The Power of Stories in Business
| According to Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard professor and author of Changing Minds, “Storytelling is the single-most powerful tool in a leader’s toolkit.”
Today, data, numbers, and facts can overwhelm us. Information engulfs us. It is precisely in this environment that stories are a strong attraction and motivating force. Leading organizations such as FedEx, 3M, and The Container Store, use stories to achieve their goals. They use well-crafted and well-told stories to:
Stories spread like wildfire, driving engagement and motivation, and create legacies that fuel organizations for generations. In a Harvard Business Review article, Robert McKee and Bronwyn Fryer pointed out that, “Executives can engage people in a much deeper and, ultimately, more convincing way if they toss out their PowerPoint slides and memos and learn to tell good stories. As human beings, we make sense of our experiences through stories.” Steven Ker, who ran GE’s Corporate University, says, “Ask your company’s best leaders to name the most powerful learning experiences they’ve had. They will hardly ever mention a class and will almost always name a real-life experience in business.” These experiences are the stuff of stories. When the construction manager and Walt Disney were planning the Magic Kingdom, the construction chief told Mr. Disney that he was going to use cheap materials to build the highest point of the castle. “After all,” said the construction manager, “it’s so high up, nobody will know the difference.” To which Mr. Disney replied, “I will.” Those cheap materials were never used. This real-life story about a real experience said so much about Disney values and commitment to quality. It has been told, retold, and internalized by hundreds of Disney associates down through the years. Would a PowerPoint slide or flipchart presentation have such a long-lasting legacy? In a family business, traditions are practices or beliefs that are passed down from generation to generation. Passing the torch of family traditions imparts continuity and bonding within the family. Traditions cultivate a special connection between family members and between generations. Stories about traditions, values, challenges faced and overcome, persistence, hard work, and sacrifice are a gift that one generation gives to another. The stories about a family business are critical to transmit the family values, hallmarks and culture to non-family employees. Every organization is a living thing with a rich, revealing, and very human history. Founders, owners, and leaders who gave birth to a dream and grew the business embody its rooted foundation and its wings of change and growth. These stories need to be told. 51 years ago, Dot Foods made its first deliveries from the back of the family station wagon. Today, this $3B organization is the largest food redistributor in the U.S. Please join us as John Tracy, CEO, and Jean Tracy Buckley, Leader of the Family Foundation and Family Council, share the challenges, lessons learned, and how-to’s that grew and nurtured the business and the family.
________________________________________________________________ CMA offers services including Talent Assessment and Development, Coaching, Family Business Forums, and our Leadership Advantage program for companies operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, contact Dan Bean or Joe Hoffman, or visit us on the web at www.cmaconsult.com. |