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Story is still the most undervalued technology in American corporate culture. That might sound surprising, given the countless gigabytes that\u2019ve been devoted to the importance of brand-based storytelling. But the problem lies in story\u2019s ubiquity.<\/p>\n
Story is our original connective technology. Every day for the past 50,000 to two million years (depending on which anthropological theory you subscribe to), story has delivered serious human currency: news, wisdom, horror, awe, humor, gossip. Because humans talk, write, read \u2014 because we tell, hear, and interact with stories every day \u2014 there\u2019s an unconscious belief that story is commonplace. Simple. Like breathing, we don\u2019t even notice it.<\/p>\n
What we do<\/em> notice are story\u2019s lasting impressions \u2014 the feelings and images that get left behind, long after a story has ended. This is the real<\/em> current running through story. And it\u2019s a voltage powerful enough to change us in small and significant ways.<\/p>\n Great storytelling is an artform. When done well, it\u2019s an art of the highest order. Like great coding, it requires advanced study, natal talent, hard-won skill, and a ridiculous amount of practice. Because story is also a technology, whether it works or not depends on its foundational programming.<\/p>\n Per that metaphor, here are two lines of code that can make a good story great.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Great stories arise from a quest, a cause \u2014 a potent blend of internal and external drivers that spur a hero into action. This is purpose in its purest form.<\/p>\n Back in the 20th century, in the old paradigm of American business, that purpose was profit. Profit for profit\u2019s sake was not only expected, it was noble \u2014 a pursuit of one of the unalienable rights of \u201ccorporate citizenship\u201d (a grossly exploited concept I won\u2019t excoriate here). But the paradigm\u2019s shifted. New-paradigm thinking sees profit as the final third of a balanced triad \u2014 the third leg under a three-legged stool that supports holistic sustainability: People. Planet. Profit.<\/p>\n In the new paradigm, people and planet come before<\/em> profit. And from people and planet arise purpose<\/strong>. Real purpose. A hero\u2019s purpose.<\/p>\n At Emerge, we parse it this way: Are you in the business of making money? Or is making money a byproduct of purpose? Defining<\/em> that purpose \u2014 living, producing, and governing by it \u2014 is, for us, the difference between an old-paradigm business and a courageous brand. When it comes to telling a brand\u2019s story, it\u2019s also the distance between good and great.<\/p>\n Taking the time to discover, then carefully articulate your purpose is one of the most important investments a person or business can make. A well-defined purpose becomes a headwater \u2014 an unassailable wellspring from which every action flows. Finding it takes commitment, and honest answers to deep questions. What is it you\u2019re driven to do? What sets your heart on fire? What\u2019s the mythic Call that feels like your magnetic north? And most important, <\/em>why<\/u>?<\/em><\/p>\n Excavating these questions \u2014 and finding their truthful answers \u2014 is deceivingly difficult, but the digging and effort pay off. (Big time.) Once a company\u2019s purpose is clearly defined, its true story begins to take shape. And truth is the second line of code that elevates story technology.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As predators, we\u2019re programmed to hide weakness. Our primal selves sense the risk involved in being real \u2014 a practice that usually involves revealing fears, insecurities, and less-than-flattering facts. To the amygdala (the \u201clizard brain\u201d as some call it: possibly the oldest part of our neural net, yet a part that still governs decision-making and our emotional response to stimuli), vulnerability runs counter to survival.<\/p>\n Reveal weakness, and prepare to die.<\/p>\n Though this is merely an idea<\/em> \u2014 an ancient, primal opinion \u2014 biochemically, it feels like fact. A dangerous \u201cfact\u201d at that, as the above idea is another pillar of old-paradigm thinking. Cut-throat competition, corporate Darwinism, posturing, false-fronts, evasion of the truth \u2026 all of these are the currency of fear, ego, and the small-mind\u2019s countless seductive tricks to gain \u201cpower over\u201d, as opposed to power with<\/em>. As a result, it takes courage and self-awareness to be real in the face of our core programming. But vulnerability \u2014 and the truth that flows from it \u2014 are essential<\/em> to great storytelling. That\u2019s as true for a work of fiction as it is for a corporate website.<\/p>\n But truth is an interesting thing. In science, truth is a result that\u2019s repeatable and verifiable. (And even then, truth can change.) In relationships, truth is a little less empirical. Truth is a feeling<\/em> \u2014 the net result of an amalgamation of someone\u2019s tone of voice, facial expressions, body posture, energy, and a tight alignment between words and deeds. The latter can require an additional ingredient: time. History (or experience \u2014 with a person, company, or product over time) is the relational version of \u201crepeatable and verifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n When truth is revealed over time (vulnerably and consistently), it garners trust \u2014 the highest currency of all.<\/p>\n Pushing it further, not only does a company or brand need to summon the courage to lead from purpose \u2014 with a consistent, verifiable alignment between words and deeds \u2014 it must also bravely expose both successes and failures around that purpose. This requires true and consistent talk (content, story) about what\u2019s working, and what’s not. What marks have been hit \u2014 what strides made \u2014 and where are the shortfalls? What unmet goals are fueling change, transformation, and success?<\/em> And, most important: What are the tactics and strategies being implemented to get there?<\/em><\/p>\n While it may feel counterintuitive to our primate core-programming, vulnerability is the gateway to truth. And when truth is revealed from a place of grounded self-awareness, it becomes a powerful force of nature. True power. Twenty-first-century power. The kind that drives the triple bottom-line. (People. Planet. Profit.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the world of storytelling, the more intensely personal a story is, the more universal it becomes. When a writer, character, company, or brand reveals truth from a place of vulnerability and purpose, only then can we as individuals see ourselves in the story. When this happens, we become riveted. Gripped. We spontaneously graft our own truth, path, and trials to the story at hand. We see ourselves in one another. And we do this without even trying.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s that<\/em> powerful, this durable, ancient, connective technology.<\/p>\n At the highest level, great storytelling allows us to feel less alone, more understood. It strengthens the fabric of the collective, weaving us into a textile strong enough to support each and every one of us, regardless of circumstance.<\/p>\n Great story builds commonality. Commonality forges connection. Connection fuels engagement. And when we\u2019re engaged, the world opens to our understanding.<\/p>\n Perhaps this is the main reason story is so ubiquitous. It\u2019s the framework for universality \u2014 a platform, rife with elegant code, that allows us a bright glimpse of each other, ourselves, and a deeper purpose we can all be a part of. That<\/em> is technology built for the common good. That is the power of story.<\/p>\nFrom Purpose to Prose<\/h3>\n
From Vulnerability, Truth; from Truth, Trust<\/h3>\n
From Good to Great<\/h3>\n