Do You Have Enough Stories

Brands are about stories. Organizations are about stories. People are about stories. Stories are about characters. They are about moments that capture human emotion. Characters are people with a point of view. Great brands stand for something. So whether you are trying to build a personal brand for yourself or an employer brand for your organization, do it with stories. Most organizations do not generate any stories because they only have employees. Stories are never about employees. They are about characters. Characters build a sense of anticipation, a sense of mystery in the mind of the people. Characters have individuality and have strengths. Some have magical powers. They have the ability to astonish. People have opinions about brands. No one brand appeals to everyone. So how do you build a brand for your organization?Here are my suggestions to build your brand as an employer:

1. 1. Pay Attention to Your Brand Ambassadors: The first question you have to answer is why do you wish to build the organization's brand. If it is to be able to attract the best and brightest talent to work for you, then begin with your existing talent base. The employees are the organization's brand ambassadors. That is why angry or unhappy drones do not make for great ambassadors. Each employee of your organization is a walking endorsement of the kind of people who you finally choose and keep in the organization. So choose them with care. Once you have chosen the right set of people, you must retain and nurture them.
   2. Collect Stories About Your Organizations & Leaders: What are the stories about the leaders? How do people view them? What adjectives will people use to describe your leaders when your brand ambassadors narrate those stories? Are most of the stories of your organization about one or two people? (That may mean that the organization does not allow space for different styles of leaders - clones do not make for great brands) What are the stories about the heroes of the organization? (Behavior of heroes serves to be seen as role models) Are all the stories about the past? (Means that the organization has lost its sheen) Stories tend to create far stronger points of view than any PowerPoint presentation. Ask newcomers about stories they had heard - both good and bad. Ask them what those stories made them feel about the organization. You maybe surprised to discover what you consider strengths of your organization, are different from what the employees see as strengths. Stories about the humble beginnings make great brand stories. Stories about how the organization or some individuals overcame all odds make for great brand stories and myths.

1. Identify the Unique Offerings of Your Organization: Take the website of your organization and remove the logo and company name. Then do the same for the websites of your top 5 competitors. Can you still recognize your website? If your interchanged the logo of your company on the website of your competitor, would it matter? If yes, then you need to work hard at identifying and communicating that message with single-minded dedication. Why should a talented person want to work for you and not your competitor? Do focus groups about existing employees and find out of what you claim rings true. Else you could have a serious disconnect with the new hire who may find the brand promise is not being met.
2. Involve Multiple Story Tellers: The leaders play the role of storytellers of the organization. Leverage them in your leadership development programs where they can share their own stories. Stories are very powerful in designing induction programs. Customers can be very authentic storytellers. It is far easier to believe someone else saying nice things about you than doing a solo act. Even an ex-employee who is well known to people can be a great brand ambassador of the organization by telling stories that convey the brand identity.
3. Not Everyone is a Great Storyteller: Have you had a situation when you heard a great jopke by a standup comedian and then you gather everyone around the water cooler to re-enact the same joke... and no one laughs. Well storytelling is like that. Story is about being able to involve the audience, being authentic and telling it like it just happened. People who have a way to engage the audience are the best ones to convey the brand story. Some people are better using a film clip to tell the story. Some like to have the support of slides as they speak. Very few people can use no pros and still narrate a compelling story. Till you try it out, you will never know who these master story tellers are. They make ordinary moments appear extraordinary. They make everyday life seem glamorous. They see stars when everyone else can only see the inky night sky.

I had written about building organizational culture through storytelling in an earlier post. The statutory warning I wish to offer is that brand building is not for the faint hearted. It involves making choices. You have to decide what you wish to be known for and the trade offs that may involve. If you wish to position yourself as a highly selective meritocracy, then remember you will not be seen to be attractive to the masses. If you wish to be seen as a friendly country club kind of organization, you will never be an brand for those super-achievers. Look at the Interbrand Ranking of the Best Global Brands for 2010. Some brands have remained valuable over the years. This survey also tells you what these mega brands are worth. The brand allows you to charge a premium for a functionality that is offered by competition. The best brands are owned by the consumers. They talk about it. They care for it. they defend and evangelize it and are equally vocal in trashing it when the brand lets them down. Yet, when consumers love a brand they are also willing to forgive a brand for their folly.Brands are about choices. Before you decide what stories best depict your brand, you have to be comfortable being that brand. You have to be comfortable being described and labeled by the adjectives the brand stands for. Someone may see you as confident while a detractor may see you as arrogant. They are different sides of the same coin. Being a brand is not easy, but certainly worth the effort of building it.-----------Martin Roll: Iconic brands, story telling, brand myths, brand stories, brand community Jerry Bader: The Brand Story - A Tale Worth Telling My old post on Building Org Cultures Through Storytelling