Sometimes the success of a business idea and gathering support for it is accomplished through great storytelling, says Carmine Gallo, author of The Storyteller’s Secret: From TED Speakers to Business Legends, Why Some Ideas Catch On and Others Don’t. According to Gallo, people connect to stories featuring heroes and villains, capturing struggles and failures, and ending, ultimately, with a triumphant victory. These stories don’t have to be fictional fairytales—they can be the narrative you use to garner support among your employees for a new idea or process. Gallo recalls how former Apple co-founder Steve Jobs used stories when launching a new product. First, he discussed the problem (“the villain”), followed by a description of his new product—the hero that would improve people’s lives. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Gallo recalls, often shared his personal story of struggle while growing up because his father was injured on the job. The family had no health insurance and found it difficult to make ends meet. Schultz’s story reinforced why he felt it was so important to offer health insurance to all employees, even part-time ones.
For more insights from Gallo on corporate storytelling, please see the following article:
http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201707?pg=34#pg34