When you visit Siemens’ website, a video story dominates the landing page. It’s about a young man in India whose mission is to teach marital arts to other youngsters growing up in poverty–similar circumstances to his own– as a means of helping them see their own potential.

At first it seems odd to start the discussion of a tech company by telling how a young man in India developed martial arts skills. And then, at the end of the 3+ minute video, it becomes clear that the video makes a huge impact in a memorable way by showing how a company enacts its values by improving individual lives. A simple written message appears onscreen, explaining that

1. 40% of the children in India live in poverty
2. St. Catherine’s Home is a charity that focuses on holistic development to help children acquire the knowledge and skills needed to create better lives
3. The martial arts program described in the video is a part of St. Catherine’s mission
4. As part of its Corporate Citizenship activities, Siemens funds the martial arts training course, known as “Happy Feet”

In addition to featuring a video at the top of the page, Siemens invites web visitors to click a link to other stories about Siemens’ efforts to improve lives.

How can your company use stories in an innovative way to convey your values?

 

If your organization needs storytelling training but would rather dip a toe in the water instead of diving straight in, an introductory presentation that’s delivered virtually may be the answer. After speaking to several groups “live” via web-based video chat technology, I’ve concluded that it works–and works very well.I had my doubts about being able to form a strong connection and interact naturally with people in a room at the other end of the country, and I was pleasantly surprised. The bond that starts to form when people tell stories occurs even when they’re separated by thousands of miles. This was true whether I was in my own office using a simple web cam or on-site in front of a corporate audience with their colleagues in another state linked via the corporate video system.

The accompanying photo shows the video screen set up in a board room when I delivered a 90-minute keynote-style presentation from my office. The session included time for the viewers to share stories with one another and also allowed  for audience interaction through a Q&A segment. I was able to discern each of the 12 people seated around the table, and as you can see, my image was bigger than life!

We followed up the introductory program with one-on-one telephone consultations to help each board member develop a story illustrating his/her special connection to the organization. Stories that relate a meaningful personal experience are especially powerful. They develop connections with the audience at a deep level and naturally win support for an idea or a mission.

If you’d like to explore how a virtual session would work for you, give me a call at 1-425-827-3998. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how easy and how effective it is.

Speakers naturally are gratified when a crowd gathers around them after a presentation, exclaiming how great they were and how impressive their work is. But how closely do you, as a speaker, pay attention to the meaning of the comments you’re hearing, particularly when you’re helping to raise funds for a non-profit organization?

Much of the feedback fundraisers hear is, contrary to their beliefs, not expressing support of their cause, according to The Rev. Eric Foley, founder and CEO of Seoul USA/.W. He says that when a person tells you after a fundraising presentation, “You’re great! Man, I could never do what you do,” that person is saying that s/he never will do what you do–or support what you do. The person is telling you that your organization’s story didn’t touch the individual’s heart.

Having trained more than 1,300 Christian organizations in the art of fundraising, The Rev. Foley has concluded that five key words tell you whether your presentation was a success. Those five words are, “I see myself in you.”

When you hear those words from an audience member, you know you’ve made a connection and won over a new donor. How often do you hear those words after a fundraising presentation? How might you improve your stories to elicit those words?

In the drive to build a successful career, most people have followed traditional guidance. It starts with learning to play well with others in pre-school, in the neighborhood and on the school playground. From kindergarten on, you’re told to pay attention in class, do your homework, make your best effort, get a good education, and then be willing to start at the bottom and do whatever you’re asked to do, even if the work seems beneath someone with your now-stellar preparation!

The one piece of important advice that’s often missing is this: Know your personal story and tell it well.

Yes, your personal story is crucial to your career success. That point was driven home to me this week when I talked with a prospective client about a training program for top-level managers being considered for the ultimate promotion to partner. One of the factors the candidates will be judged on is the authenticity and relevance of their personal stories. Why you? How have you proven yourself? Are you ready for the top?

Using the personal stories as one of the selection criteria clearly illustrates the truth of Annette Simmons’ book title: Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins.

