Too often we tell stories without connecting to the larger story. When we do that, the audience is lost in the telling.
They don’t know where the story you are telling right now fits in the larger story. Usually they aren’t sure why this story is really important in the long run.
Audiences must have the context as well as the content, and it is up to the story teller to provide both, explicitly or implicitly.
We tell stories because they are about conflict.
One man against nature, or another man (including himself), or against man’s own creations (machines). The good ones always show something to watch out for; something that might diminish your resources.
Because humans have learned how useful stories can be, we inherently pay attention to them. We want to know when the conflict is coming, where the dangers lie. We simulate them in our heads, putting ourselves in place of the main character, all so that we can truly see what’s coming on the horizon.
Stories are about a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it, and we all can relate to that in one way or another.
What stories are you customer’s telling? Where are they on their journey?
What stories are you telling? Where are YOU on your journey?
I recently attended a holiday event with my family, a 2+ mile drive through professionally constructed Christmas lights in Spanaway WA; nice enough for what it was, but it was the advertising that got to me.
Littered throughout the drive were large banner signs for local companies. They were sponsorships the event has sold based on the promise that thousands of people will see the signs and remember the displayed brand at some point in the future, PROBABLY resulting in a sale. It’s the modern form of snake oil…
Honestly, is anyone more likely to buy a newspaper or go to a certain medical facility based on a sign they saw next to a deer made of blinking Christmas lights? Because someone sponsored the event that your family had a decent time at, are you more likely to go enroll at the local technical school or switch to Sprint? Really think about that for a moment, and give yourself an honest answer… would that make a REAL difference to you?
I don’t blame the event, I blame the companies for falling for this. The event is basically trying to do a public service (as far as I know) and raising money for public, family events is always a challenge. They just want the companies to feel like the expense is worth it and everyone wants some recognition. But from a business standpoint, is this the best way to spend your money? I’m not talking about spending on charity or family events, my stance on that should be clear, but rather on unmeasurable advertising.
Look back on your own marketing and advertising expenditures, were they stroking your ego or were they tied to something tangible? Can you measure the results? Did they motivate someone to actually DO something and not just make them aware (or MORE aware) of you?
From Availing Wisdom, July 28, 2009
The soul, or pneuma, of a business is shown in its DNA, the very code that gives it life. A company is very much like a belief system offering values, community, relevance, leadership and vision, empathy, and trust to the body of customers (see believers) that buy (see follow) its product(s) (see values). People are looking for companies and brands that they can believe in, belong to, and that spark the right emotions that connect them to something greater than themselves.
On the other side, Companies run and survive on connections, on interactions with people. Without a sufficient quantity of quality interactions, the company will die. These connections are the life blood of the organization, the only way to make it survive.
The average corporation is 20 to 30 years old but most don’t make it to the age of 5, and many die in their infancy. If corporations are treated as people then what does this mean, how do we create corporations that last? A company survives based on the number and quality of its relationships to people, no company is an island and it cannot live alone. These relationships are the fuel, the life blood, the sustaining force.
The Company’s character determines its value to customers and how it communicates that value, the quality of the connections it can establish, determines how long it will stay alive.
Do you see it this way? Do you think it’s fair to treat companies as people in this manner?
… and you would never know!
Because once you found your personal values and you can successfully tell a few stories about each one, then what do you do with them? How can you use them to guide and determine your steps deliberately? That is exactly what we’ll be going over this week.
I am also looking for thoughts and ideas on applying values to work, business, and life. Did the steps I laid out last week work for you? What do you think would be the best way to apply those values? Do you even think values are important?
The end of week two and we are on a roll. We discussed some very useful ways to find your personal values, steps you can take to discover how you can consistently and reliably make decisions. Next week we will talk about how to translate those personal steps into business success.
Insights from this week:
1. Your values will drive your personal and business success.
2. Translating the power of giving to your organization.
3. Some easy steps to find your personal values.
Some Interesting Thoughts and Sites:
1. A great article from Andrea Patrick about building rapport with your clients.
2. Awesome post from Future Buzz about the currency of fresh conversations.
3. Interesting and thoughtful infographics from Web Design Ledger.
4. How to treat your home page as the Ultimate Landing Page!
5. Some helpful information about direct response copy.
Something extra!
Another small but powerful insight from Seth Godin; move past the drama!
Thanks to all of you who read this, back next week to discuss the benefits of values in your organization and how to apply personal values to your business!
Values determine whether you succeed or fail, what will yours be?
Both individually and as an organization, values drive the decisions we make every day and shape how we deal with whatever comes our way. You will achieve the greatest successes when you partner with a person or organization that has the same values as you.
The choice we have is whether we actively create our values, recognizing them for what they are, or passively allow them to motivate us. The difference is that knowing your values and actively following them makes you both consistent and credible, two major components of gaining trust in others.
Here are some steps you can take to find and follow your values:
1. Your morality – This is what most people think of when they hear “values” but it is only a component. Things like honesty, integrity, and fairness are just assumed nowadays, and you won’t get very far without them. You need to have a strong moral base, but then again so does everyone else if they expect to do business for any length of time.
Basic morals do not differentiate or set you apart, they are the price of admission. Make sure you know them and live by them or you will have a bumpy ride through life.
