1. The CEO Refresher - Storytelling and Storymaps 10/06/2006 02:10 PM
Storytelling and Storymaps:
How to Use Them for Organizational Change
by Laurie Durnell and Robert Pardini
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975)
It is no wonder most successful senior executive tell stories. Stories have the
unique ability to engage, enchant, disarm, persuade and motivate, often all at the
same time. Since the time of cave paintings, stories have helped give meaning to
all human activity. Storytelling builds and changes cultures, and reinforces values
more powerfully than does any other interaction among people.
In a business setting, storytelling can express the passion a leader has for a vision
and, at the same time, build everyone's commitment to the vision's goals. Yet few
organizational leaders fully appreciate storytelling's value and fewer yet use it to
full advantage.
Organizations already tell stories. They do it with financial reports, slide
presentations and the company prospectus. Although this data is important, is it the
whole story? Can an organization grow and prosper when motivated solely by
data-centric stories?
Imagine if your next staff meeting began with a manager saying, "Once upon a
time our founders were working in a garage trying to find a way …." People
would immediately be drawn into the meeting in a way that an overhead
presentation could never accomplish.
This storytelling approach appeals to the human desire to identify with something
larger than us. It connects logic with emotions because it affects the brain's frontal
cortex as well as its limbic system.
Now take the example above and imagine behind the speaker a poster depicting
your organization's history using a combination of words, illustrations and
photographs. A far cry from a pie chart, indeed!
Stories that are expressed graphically, as in the example above, have even more
power because they put people on the same page in a memorable way. These
graphics, or storymaps, are used in many different ways but fundamentally help
organizations communicate. The storymaps serve as touchstone documents for
planning and implementing organizational change.
By clearly illustrating streams of activity and transfers of responsibility, storymaps
are vital in depicting change initiatives within organizations, including initiatives
that are implemented simultaneously on many different levels and in far-reaching
locales, They help organizational leaders make compelling presentations that
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2. The CEO Refresher - Storytelling and Storymaps 10/06/2006 02:10 PM
portray complex information in a manner that increases understanding and
retention in people.
Storymaps and Archetypal Symbols
Storymaps were used with great effectiveness in a research project aimed at
identifying the right mix of ingredients for a household-product company's new
breath freshener. The unit's leaders framed the issue with a storymap that depicted
two islands - one in shades of green that represented breath freshness and another
in somber colors signifying the status quo. The voyage of new product
development was represented as a ship moving from one island of sameness to the
new island of discovery.
Ships and islands are archetypal symbols, recognized universally for what they
represent. It's essential that the elements of a storymap have unambiguous
meanings for everyone, irrespective of culture or the impact of recent experience.
There are subtleties here.
Shortly after 9/11, a draft of a storymap that used hang gliding to represent change
in an industry brought to mind for some unpleasant memories of people leaping
out of windows and planes flying into buildings. In another instance a storymap
that used river rafting as a symbol for the shared journey a team was about to take
had no meaning for people in cultures unfamiliar with the sport. In both cases,
new, more compelling metaphors were identified.
For some, visual imagery implies lack of seriousness, childish cartoons, or
unfocussed thinking. Yet we use imagery in advertising to tell stories. In fact,
entire industries are built around visual storytelling: film, publishing (including
graphic novels and comic books), graphic arts, and the fine arts. Visual storytelling
is serious business.
Storymaps that Help Implement Change
It's important that employees who are challenged by change be given an
opportunity to tell their stories. Employees in a traditional telecom firm being
acquired by a new high-tech company feared their history - its tribulations and
triumphs - would be disregarded. When storymaps helped employees from both
companies tell their stories to each other, both groups realized that they went
through similar industry challenges. Each group learned how the other's culture
dealt with these challenges, and the newly structured company moved forward
with a greater sense of unity and purpose.
Another organization used storymaps to help implement a highly successful
system-wide ERP process. The organization's leaders wanted the storymap to meet
a broad set of objectives:
It needed to provide a sharp focus on the complexity of the task;
It needed to help stakeholders understand that this change was different from
all the others that were taking place concurrently;
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3. The CEO Refresher - Storytelling and Storymaps 10/06/2006 02:10 PM
It needed to connect this change process to the others and to the
organization's overall vision;
Finally, the leaders hoped to ease employees' anxiety by demonstrating that
their aspirations and concerns were being recognized.