How about you? Do you clearly answer the questions in your audience’s minds when you’re trying to sell a service, a product, an idea–or yourself as the right person for the position?

Two data scientists acknowledged in a recent blog post that even they need to sharpen their storytelling skills rather than thinking it’s enough to keep on cranking out data. They also urged their colleagues to recognize not just the power of storytelling, but also the need to tell stories to give their data meaning.

Writing on the “Harvard Business Review” blog, Jeff Bladt and Bob Filbin of www.DoSomething.org explain that there’s a good reason many people immediately think “Big Brother” when they hear the term “Big Data.” While computers can do a lot–and keep on cranking out reports and numbers 24/7–people intuitively know that their core needs as human beings can’t be quantified or fulfilled by a machine. So the more computers are able to do and asked to do, the more anxious people become.

“As the cost of collecting and storing data continues to decrease,”Bladt and Filbin write, “the volume of raw data an organization has available can be overwhelming. Of all the data in existence, 90% was created in the last 2 years.” Yes, you read that correctly: 90% of all data at our disposal today was created in just the past 2 years! The authors caution that human translation and context is essential to make use of that information successfully.

“Without a human frame, like photos or words that make emotion salient,” the scientists say, “data will only confuse, and certainly won’t lead to smart organizational behavior.”

What do you think? How does your organization process and manage the data it collects? More importantly, perhaps, is this question: How well are all the humans in your company coping with the flood of data you’re expected to use?

Even though workplace satisfaction studies consistently find that what matters most to employees is recognition, the CEO of one Seattle-based company is enriching the  employee benefits package in hopes of retaining his top-flight tech workers. According to a recent column by Brier Dudley in the Seattle Times, Alex Algard of Whitepages.com has been writing a lot of big checks to show his appreciation for ”a talent pool and just an overall talent level that’s at an all-time high in the company. So for that reason it makes sense to actually spend more time and effort in investing in retention as opposed to just recruiting.”

Among the benefits that Algard has added for his 100 employees are new MacBook Pro computers with Retina displays, $700 chairs and $1,500 hydraulic desks so that individuals who prefer to work standing up can raise the desk by pushing a button. Other amenities include a remodeled office space, a total of $2 million in bonuses last Fall, and a four-day trip for employees and their families to popular Whistler, B.C., site of many events during the 2010 Winter Olympics in nearby Vancouver. The trip was in addition to an unusual vacation policy; employees may take as much vacation as they choose–as long as they get their work done.

The enriched benefits package comes at a time when Whitepages.com is recruiting more talent for a planned expansion of its services. “Algard explains that “we can’t really over-invest in our employees because (each one) makes such a big impact on the overall business.” And in an area populated by a number of technology companies competing for top talent, rich rewards are apparently more important than recognition–at least for now.

As part of a storytelling initiative, I’ve been conducting interviews with a representative sample of the client’s managers and employees at all levels and all locations spanning two states. The purpose of the interviews is to establish a benchmark for 1) employees’ familiarity with the core values, 2) their support of those core values as evidenced by their behavior as well as their expressed support, 3) their ability to tell the organization’s “umbrella” story, and 4) their ability to identify and tell stories that exemplify the company’s values. The findings will guide the storytelling training that will follow, with particular focus on identifying, crafting and telling values-based stories that will engage key audiences and stick in their minds.

I’ve been struck by the unusually high degree of consistency of their responses. The consistency is is particularly impressive when I ask them to name the top 3 or 4 values that drive day-to-day decisions. Most of the interviewees named the company’s four core values as those that drive daily decision-making.

Would you get the same result if you were to conduct a survey of your employees? In my experience most organizations wouldn’t. One strategy this company uses to ingrain the values into everyone’s minds could easily be adapted in any organization. The strategy is this: One of the four core values is the theme for one quarter each year. Meetings and other activities focus on the meaning of the value and how it should guide employees’ actions. In addition, budgets allow for managers’ discretion in planning special rewards, such as catered meals or field trips, for their teams or branch offices.

