"So the secret is to tell your story to everyone and anyone at every opportunity." So for how long? "You tell it until you puke!"
Anonymous Cola Executive
"In our industry, the assets go up and down in the elevator."
Bill Bernbach
Chairman and Founder
Doyle, Dane Bernbach
Let's say we're discussing financial services (although the point applies to any industry)…
The company creates a model for managing money and apportioning portfolios.
The actuaries work the equations to prove the model.
The portfolio guys trade instruments to achieve the optimum allocation.
The company originates a story, and sales management orchestrates and coordinates the field, the desk and marketing to get everyone on the same page..."One Story, Many Voices!"
Deposits start to roll in... Assets.
Now hold on there, Hotshot, those assets don't belong to you; they belong to the investor, and are controlled by a financial advisor. They are "Assets Under Management" – under your stewardship – but not yours to keep.
So what are your assets?
Well, you pick up a few points in fees... so your own portfolio is growing, slowly. But...
Has it occurred to you that your real assets might be the people who hatch the strategies and tell the stories; the people who manage the portfolios and bring the imaginary story into reality?
Has it occurred to you that the real assets may be the stories themselves?
If that's true, shouldn't you put more effort into managing your portfolio?
If the stories were assets, you'd make certain that nobody did any freelancing out in the field. You'd ensure that the desk, the field and the literature aligned themselves around the core story, with small variations for locale, circumstances and firm. You'd teach people to tell it, rather than making yourself the most unique performer in the world; you want everyone telling it…just like you. You'd repeat yourself – for years if need be. If the story is an asset, you'd know that it gains value in the retelling. The objective – if the stories are assets – is to get everyone repeating your words back to you. The retelling becomes an aspect of shared culture – it’s a little like brand heaven
Is this true? Who does this best? Consider:
The story of Christmas. The story of the United States of America. The story of Henry Ford. The story of Passover. The story of New York City. The story of Luke Skywalker and the Galactic Empire. The story of the Shao Lin Temple and Kung Fu. The story of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney. The story of the Catholic Church. The story of Enzo Ferrari. The story of JP Morgan and the Great Depression.
Applications:
1. Personally: Your life is your raw material. Work it, Baby! Tell your stories to entertain, teach and get work.
2. At Home: A family is a micro culture filled with storytelling moments. Pull the gang together with your shared stories of love, sacrifice, adventures, losses and wins.
3. Office: Have we made the point? Culture is composed of stories. Discover, savor and retell the stories of your firm – watch it and your career grow.
Stories are Assets. Story Telling is what you do to grow your portfolio.
Integrated story telling is a significant contributor to corporate viability.
Quit freelancing, you guys, and get to work on building value.
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