The employees had been frustrated by their inability to satisfy customers because
of the current system's shortcomings. A storymap expressed this frustration in the
form of illustrations depicting various employees, along with comments in comics-
type bubbles over their pictures. Another set of illustrations depicted customers
and quoted their dissatisfaction with the existing system.
Management took the storymap on the road to help explain the changeover to
employees at the various district offices and call centers. Teams of two managers
guided small groups of employees through the storymap, group by group.
Following the changeover, the storymap was updated to show the changeover's
results and express management's thanks to the employees for their cooperation. It
was taken on the road again. It's common for storymaps to appear in new editions
and be tagged with version numbers the way software is.
Storymaps can be a valuable change-management tool for leaders in any
organization.
Three Steps for Using Storymaps
Following is a step-by-step process for using storymaps to support organizational
change of any kind.
1. MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT
Defining Success
Identifying Audience
Agreeing on the Story
The process begins with a definition of what the organization wants to accomplish.
What will success look like? Is the strategy sound? Are the implementation plans
thorough? Is the entire leadership team on board?
If the leadership team is not aligned on what the finished map will look like and
how it will be used, it is likely the project will founder. If, however, the team is
committed to the transformative power of storytelling in the organization and
empowers a team to leverage its use, it is more likely that the map will become the
focus of myriad strategy and communication sessions across the organization.
It's important to resist the urge to immediately jump into resolving the challenge
without taking the time to carefully evaluate the planning.
Equally critical is understanding who the stakeholders are and how they will be
affected by the change. Storymap development presents the rare opportunity for
organizations to solicit opinions and perspectives across the employee base. At the
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4. The CEO Refresher - Storytelling and Storymaps 10/06/2006 02:10 PM
same time, it is important to identify the key stakeholders impacted by the
communication. Oftentimes projects have become derailed when a late entrant
questions some fundamental aspect of the process.
How the story materializes in the course of developing a map is often difficult to
put one's finger on. Sometimes a key executive creates a white paper that, in turn,
is vetted and accepted by the organization's leadership. In other cases, a leadership
group works on a plan collectively, and out of its work emerges the germ of the
story needing to be communicated.
2. DESIGN
Creating a Big Picture/Design
Organizing and Agreeing on Details
Refining the Storymap and Media
This step in the process begins with the creation of the narrative the storymap will
be based on. Beginning with rough, conceptual drafts, and moving through ever
more refined iterations, storymaps begin to house the imagery that brings the story
to life.
The story is then honed. Each successive version of the map is examined for
accuracy, and the manner in which its components are illustrated is evaluated for
appropriateness and importance. The nuance here is as subtle as is required, given
that the goal is to create a map from which common stories can be told. If the map
is confusing or incomplete, the resulting stories will be equally so.
The versioning process mirrors that of software releases in that each succeeding
version is more complete and coherent than the previous version. It allows for the
fact that the story is never finished and another version could be right around the
corner.
3. ROLLOUT
Mobilizing for the Launch
Packaging the Communications
Sustaining the Message
The final, rollout phase in the storymapping process can be thought of in
traditional ad-campaign ways. Usually the organization's leadership assigns an
internal team to plan the rollout of storymap communications, taking into account
the unique culture of the organization. Managers need to be coached all through
the process on how to leverage the storymap. The methods employed can range
from a traditional training program to the creation of a "media event" wherein
guest speakers use the map as a way to tell stories and generate excitement within
an organization.
Sustaining the message involves returning to the map periodically and updating or
reworking its content when appropriate. New-hire orientations, strategic offsites,
online corporate portals, training sessions, and the like all can play a powerful role
in having stories live on in organizations.
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Laurie Durnell is a principal consultant and Robert Pardini is director of design for
The Grove Consultants International, which helps organizations visualize and
implement change. Durnell has 15 years of experience in organizational consulting,
team development and management. She has designed and delivered programs
incorporating storymaps and experience-based training for many corporations and
public-benefit organizations. Pardini has managed the firm's design team and
worked with clients in the design and production of learning systems, process
tools, storymaps and other customized communications materials for more than 15
years. A published author who is currently working on a graphic novel, he
coordinates the firm's extensive network of design and production specialists. Visit
www.grove.com for additional information and contact
Laurie_durnell@grove.com, or robert_pardini@grove.com .
Many more articles in Creative Leadership in The CEO Refresher Archives
Copyright 2006 - The Grove Consultants International. All rights reserved.
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