If you’re inspired to implement a similar program, let us know how it goes.

In his new book, noted author William Zinzer offers sage advice to aspiring writers: “Dare to tell the smallest of stories if you want to generate large emotions.” This advice literally cuts to the heart of the matter; the stories that reach people on a personal level are the ones that touch the heart. Zinzer’s own focus is on writing about “people whose values I respect.” As he explains, “My pleasure is to bear witness to their lives.”

Another subject covered in a recent review of Zinzer’s latest book, The Writer Who Stayed, is his dismay over widespread abuse of the English language. I couldn’t agree more. Author of a classic text on writing, he bemoans the use of terms such as “reading experiences” when referring to articles and “content management systems” for article collections.

My favorite is his critique of the word “relationship,” which he rightly points out can mean whatever someone wants it to mean. ”Relationship” certainly never appeared in classic literature about famous lovers. Romeo and Juliet were not described as being “in a relationship”; neither were Tristan and Isolde or Antony and Cleopatra. Further, “relationship” doesn’t work well in a song. Imagine, Zinzer says, Cole Porter writing, “Let’s do it, let’s have a relationship.”

Does such non-specific language bother you? Let us know what you think. Or, if you like, tell us a small story.

“Increasingly, the new core competence [at work] is creativity — the right-brain stuff that smart companies are now harnessing to generate top-line growth,” says BusinessWeek.com. “The game is changing. It isn’t just about math and science anymore. It’s about creativity, imagination, and, above all, innovation.”

Leaders will need to guide changes in the business culture from the bottom up to foster learning and will also need to inspire innovation. Employees at all levels will need to be able to adjust quickly to new ways of doing things, which will include collaboration with both internal and external partners.

An IBM Global CEO Study confirmed this view and found that current leaders are concerned about their provide the leadership required to keep their organizations competitive in the “new world”.  Based on interviews with more than 1,500 CEOs in 60 countries and 33 industries, the study reported the following key findings:

1. Most of the CEOs (79%) expect the business environment to grow even more complex in the future.
2. More than half the CEOs interviewed doubt their ability to manage the increasing complexity.
3. A majority of CEOs cite creativity as the most important leadership quality required to cope with this growing complexity.
4. CEOs in the West believe economic power will shift rapidly to developing markets and regulation will increase as well.

How about your business? Is it emphasizing the growth of creativity and innovation?

Identifying, crafting and telling values-based stories are the core of my Corporate Storytelling system, so I was excited to read a story recently in The Seattle Times about the importance of values and virtues to Whole Foods co-founder and co-CEO John Mackey. In a book he wrote with Raj Sisodia, marketing professor of Bentley University, Mackey makes the case that the power of a free market depends on creating value and strengthening society by practicing ”higher virtues”.

“If everybody is always calculating what’s to their advantage, and no one comes with generosity, or kindness, or compassion, or forgiveness–higher virtues–your society starts to break down,” Mackey says. “I actually think that’s what’s happening in America right now.” He went on to explain that a sense of Judeo-Christian values served as the foundation of American enterprise for most of its history, and added that the resulting empathy and caring for others softened the forces of self-interest. But as America has become increasingly secular, the ethics that drove business have been lost, and as a result, trust in institutions, both public and private, has disappeared.

As a society, we have to find our purpose again, Mackey believes, and likewise, ”business needs to rediscover its purpose….”

In their book, Conscious Capitalism, the Whole Foods leader and his co-author argue that business must integrate the needs of all its stakeholders. Rather than seeing the world through a win/lose perspective, conscious business leaders need to be creative enough to “deliver multiple kinds of value simultaneously.” As you’d expect, that’s the guiding principle of Whole Foods. For example, Mackey explains, he can quickly consider every major stakeholder’s needs and interests and determine whether Whole Foods is delivering value for each group. “If (as the result of a decision we’re considering) somebody is losing, then really we haven’t been creative enough, and probably it’s not a good decision.” As a business rediscovers a higher sense of purpose–one focused on creating value for employees, suppliers, investors and customers–it can create value for all stakeholders, he says.