2. Find your strengths – Your strengths are where your natural talents, skill sets, and knowledge bases converge.
Talents are what you are naturally adept at, ways of doing things that you just get and know how to do such as: creating and understanding ideas, communicating one on one or in groups, competition, or analytic breakdowns.
Skill sets are applications of knowledge that you have learned to do better than 90% of the people you know. Some examples would be repairing electronics, creating web pages, or tutoring children.
Knowledge bases are areas of information that you know better than 90% of the world. Maybe you know all about aviation, or plumbing, or local history, or even marketing. These areas are your expertise.
A fantastic resource for this is Now, Discover Your Strengths
3. Giftings – Christianity has a list of special callings that people receive, and I believe that people are born with them whether they choose to be a Christian or believe in God at all. Regardless of whether you believe or not, finding your natural gift will help you to understand yourself and your organization.
Are you a teacher (someone who wants others to understand), a “preacher” (someone who must talk to others and tell them what they know), a counselor (someone who wants to emotionally help others), a giver (someone who loves to give and see people succeed through that), an encourager (someone who sees the best in others), a leader (someone who sees the right road to take and pulls people in that direction), an administrator (someone who loves the details and supporting other people)?
4. Desires and Beliefs – What do you know absolutely to be true? (Beliefs) What do you want or wish to be true? (Desires) Finding these answers takes some serious introspection but your desires and beliefs will determine your actions just as readily as any of the other areas.
Now comes the hard part you’ve been waiting for…
Create a list of answers for each of the items above: morals, strengths, gifts, and beliefs/desires. Separate them into the four categories and use as many words as you have to in each answer, just be sure you understand what you mean.
Next, determine which ones truly drive your life and decision making. Eliminate those that do not.
Now, can you combine any of the answers? Are some saying the same thing? Consolidate all the answers that you can, looking for ideas that are similar or close to one another.
Go back through the list if it still has more than 6 answers left, which ones are the MOST important? Get the list down to the 6 key drivers for your decisions.
This next part is harder than it sounds, so be patient. Take your 6 or fewer answers and find one word for each that encapsulates the entire answer. (e.g. “I really enjoy helping others succeed” would be giving or counseling or leading or serving depending on the context. Only you know the true answer.)
This last step is VERY important. Take one answer and explain it to yourself by telling at least 2 stories about a time when it truly guided your decision making process. Be as detailed and thorough as possible. If you have trouble thinking of 2 or more examples then the answer is probably not the right one.
Once you find your values and can articulate them, you are ready to start actively living them. Your business will work best with another business that has and lives the same values as you, which is why it is extremely important to understand what you value first.
There is so much more to this topic, but we have a start here. I’ll leave you with this:
Values are how you do things, your “passion” is what you choose to apply your values to, and your purpose is where all your values and your strongest passions exist in harmony.
How will you interact with people?
One of the first steps to building a quality organization is determining what your organizational values will be. Values are the code a person lives by, the ideas and concepts that they use, consciously or unconsciously, to make every decision. Your company is no different.
Whether or not you actively craft these values, they will exist regardless. You will either make them happen or your every decision will bring them about automatically. The choice is yours to either take control of your life or let up to chance.
Enlivent is an example. Our main values are teaching, giving, learning, and fostering meaningful communication, and all of our actions, products, and business strategy decisions fall along those lines. The same could be said for any organization, for profit or nonprofit. How you decide to interact, to offer your product or services, will determine the quality of your organizational performance.
What are your values and how will they move your business?
Your local community is crying out for business to come to its aid, and it is not that difficult to answer the call.
Yesterday I highlighted TOMS Shoes as a worthwhile example of how a company can integrate donation into its business model. Sure, it’s easy for them since they started that way, but how do we do that at a local level with an established company? Here’s some steps you can take to successfully start donating your product or services to charities:
With a little planning and effort, you could make an forceful impact on your community and be the catalyst that brings about its renewal.
Business can serve others
I’ve got a radical idea.
That we are at our most prosperous when we invest increased wealth to directly impact and renew communities.
Imagine if we used our prosperity for the good of others. Imagine if we live only with what we need and use the rest to give back to those who need our help the most. Imagine what would happen if those who have more invest in those who don’t so that they can produce and achieve.
Imagine if every business adopted a healthy lifestyle of serving others, first their families and then their communities.
Serving the Community
For example, a family owned grocery or market will agree to not just donate money or volunteer time (although that would be appreciated I am sure) to the local food bank, but actually use the extra revenue brought in though increased marketing efforts to buy extra food for the food bank. A credit union or local bank would dedicate some or all of its excess to fund a full time position that coordinates with local nonprofits on financial education or the creation of a select number of high risk, second chance accounts. See how it could work?
I have wanted to start a marketing company for some time, but I could never figure out the point of simply creating more wealth for its own sake. Where do we invest it? Spend it on ourselves, on bigger houses or more cars,or on bigger TV’s or more computers or expensive vacations?
How about reinvesting in the business? YES, reinvest in the business but don’t reinvest simply to expand the business so that the business can grow and become larger for the sole purpose of becoming bigger and more expansive. Reinvest in serving those that can’t help themselves and your business will grow as a consequence. But you will also be serving a better cause, not just the organization’s growth.
I know this sounds idealistic, but it is a lifestyle we can all live and the consequences of this behavior can have the most amazing impact the world has ever seen. Instead of growing to consume, we will grow to give.
Who’s with me?