Authentic Storytelling: Getting Out of Our Own Way
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Joshua Reynolds, CEO of Blanc & Otus, presents at Linkedin's exclusive tech conference: TechConnect 2014.
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Authentic Storytelling: Getting Out of Our Own Way
- 1. 1 Authentic Storytelling: Getting Out of Our Own Way Joshua Reynolds LinkedIn TechConnect September 23, 2014 @bando_Josh #inTC14
- 2. What gets in the way Bastardization of “leadership” Hype and hyperbole Corporate narcissism What unlocks your potential Compelling narratives Viral questions Being in service of something Evidence this approach works Today’s Download
- 4. 4 The Bastardization of Leadership
- 5. 5 Bastardization of Leadership in Technology Market Leadership Technology Leadership Thought Leadership Team Leadership
- 6. 6 Market Leadership Gartner’s Real “Magic” Quadrant What’s the criteria? Who would care, and why? What’s the story behind the numbers? Who will validate it? What’s the trajectory?
- 7. 7 Market Leadership Be specific and showcase: Revenue growth Ranking Reputation Customers Employees + Partners
- 8. 8 Technology Leadership Avoid reliance on: Speeds + feeds “Most innovative” Category creation Listing your “ilities” ROI / TCO
- 9. Technology Leadership Instead, showcase your: IP portfolio R&D investment Ingredient plays Positive effect 9 on ecosystem Human impact
- 11. 11 Team Leadership Team Leadership
- 12. 12 Team Leadership Start with your shared purpose Know what you’re not Coach + co-create, don’t dictate Know who works for whom
- 13. 13 expectations Predict Disruption Reset & Adjust to Salvage ROI Celebrate Customers + Lessons Learned Predict Disruption Bust Myths Thought Leadership: Tech
- 14. 14 Thought Leadership Litmus Test Relevant Useful Provocative Inclusive
- 15. 15 The Five-Chapter Story Model
- 16. 16 THE FIVE-CHAPTER STORY MODEL Chapter 1: The world has changed Chapter 2: Change creates challenges Chapter 3: A shift in thinking Chapter 4: Enter the hero Chapter 5: The viral question
- 17. CHAPTER 1 THE WORLDHAS CHANGED Tech / Business / Society / Environment / Law
- 18. CHAPTER 2 CHANGE CREATES CHALLENGE Person / Function / Company / Industry / World
- 19. CHAPTER 3 TIME FOR A SHIFT IN THINKING What if …
- 20. CHAPTER 4 ENTERTHE HERO Vision / Company / Solution / Customer
- 21. CHAPTER 5 THE VIRAL QUESTION Why does this matter? What becomes possible? Where do you see this in action? How will you move forward?
- 22. 22 The Power of the Viral Question
- 23. Sources of Information for Vendor Selection When considering a large business-to-business purchase, how valuable do you find the following sources of information in determining which vendors you will… 23 Proprietary Confidential 88% 86% 85% 85% 85% 79% 75% 73% 69% 54% 52% 41% Industry analyst reports Word-of-mouth from peers Financial analyst reports Private consultation with expert Corporate websites Live events and conferences Traditional print news sources and their… Online news sources that do not have an… Broadcast news Blogs Comments posted on social Twitter Total N=813 89% 88% 84% 84% 83% 82% 80% 80% 73% 60% 54% 43% Industry analyst reports Word-of-mouth from peers Financial analyst reports Private consultation with expert… Corporate websites Traditional print news sources Online news sources that do not have… Live events and conferences Broadcast news Blogs Comments posted on social networking… Twitter Percent reporting that source is valuable …include in a request for proposal (RFP) or product pitch? …ultimately select?
- 24. 24 Proprietary Confidential 57% 47% 41% 36% 32% 31% 28% 14% It poses a thought-provoking question around a timely topic It features a challenge or problem I am currently facing It is simple and easy for me to contribute to an ongoing dialogue It features hard data or statistics I know my feedback will be seen The piece is something easy for me to comment on The content is entertaining and fun to read It features a famous brand, celebrity or some name I recognize Total N=761 Reasons for Commenting Online Which of the following reasons describe why you post replies, comments, or contribute your thoughts to news articles, stories or other pieces of content that you view?
