{“Good corporate stories are more likely
to conjure up tangible visible images than
anything in a PowerPoint presentation.” }
—Chip Heath
Professor, Stanford University
the company throws a holiday party for its
employees and invites six patients and their
physicians to attend and share how they were
helped by Medtronic’s products.
One patient who shared his story was
Gary Prazac, who had been diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease at age 49. Prazac emotionally recounted how the disease turned him
into an “old man, shuffling along with a cane
and wearing the ‘Parkinson’s mask’ [a deadpan
facial expression].”
Prazac explained how he had become stuck
at an airport when he was unable to move
from his chair, forcing him to miss his plane.
Huge doses of medication helped control the
tremors but caused other unwelcome symptoms. This went on for years, until his doctor
suggested a new therapy involving the implantation of a deep-brain-stimulation device made
by Medtronic. Prazac said, “The surgery
reversed at least 10 years of symptoms. It was
literally a miracle. Medtronic gave me my
smile back.”
Medtronic’s chairman and chief executive
officer, Art Collins, attributes much of the company’s success to the stories told at the holiday
events, calling it “the day we come together as a
family joined by a great and enduring mission:
serving others.”
Creating your story
Corporate stories are used for numerous
purposes. They convey information, share
knowledge, clarify an organization’s mission,
underscore values, sell products or points of
view, honor traditions and celebrate successes.
David Armstrong, president and chief
executive officer of Armstrong International
( www.armstrong-intl.com), a Costco member,
has made a second career out of storytelling.
He has authored four books and produced videos and CDs on the subject.
Armstrong says, “Stories are everywhere.
Small-business owners probably tell a story
every day and just don’t know it.” He offers this
advice to formalize it.
■ What’s the purpose of the story? Are
you looking to convey information to employees about company culture or trying to convey
your level of personal service to customers?
■ Think of an experience that reflects
that aim.
■ Write it down. Perfect it. Put a title to it.
State the moral.
■ Use an employee’s name. Make that
person a hero. Armstrong adds, “It’s a morale
boost, and what did it cost?”
■ Don’t make it overcomplicated. Clark
stresses, “Keep it simple.”
■ In writing, it should be no more than
a page. In a presentation, unless you’re an
extremely gifted storyteller, keep it to two to
three minutes.
■ Keep looking for new stories to tell.
Armstrong claims, “It makes you a better leader,
because you have to listen to people.”
Ann Monroe, president of the Community
Health Foundation of Western and Central
New York, in Buffalo, New York, was trained in
the corporate world to look at data, but after
working in a nonprofit organization she felt
pushed to look beyond the numbers.
“You need to create a relationship with the
people to have them look at the data,” explains
Monroe. “Stories engage the hearts and minds
of people; data engages the intellect.”
Clark adds this advice: A business must be
organic, constantly creating new stories to keep
the message fresh.
Using your story
Once your stories are gathered, organized
and polished, using them depends on purpose.
They can be told in front of internal audiences
to convey company values and goals, or to outsiders to show how you’ve helped other clients
overcome a challenge.
“An authentic story reveals the true personality of the organization—in effect, its heart
and soul,” Clark points out. “To be effective, it
must be focused on a clear objective, told consistently and sincerely.”
The basic value of storytelling is in its
ability to create relevance and cohesion for all
stakeholders. As the experts all emphasized,
storytelling works for small businesses as well
as large, for organizations as well as in personal
lives. So, what’s your story? C
Costco: A fish story
ONE COMPANY mentioned in
Evelyn Clark’s book, Around the
Corporate Campfire, as well as
singled out by the other experts
interviewed, is Costco. President
and Chief Executive Officer Jim
Sinegal says, “What else have
we got besides stories? That’s
what really hits home with people. It’s what brings meaning to
the work we do.”
A well-known tale within
the company is the “salmon
story.” A wall display is devoted
to it in the lobby of corporate
headquarters, and it is often
retold at corporate events.
When Costco first established its meat department in
1987, a team was dedicated to
creating a quality salmon fillet.
The first product was a high-quality skin-on fillet for $5.99 per
pound—an excellent value—but
the salmon team saw that there
was room for improvement.
In stage two, excess parts of
the fish were removed. And
even though the quality was
improved, the price was reduced
to $5.29 a pound.
Later, the buying team
“A picture is worth a thou-
found another way to enhance sand words, and a story told
the product by offering a fully appropriately is priceless,”
trimmed, skinless and boneless observes Jim. “Telling one
fillet and lowered the price to of our own stories speaks
$4.99 a pound. volumes about our philosophy
For stage four, they found and our values.”
that buying in bulk from Chile Costco institutionalized
and Canada enabled them to the salmon story by creating
lower the price to $4.79. In stage an award named for what it rep-
five, the quality was improved resents about the company. The
still further through certain trim- Salmon Award not only recog-
ming, but the price remained the nizes outstanding performances
same. Costco could have raised by employees and suppliers, but
the price for the improved prod- also serves to create new stories
uct, but didn’t do so. with each winner.—SF
