We
hear the words, “Once upon a time,” and
our attention is captured. The story has been in use for
thousands of years as a narrative form of communication.
Because our world can be so complicated, the story organizes
a set of information in a way that’s comfortable,
convenient and easier to recall than just a list of facts.
Stories are used to influence and the magic of influence
is less in what we say and more in how we say it and who
we are. Influence results in how others feel about us
and our goals. (Simmons, 2001, p. xvi)
But
people don’t necessarily want more information.
What they want is faith and trust in the storyteller.
The story is our path to creating faith. (Ibid, p.3) In
all levels of business we are attempting to influence
stakeholders: co-workers, clients and vendors. Story telling
provides a vehicle to deliver our message and enhance
our influence in an effective manner.
Here’s
my story about an approach that I have found attractive
in organizing story telling. A number of years ago my
sister, Janet Greco, PhD., wrote her doctoral dissertation
about the importance of story telling in corporate communications.
Janet teaches “Stories in Organizations: Tools for
Effective Executive Development” offered in my masters’
program at the University of Pennsylvania. . One of the
books we read, The Story Factor by Annette Simmons, outlines
the six stories that will serve you well in your efforts
to influence others.
As
I discuss these six stories and give specific examples
of my own, imagine how your stories would work..
“Who
Am I” Stories
A story lets you demonstrate who you are. Ultimately people
trust your judgment and your words based on subjective
evidence. Objective data doesn’t go deep enough
to engender trust. (Ibid, pp. 9-10)
Today
I am the third generation of my family in the apparel
business. My grandfather, Giuseppe Greco, emigrated from
Calabria in 1903 and started a custom pants shop in Philadelphia.
My father, Domenick, started sewing there after school
at the age of seven. Dad went into the contracting business
and during the Korean War made field jackets for the U.
S. Army. I entered the business in 1973 after college
and operated our sport coat factory in Philadelphia. By
1984, under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, I started
manufacturing apparel in the Dominican Republic and have
continued since then. The family business has grown from
simply providing cut and sew to a full service manufacturing
entity supplying everything from product development through
finished product. Our strategic focus has become service
to the uniform, career apparel, and industrial work clothing
industries. Our clients have only catalogs and warehouses
and the Greco Apparel company today serves as the manufacturing
part of the supply chain for our clients.
“Why
Am I Here” Stories
Before you tell someone what’s in it for them, they
want to know what’s in it for you. There is no need
to “hide” self-seeking goals; people don’t
really mind self-seeking goals, as long they’re
not exploitative and are obviously mutually beneficial.
(Ibid, p.12)
In
fact, I am writing this article to promote my company’s
services and with the expectation that you or someone
you know may be able to benefit from the knowledge in
the article as well as from my company’s services.
“The
Vision” Story
Once your listener is comfortable with who you are and
why you are here, then they are ready to listen to what
you think is in it for them, i.e. the “vision.”.
(Ibid, p. 14) Or, as someone once said, “People
don’t’ care how much you know until they know
how much you care.” A real vision story connects
with people in a way that shrinks today’s frustrations
in light of the promise of tomorrow. (Ibid, p. 16) Here’s
what we are going to create together…
|
“Teaching”
Stories
“Whether you need to teach someone how to write a
letter, design software or make a sale, story halves teaching
time. Often the message you want to send is less about what
you want them to do and more about how you want it to be
done.” (Ibid, p. 17)
Once
the people we have hired are trained in the “what
and how” the most important message I can communicate
as a leader is the “why.” Stories about company
values demonstrate our philosophy. Every day there are opportunities
to communicate value messages.
We
are responsible for quality assurance for garments before
shipment from the Dominican Republic. A few years ago I
adopted the term “clients” instead of “customers.”
A customer is someone who buys your product or service.
A client is someone whose interest you protect, whether
they are present or not. Our clients trust our judgment
for reliable quality and delivery.
“Value
in Action” Stories
Without a doubt, the best way to teach value is by example.
The second best way is to tell a story that provides an
example. (Ibid, p. 20). Here is an example of a story that
shows “value in action.” A few months ago a
client needed to meet a deadline for an airline uniform
rollout. Through no fault of ours, due to late design approval,
the production window closed from four weeks to four days!
We worked through the weekend up to midnight each day and
completed the required uniforms by the deadline. When we
tell this story, it creates confidence in clients that we
do what needs to be done to meet their goals.
“I
Know What You Are Thinking” Stories
“If you have done your homework on the group or person
you wish to influence it is relatively easy to identify
their potential objections to your message.” (Ibid,
p. 23) One approach to dealing with objections or concerns
is the “feel, felt, found” framework. This method
tells a story in itself. Here’s how it goes. The objection
is stated: “Your price is too high!” Your response
may be, “I know how you feel, others have felt the
way you do but what we found is that if we examine the value
delivered by quick turn time, you actually save inventory
investment, avoid key SKU outages, and in fact, save in
the overall analysis. The cost of a lost customer due to
a missed delivery can be much greater than the incremental
manufacturing cost.”
So
what’s your story? What stories have you been telling
but didn’t realize the value and power of influence?
Consider the impact of the stories you have heard. What
other communication can you frame as a story for increased
effectiveness and building of trust? I’d like to hear
your stories if you would like to share them with me. Please
email me
and I will consider incorporating your story in a future
article..
The
end.
Suggested
reading and background used for this story included The
Story Factor, by Annette Simmons, Cambridge, MA. Perseus
Books Group, 2002
Joseph
Greco, president of Greco Apparel, has more than 30
years experience in the apparel business. He is currently
completing his Masters of Science degree in Organizational
Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. |