- 25. 25 SAMPLE VIRAL QUESTIONS • What’s the real problem here? • What shift in thinking would help? • What myths need to be challenged? • What strategic questions should we be asking? • What role do I play in all of this? • What’s possible for us when we solve this? • What is the cost of doing nothing? • What does the next step forward look like? 25
- 26. 26 Being in Service of Something Big
- 27. Being in Service: Message vs. Story
- 28. Being in Service: Message vs. Story So … What’s your moon shot?
- 29. 29 Thank you! Joshua Reynolds CEO, Blanc + Otus jreynolds@blancandotus.com
Editor's Notes
- Thought Leadership. Tech companies often need to make the leap from being seen as a vendor to being seen as a trusted advisor. One way to do this is to be the voice of reason around an emerging technology and help people distinguish hype from reality. But thought leadership backfires when it’s reduced to jumping on the latest buzzword bandwagon and substituting a product pitch for meaningful discussion. That’s why B&O applies the following litmus test for thought leadership: Relevant. It addresses a technology or topic that’s already top of mind. Useful. It deepens people’s understanding of that technology or topic, not just your own specific offering. Provocative. It changes the way people think of that topic and challenges unhelpful assumptions that inhibit the creative use of the technology. Inclusive. Rather than dominating the discussion as the lone voice, it invites constructive dialogue from the industry
- Thought Leadership. Tech companies often need to make the leap from being seen as a vendor to being seen as a trusted advisor. One way to do this is to be the voice of reason around an emerging technology and help people distinguish hype from reality. But thought leadership backfires when it’s reduced to jumping on the latest buzzword bandwagon and substituting a product pitch for meaningful discussion. That’s why B&O applies the following litmus test for thought leadership: Relevant. It addresses a technology or topic that’s already top of mind. Useful. It deepens people’s understanding of that technology or topic, not just your own specific offering. Provocative. It changes the way people think of that topic and challenges unhelpful assumptions that inhibit the creative use of the technology. Inclusive. Rather than dominating the discussion as the lone voice, it invites constructive dialogue from the industry
- All compelling narratives follow a universal story pattern that is rooted in Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey …
- The hero’s journey had 12 stages. In corporate storytelling the pattern adjusts nicely into five chapters, each of which serves a function
- Chapter 1 establishes your story as topical and timely. Ask yourself what existing trends you’re playing into. And realize your story could be told from different perspectives. Pick a lens through which to look at change: Economy? Technology? Industry? Human Behavior? Something else? But all stories start with change. The players in the story are thrown out of their ordinary world. Classic FISH OUT OF WATER story.
- Chapter 2 creates emotional voltage. Now you have to pick a persona and convey what the change means to THEM. Challenges exist on multiple levels—individual, departmental, organizational, industrial, national, global … just map it to something the audience would agree HURTS NOW.
- Chapter 3 introduces THOUGHT LEADERSHIP. It recasts the challenge in a new way. It challenges assumptions and opens up new possibilities. And chapter 3 is best posed as a WHAT IF statement.
- Chapter 4 now presents YOU and YOUR COMPANY and YOUR SOLUTION into the story, only now it’s in CONTEXT. Now you are clearly in service of something bigger than yourself. And THAT’S the defining characteristic of a hero. It’s not about you. It’s about your mission and what it can do for your audience.
- Chapter 5 closes with a provocative, open-ended question that’s meant to drive dialogue and participation. Rather than dictate the benefits statement, rather than dictate the end of the story, leave it open to your audience to close it out with some guidance from you in the form of this question they ought to consider. Think of it as giving them a SMARTER QUESTION to ask themselves than the question they had in mind before.
- The most important component of modern storytelling is THE VIRAL QUESTION
- Messages alone are disconnected and not persuasive.
- But when messages are put into the proper context, they can reveal some of the most compelling and meaningful narratives of our age.