Stories Create Action When Action is Missing
“Once upon a time,” is a memory from childhood. It is how the child in you expects to open your mind for something really good. As adults we may discover, “Imagine if,” is just as powerful. Do your stories create action?
Stuck or stalled organizations want action and often the only way to get more action or new action is to change something.
Consultants and coaches often ask, “What are you going to change?” The answer is often difficult.
It is hard to imagine today. The first McDonald’s drive through happened in 1975. Perhaps there was a pay phone nearby. Something that is extremely scarce or non-existent today.
NASA technology has changed many things in our lives. So has the work of a few clever people such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos. What stories did they tell?
Stories Create Action
When a business creates a strategic plan it creates the opportunity for the story. The best plans have a clever and direct mission, vision, and objectives. They are right there, on paper or digital, available to read, understand, and deploy.
Yet every business plan doesn’t create billionaires. Every business plan doesn’t result in success.
Our lives change through stories. Organizations grow, develop, and change based upon a story. The story is a vision told and repeated. A successful story is believed.
When you want real change in your organization it may include a strategic plan, yet a plan without a story doesn’t create much action.
Tell a story that resonates and you’ll get action.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
