2. Broadcast your ambition
Tell everyone around you what
you are trying to achieve.
Make your sense of purpose
infectious.
Be a stuck record - tell it again
and again. Be the CSB- Chief
Story Broadcaster.
Communicate early and clearly.
If you want change to be
dramatic and fast, don’t surprise
your employees.
You and all members of your
change team will need to be
able to get across to stakeholders
the rationale and purpose of your
change in a succinct, compelling
way.
Prepare a one minute ‘elevator
pitch’ to get the message across.
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3. Model the standards and
behaviours you want the
people around you to
adopt.
Be impatient with your
mediocrity and don’t let
yourself off the hook.
If you find yourself slipping,
stop, and get yourself
back on track.
Be the standard
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4. M.A.D. Framework
Message: Why am I
speaking and what
impact do I want to
have?
Delivery: What
methods should I use
to communicate this
message
effectively?
Audience: Who am I
communicating to?
What are their current
mindset and biases.
What do I want them
to think / feel / do?
Consider these 3 elements when crafting your story:
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5. Make brilliant noise
What methods have you got in place to deliver a message?
Email? Zoom? Meetings? Road shows?.... The list goes on. When
delivering an important message, it is best to try and cover all
preferences and communication channels.
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6. Be like Goldilocks
Two common mistakes
people make when telling
their story: they say too
much, or they say too little.
Ad sometimes they do
both simultaneously.
Follow the ‘Goldilocks’
theory of details.
Give us “just the right
amount”.
If you give too many
details we get lost, or
worse, bored. Once
you’ve written your story,
start editing.
Less is more.
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7. Don’t try to sound like Harvard
Business Review and hide behind
business jargon.
Imagine you’re reading your
story to a friend who has nothing
to do with the industry. Would
they understand what you
mean? Would they laugh at how
stiff and pompous you sound?
Be human
Your story has to be as simple
and direct as possible if it’s going
to stick in people’s minds.
Use short sentences and avoid
clichés but the odd colloquialism
(yep, honestly), down-to-earth
metaphor (in the trenches, lip
service) and emotive word (love,
hate) is fine.
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8. Excite
You’re trying to influence
people here, you should feel
genuinely exited about your big
ambition and the effect it’s
gong to have. And that
excitement should sing through
your words, not by using lots of
overblown adjectives but by
laying out your vision in the
simplest, boldest, most heartfelt
way.
Appeal to emotion. Studies
show people make decisions
largely based on emotional
reasons and rationalise them
afterwards so they feel logical.
Paint pictures. This is great for
taking a complex narrative and
making it simple and sticky. Try
using metaphors, alliteration or
other literary magic to give your
story colour.
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