Blog Archive
April 2005
Picture the scene…
We’re sitting in the Cinderella Bar of the London Palladium at 10am on a wet Tuesday morning. Martin Clarkson, Director of Brands at Marks & Spencer and part time impresario has brought us together. And the subject is storytelling in business.
Evelyn Clark discusses the power of storytelling in the April issue of Washington CEO magazine.
Stories have been the glue connecting people with their cultures and with one another throughout human history. Corporate cultures are no different from ethnic cultures in their need for, and dependence on, stories. Because stories reach people’s hearts as well as their minds, they stay with people longer.
Engagement is a positive attitude held by the employee towards the organisation and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organisation. The organisation must work to nurture, maintain and grow engagement, which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee. (IES)
Much analysis and statistical data has been collated to prove the benefits of employee engagement and the detrimental effect of disengaged employees.
Storytelling can help both the listener and the teller to better understand purpose and meaning, friendship and fear, being young and growing older.Walter Simonson
Why do brand owners need storytelling?
Because the destiny of their brands is in the hands of their employees. A brand is a promise consistently delivered. And when it’s delivered by hundreds of different types of customer interactions, across thousands of employees and millions of miles – well that promise hangs by a thread.
I was recently told by someone of how a friend’s BMW came back from the garage without the cigarette lighter. She phoned up the garage, and they said she should come and pick it up when next in the area.