The Power Is the Story

Tom Peters/10.15.04/for Better By Design

Story Power!

“A key – perhaps the key – to leadership is the effective

communication of a story.”

Howard Gardner Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership

Leaders don’t just make products and make decisions.

Leaders make meaning. – John Seely Brown

“We are in the twilight of a society based on data. As information and intelligence become the domain of computers, society will place more value on the one human ability that cannot be automated: emotion.

Imagination, myth, ritual - the language of emotion - will affect everything from our purchasing decisions

to how we work with others. Companies will thrive on the basis of their stories and myths. Companies will need to understand

that their products are less important than their stories.”

Rolf Jensen, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies

“The essence of American presidential leadership,

and the secret of presidential success, is

storytelling.” —Evan Cornog, The Power

and the Story: How the Crafted Presidential Narrative Has Determined Political Success from George Washington to

George W. Bush

“To win this race, Kerry needs to stop focusing on Election Day and start

thinking about his would-be presidency’s last day. What does he want his legacy to be? When sixth-graders in the year 2108 read about the Kerry presidency, what does he want the one or two sentences that

accompany his photo to say?” —Kenneth Baer/Washington Post/092604

“Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions. And the

first question for a leader always is: ‘Who do we

intend to be?’ Not ‘What are we going to do?’ but ‘Who do

we intend to be?’” —Max De Pree, Herman Miller

Business’ New Age … of Stories!

“The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind—computer

programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch

numbers. But the keys to the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a very different kind of

person with a very different kind of mind—creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers.

These people—artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers—will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its

greatest joys.” —Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

“The era of ‘left brain’ dominance—and the

Information Age it engendered—Is giving way to a new world in which ‘right brain’ qualities—

inventiveness, empathy, meaning—will govern.” —Dan Pink, A

Whole New Mind

L-Directed Thinking: sequential, literal, functional, textual,

analyticto

R-Directed Thinking: simultaneous, metaphorical,

aesthetic, contextual, syntheticSource: Dan Pink/A Whole New Mind

Agriculture Age (farmers)

Industrial Age (factory workers)

Information Age (knowledge workers)

Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers)

Source: Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

“The MFA is the new

MBA.” —Dan Pink, A Whole New

Mind

Storie$$$$$.

“Experiences are as distinct from services as services are from

goods.”Joseph Pine & James Gilmore, The Experience Economy:

Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage

The “Experience Ladder”

Experiences Services

Goods Raw Materials

“Guinness as a brand is all about community.

It’s about bringing people together and sharing

stories.”—Ralph Ardill, Imagination, in re Guinness Storehouse

Experience: “Rebel Lifestyle!”

“What we sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride

through small towns and have people be afraid of him.”

Harley exec, quoted in Results-Based Leadership

Bob Lutz: “I see us as being in the art business. Art,

entertainment and mobile sculpture, which,

coincidentally, also happens to provide transportation.”

Source: NYT 10.19.01

“Car designers need to create a story. Every car provides an

opportunity to create an adventure. …“The Prowler makes you smile. Why? Because it’s focused. It has a plot, a

reason for being, a passion.”

Freeman Thomas, co-designer VW Beetle; designer Audi TT

Hmmmm(?): “Only” Words …

StoryAdventure

Smile Focus

PlotPassion

One company’s answer:

CXO*

*Chief eXperience Officer

“Most executives have no idea how to add value to a market in the metaphysical

world. But that is what the market will cry out for in the future. There is no lack of ‘physical’ products to

choose between.”

Jesper Kunde, Unique Now ... or Never [on the excellence of Nokia, Nike, Lego, Virgin et al.]

“The sun is setting on the Information Society—even before we have fully adjusted to its demands as individuals and as

companies. We have lived as hunters and as farmers, we have worked in factories and now we live in an information-based

society whose icon is the computer. We stand facing the fifth kind of society: the Dream Society. … The Dream Society is emerging this very instant—the shape of the future is visible today. Right

now is the time for decisions—before the major portion of consumer purchases are made for emotional, nonmaterialistic

reasons. Future products will have to appeal to our hearts, not to our heads. Now is the time to add emotional value to products and services.” —Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society:How the Coming Shift from

Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business

DREAM: “A dream is a complete moment in the life of a client.

Important experiences that tempt the client to commit substantial resources. The essence of the desires of the consumer. The

opportunity to help clients become what they want to be.” —Gian Luigi

Longinotti-Buitoni

(Revised) Experience Ladder

Dreams Come True Awesome Experiences

SolutionsServicesGoods

Raw Materials

Furniture vs. Dreams

“We do not sell ‘furniture’ at Domain. We sell dreams. This is accomplished by

addressing the half-formed needs in our customers’ heads. By uncovering these

needs, we, in essence, fill in the blanks. We convert ‘needs’ into ‘dreams.’ Sales are the

inevitable result.”

— Judy George, Domain Home Fashions

“In Denmark, eggs from free-range hens have conquered over 50 percent of the market. Consumers do not want hens to live their lives in small, confining cages. They are willing to pay 15 percent to 20 percent more for the story about animal ethics. This is classic Dream Society logic. Both kind of eggs are similar in

quality, but consumers prefer eggs with the better story. After we debated the issue and stockpiled 50

other examples, the conclusion became evident: Stories and tales speak directly to the heart rather than the brain. After a century where society was marked by

science and rationalism, the stories and values are returning to the scene.” —Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society: How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business

Six Market Profiles

1. Adventures for Sale2. The Market for Togetherness, Friendship and Love3. The Market for Care4. The Who-Am-I Market5. The Market for Peace of Mind6. The Market for Convictions

Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society: How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business

Market Power = Story Power

Brand = Story

Story > Brand

Living the Story.

“It is necessary for the President to be the

nation’s No. 1 actor.”

FDR

“You must be the change you

wish to see in the world.”

Gandhi

“My life is my

message.”Gandhi

Spreading the Story I.

Premise: “Ordering” Systemic Change is a Stupid Waste

of Time!

Demos! Heroes! Stories!

“Some people look for things that went wrong and

try to fix them. I look for things that went right

and try to build on them.” —Bob Stone/ Mr.Rego/ Lessons from an

Uncivil Servant

“Find something small that you can turn

around. If you’re on a 9-game losing streak, you need to start with one great inning.”—Rudy

MBSA!*

*Managing By Story-ing Around/David Armstrong

REAL Org Change: Demos & Models (“Model

Installations,” “ReGo Labs”)/ Heroes (mostly extant: “burned

to reinvent gov’t”)/ Stories & Storytellers (Props!)/

Chroniclers (Writers, Videographers, Pamphleteers, Etc.)/

Cheerleaders & Recognition (Pos>>Neg, Volume)/

New Language (Hot/Emotional/WOW)/ Seekers

(networking mania)/ Protectors/ Support Groups/

End Runs—“Pull Strategy” (weird alliances, weird

customers, weird suppliers, weird alumnae-JKC)/ Field “Real People” Focus (3 COs) (long way away)/

Speed (O.O.D.A. Loops—act before the “bad guys” can react)

C.f., Bob Stone, Lessons from an Uncivil Servant

Spreading the Story II.

Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman

“Groups become great only when everyone in them, leaders and

members alike, is free to do his or her absolute best.”

“The best thing a leader can do for a

Great Group is to allow its members to discover their

greatness.”

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“free to do his or her absolute best” …

“allow its members to discover their

greatness.”

Quests!

Q.E.D.

“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or not.” —Isabel Allende