Creativity in Organizations (Part 4 of 9)

sTORYTELLING

One expression of the creative flame is the art of storytelling. 

If we imagine the organization as a group of adventurers having survived a recent and harrowing ordeal, the group might next settle into their encampment and position themselves around the fire. They can call on newly-created, shared memories in order to conjure stories, myths, fables, legends and metaphors that are endemic and unique to the tribe. 

These stories are then passed on from one person to the next, sometimes becoming more incredible. They are even passed onto future generations. (Most of us have heard that “back of the napkin” story of the company's founding – or landing that big investor – that gets more sensational with each telling.)

The stories an organization tells are directly informed by the belief system they have about themselves, one another, and the world around them. They are stories about heroes and exemplars, villains and tragedies — mythic portraits of the organizational cosmos. These stories have the power to break or reinforce behavioral patterns that define an organization’s culture. 

In Building a Story Brand (2017), Donald Miller compares the journey of the end user (or customer) to the protagonist in Joseph Campbell’s famed “hero’s journey.” Most businesses consider themselves to be the hero, flying around and fulfilling everyone’s needs. Miller says, however, that the organization is best viewed as the mentor, guide, or oracle that appears to reveal a secret, share tools or insights, minimize risk, add value, and assist the hero in accomplishing their quest.

What happens when one of these organizational stories (or myths) travels outside the castle walls or the confines of the memetic bubble? 

Life on the inside of an organization sometimes doesn’t make sense to someone with a different cosmology or set of values. So, the stories that organizations tell the outside world are coded transmissions that require translation (through spoken language, marketing messages, or cultural training/onboarding). 

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