For episode 4, please watch the video and then read Alison’s account of events.
Stories have the power to inspire action. They are effective in the context of organisational change because they help us to understand complexity, they can change or enhance perceptions, they are easy to remember, they are non-adversarial and non-hierarchical. But perhaps most importantly, stories engage our emotions: they make us think and they make us feel.
Stephen Denning describes such stories as springboard stories. These are stories that enable an audience to achieve a leap in understanding so that they can see how an organization or community or complex system may change.
“A springboard story has an impact not so much through transferring large amounts of information, as through catalyzing understanding. It can enable listeners to visualize from a story in one context what is involved in a large-scale transformation in an analogous context. It can enable them to grasp the idea as a whole not only very simply and quickly, but also in a non-threatening way. In effect, it invites them to see analogies from their own backgrounds, their own contexts, their own fields of expertise (Denning, 2001, p xix).”
A springboard story should have the following characteristics: it should
• be inherently interesting;
• be easily understood by the audience;
• embody the change idea;
• spring the listener to a new level of understanding;
• have a positive ending;
• have an implicit change message;
• encourage the audience to identify with the protagonist;
• deal with a specific individual or organisation;
• have a protagonist who is prototypical of the organisation’s main business;
• be true;
• be tested.
What do you think about this? Can you think of any examples from your own experience?
Ref: Stephen Denning (2001) The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-era Organizations. Elsevier.
Esther Walker (Forum Interactive, esther@foruminteractive.co.uk).
This is, perhaps, a bit of a tangent but these posts have made me think about what good storytelling is in a wider context. I’ve found the following videos and resources interesting for different reasons.
i) Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk at http://tinyurl.com/5gsyph
An engaging presenter and storyteller.
ii) Ira Glass’ Tips on Storytelling at http://tinyurl.com/242n5k
I agree with the quote “Everything is more compelling when you talk like a human being, when you talk like yourself.”
iii) Flight of the Conchords at http://tinyurl.com/6jalab
A bit of fun but, for me, there’s something engaging about the story.
What do you think? Can anyone point to examples of good storytelling?
Ira Glass was really interesting and the basic ideas make sense – we don’t take advantage enough of the idea of story telling and use it in our organisations. The two stories that stick in my mind are – Who Moved My Cheese? – story about change and human side to it and perhaps The One Minute Manager. These are written in story form and I have remembered so much from them.
They contain the elements of a springboard story.
Thanks for your helpful tips Andy. I agree with Gretel that Who Moved My Cheese? and the One Minute Manager are absolute classics when it comes to remembering the morals of a story. They both provide easy ways into the subjects of change and leadership respectively as well for those who are new, or just discovering them both.
I’m currently reading a book on philosophy. That sounds rather grand coming from me, but it’s not! In fact it is a tale of a young boy exploring all of the great philosophical questions, along with his mentor, parents and best friends. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve managed to get this far through life without exploring the great philosophical questions and so this gentle introduction to philosophy through the eyes and experiences of a little boy are just right for me. Learning about something that I have found rather difficult to grasp has been made easier by exploring it through something that is familiar to me -I can identify with the boy and his child-like wonder of the world.
I believe that learning is often easier if we can latch it on to something that you are already familiar with. I believe that is why stories and metaphors can be so powerful in learning.
(By the way, if anyone is interested, the book I mentioned above is called The Dream Weaver. It is by Jack Bowen and is published by Pearson Longman.)
Does anyone else have examples of good stories?
Best wishes
Colleen
Response to Episode 4
I agree with the suggestions about ‘springboard stories’ to help people and organisations to change. It reminded me that stories that have impact can be very simple.
One of my favourite stories over the years has indeed been very simple – it is about a cat, a bell and some mice. Some of you probably know it. I’ve found it a powerful tool in some of those sessions where everyone is keen to complain about what is wrong and even to suggest how things should be different, but where it is more difficult to find some leverage to help them to see that it is within their power to make the change.
I don’t have the story or the source in front of me, but originally it came from a Fenman toolkit for trainers. It goes something like this. The story is about a cat living on a farm who terrorises the mice who live there. One day, when the cat is at the vets, the mice hold a conference to discuss how they can stop the cat from treating them in this way. They come up with many suggestions and manage to find reasons why none of them will work. Then suddenly a mouse suggests that they tie a bell around the cat’s neck so that they can hear him coming and hide. All the mice jump up with glee, excited to have found a solution. Then out of the excitement comes the voice of a mouse who has until then been a bit quiet. The mouse agrees that indeed the bell is a good idea but asks who will tie the bell on the cat. Suddenly the mice have somewhere to go, won’t be able to do it because of this or that, won’t be around on the day etc etc.
The story is told in a delightful way as the communication comes across just like a typical team meeting or team away-day.
Such a simple story, but told in the right way it has had wonderful leverage every time that I have used it.
I’d love to hear some simple stories that have worked for others.
Best wishes
Colleen