Corporate storytelling, or business storytelling, is the strategic and purposeful use of story techniques within an organization to achieve specific business goals.
Corporate storytelling can be used to engage employees, customers, and other key stakeholders; to promote a product, service, or brand; or to communicate a company’s strategy.
The benefits of corporate storytelling are many. Stories can promote engagement and understanding, build trust, and create a shared sense of purpose. When done well, business stories can be highly effective tools for achieving specific business goals.
Despite the clear benefits of corporate storytelling, there is still some resistance to its use in the corporate world. This may be due to the perception that business stories are unprofessional, or that they are not “serious” enough for business.
However, the opposite is true: when done well, corporate stories can be highly professional and extremely effective.
What is corporate storytelling?
Corporate storytelling is the strategic and purposeful use of story techniques within an organization to achieve specific business goals.
Business stories can be used to engage employees, customers, and other key stakeholders; to promote a product, service, or brand; or to communicate a company’s strategy.
If you’re interested in using corporate storytelling to achieve specific business goals, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
First, it’s important to choose the right story for your purpose. Not all stories are created equal, and some will be more effective than others at achieving specific business goals.
Second, it’s important to tell your story engagingly and compellingly. This means using the right language, tone, and delivery method for your audience.
How to choose the right story for your purpose?
The first step is understanding what kind of story will best achieve your desired outcome. There are four basic types of business stories:
Origin stories: These stories explain how your company started and what its founding principles are.
Transformation stories: These stories highlight a major change or event in your company’s history.
Vision stories: Visionary stories articulate where your company is heading and what its future goals are.
Culture stories: These stories capture the unique spirit of your company and what it stands for.
Once you’ve identified the type of story that will best achieve your goal, you need to choose a specific story that is interesting and relevant to your audience. To do this, consider the following factors:
The story must be:
- True.
- Compelling.
- Revelent to your audience and relate with them.
- Aligned with your company’s values.
- Appropriate for the situation.
By choosing the right story, you can ensure that your corporate storytelling initiative is successful.
Examples of corporate storytelling in action.
Many companies use corporate storytelling as a way to engage and inspire employees. Here are a few examples:
1. Google is known for its innovative and creative approach to business. One way they encourage this is by using corporate storytelling. For example, when hiring new employees, they often ask them to share a story about a time when they took an unconventional approach to solve a problem.
2. Apple is another company that uses corporate storytelling to engage and motivate employees. One example is the story of how the company was founded in a garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. This story is often used to inspire employees to think outside the box and take risks.
3. Facebook is a company that is all about connecting people. They use corporate storytelling to share the company's history and mission with employees. For example, they tell the story of how Mark Zuckerberg started the company in his college dorm room and how he was passionate about connecting people.
These are just a few examples of how companies use corporate storytelling to engage and motivate employees. Corporate storytelling is a powerful tool that can help companies communicate their values and mission, and inspire employees to be creative and innovative.
Final Thoughts
Corporate storytelling is a powerful tool that can help companies communicate their values and mission to a wider audience, and storytelling has the ability to engage and motivate employees.
Inspire your employees with a story, and watch how they improve their performance. Do you have a corporate story that you use to inspire your employees? Share it in the comments below!
