We often become the stories we tell, hear and share often. Here’s a riff on why it may become one of the most sought after skills that a CXO needs..today..and tomorrow!
A journalist asked John Russell, the then Harley Davidson VP, what they were selling, he said and I quote “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.”
Why are stories so integral to our lives?
We are all storytellers, some of us are good, some bad and some transformative. We do it when we rally a team around a task, when we sell to a prospective client, when we craft an email, a blog like this one, etc. Anytime we seek to say something to the world, we are telling a story!
Anthropologists consider the discovery of fire as one the greatest evolutionary tipping points, it gave us the the ability to ward off predators in the night and also to cook food. But, the biggest impact was on social connections as it extended hours in the day that could be spent together after hunting and gathering. This time was spent – telling stories about the day’s events that doubled up as rich repositories of knowledge. Any kind of information is valuable if looked at through the right lens, there is almost always something to learn from any tale.
There is a huge need to be able to capture minds and set hearts on fire by inspirational storytelling.
The first and the most important person we inspire with our stories is ourselves. A story is what we tell, to give voices to the emotions that drive us, our hopes and fears, dreams and desires.
Stories are cognitive shortcuts adopted by the brain to help us understand ourselves better and others to understand us. Ideas, effectively packaged and delivered can change the world!
Story telling bridges the head and the heart in a manner that is emotional, novel and memorable.
Stories are just data with a Soul!
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