ReGo Labs”)/ Heroes (mostly extant: “burned to reinvent gov’t”)/ Stories & Storytellers (Props!)/ Chroniclers (Writers, Videographers, Pamphleteers, Etc.)/ Cheerleaders & Recognition (Pos>>Neg, Volume)/ New Language (Hot/Emotional/WOW)/ Seekers (networking mania)/ Protectors / Support Groups / End Runs—“Pull Strategy” (weird alliances, weird customers, weird suppliers, weird alumnae-JKC)/ Field “Real People” Focus (3 COs) (long way away)/ Speed (O.O.D.A. Loops—act before the “bad guys” can react) C.f., Bob Stone, Lessons from an Uncivil Servant

Spreading the Story II.

Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman “Groups become great only when everyone in them, leaders and members alike, is free to do his or her absolute best.” “The best thing a leader can do for a Great Group is to allow its members to discover their greatness.”

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “free to do his or her absolute best” … “allow its members to discover their greatness.”

Quests!

Q.E.D.

“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or not.” —Isabel Allende