Our data-driven world easily convinces us that if we can see the numbers and the charts, then we can confidently claim that we’ve got a strong finger on the pulse of what’s happening in our businesses.
And this is very true. Numbers and charts DO tell us much about how the thoughts and behaviors of our team and our audience.
But, to paraphrase John Donne, no data is on an island. There are real people behind most data – people with disappointments and great achievements, people with families, people with broken hearts, people with lost countries and lost dreams. Put this way, it should be easy to understand that when you treat data like an omnipotent force, you risk making misinformed decisions, and catastrophic results might ensue.
I often think of numbers and data as a gold-lined bedside lamp.
They're a great tool to help us see the story, and they make us pause to see more clearly in order to ask better questions and discover meaningful insights.
But just as we know that the lamp shining its light on a book is not the story, neither is the data shining its light into our businesses and organizations.
The real story is behind the numbers.
Story asks us to bolster the data with human intel. It urges us to sit in the quiet corners as an observer, listening to the words our audiences use to describe who they are and who they want to become, and then being overcome with emotion when we realize our role in making it all happen.
It is your true change agent – the one thing that breathes life into the data, grabbing the hearts of your team and audience and literally rewiring their brains' pathways so they can empathize, connect, collaborate, problem-solve and more.
When my clients receive their Brand Story Guide, their responses are always, always, always the same: They cry.
And it floors me with gratitude.
As business owners and leaders, they've spent plenty of time at the top, looking at trends, parsing apart data, building all the reports. They can quote numbers quicker than they say sing the alphabet, and if you ask them, "Do you know your team?" or "Do you really know what your impact is on your audience?" most will immediately and confidently say YES.
But that all begins to change the moment they open their Brand Story Guide.
They tell me that no one has ever validated them with such accuracy, no one has ever captured the essence of their hearts so accurately, and they say that they never could have imagined just how impactful their work has been in the lives of their team members and their audience.
"I had no idea our audience thought THAT," they'll say.
Or, "I didn't really think this part of who we are was so important to building audience trust."
Their stories change their strategies, bolster their positioning, reinforce their brand promise, and expand opportunities → All the things that just a few weeks prior, they believed data could do on its own.
For me, the work feels deceptively simple. Finding stories that move others to tears isn't about manipulation or shady values. It's about practicing the habit of observer where you intentionally fall silent long enough to hear and see the story unfolding before you, and then honestly report what you discover.
1. Where do I normally show up and speak often? It is possible that might I discover something surprising about my team or others if I choose a time or two to speak less and listen more? (What scares me about that idea? Excites me?)
2. If I asked my team to draw a picture that represents how they're currently experiencing our culture, what images would show up, and why? (Hint: Actually ASK your team to do this with no artist signature required.)
3. What part of the organizational vision makes my team members come to life and buzz with energy? What makes them drained and depleted of energy?
4. What would my audience's life look like if our product/service suddenly disappeared tomorrow? (Specifically, how does my audience answer this question?)
5. Write down three things you know to be absolutely true about your company. (Eg., We provide amazing customer service, or We have a great team culture.) What non-numerical evidence have you gathered lately to support those ideas? Challenge yourself to have 5 - 10 conversations with people outside of your normal social circle to learn how they're currently experiencing your brand.
Our data-driven world easily convinces us that if we can see the numbers and the charts, then we can confidently claim that we’ve got a strong finger on the pulse of what’s happening in our businesses.
And this is very true. Numbers and charts DO tell us much about how the thoughts and behaviors of our team and our audience.
But, to paraphrase John Donne, no data is on an island. There are real people behind most data – people with disappointments and great achievements, people with families, people with broken hearts, people with lost countries and lost dreams. Put this way, it should be easy to understand that when you treat data like an omnipotent force, you risk making misinformed decisions, and catastrophic results might ensue.
I often think of numbers and data as a gold-lined bedside lamp.
They're a great tool to help us see the story, and they make us pause to see more clearly in order to ask better questions and discover meaningful insights.
But just as we know that the lamp shining its light on a book is not the story, neither is the data shining its light into our businesses and organizations.
The real story is behind the numbers.
Story asks us to bolster the data with human intel. It urges us to sit in the quiet corners as an observer, listening to the words our audiences use to describe who they are and who they want to become, and then being overcome with emotion when we realize our role in making it all happen.
It is your true change agent – the one thing that breathes life into the data, grabbing the hearts of your team and audience and literally rewiring their brains' pathways so they can empathize, connect, collaborate, problem-solve and more.
When my clients receive their Brand Story Guide, their responses are always, always, always the same: They cry.
And it floors me with gratitude.
As business owners and leaders, they've spent plenty of time at the top, looking at trends, parsing apart data, building all the reports. They can quote numbers quicker than they say sing the alphabet, and if you ask them, "Do you know your team?" or "Do you really know what your impact is on your audience?" most will immediately and confidently say YES.
But that all begins to change the moment they open their Brand Story Guide.
They tell me that no one has ever validated them with such accuracy, no one has ever captured the essence of their hearts so accurately, and they say that they never could have imagined just how impactful their work has been in the lives of their team members and their audience.
"I had no idea our audience thought THAT," they'll say.
Or, "I didn't really think this part of who we are was so important to building audience trust."
Their stories change their strategies, bolster their positioning, reinforce their brand promise, and expand opportunities → All the things that just a few weeks prior, they believed data could do on its own.
For me, the work feels deceptively simple. Finding stories that move others to tears isn't about manipulation or shady values. It's about practicing the habit of observer where you intentionally fall silent long enough to hear and see the story unfolding before you, and then honestly report what you discover.
1. Where do I normally show up and speak often? It is possible that might I discover something surprising about my team or others if I choose a time or two to speak less and listen more? (What scares me about that idea? Excites me?)
2. If I asked my team to draw a picture that represents how they're currently experiencing our culture, what images would show up, and why? (Hint: Actually ASK your team to do this with no artist signature required.)
3. What part of the organizational vision makes my team members come to life and buzz with energy? What makes them drained and depleted of energy?
4. What would my audience's life look like if our product/service suddenly disappeared tomorrow? (Specifically, how does my audience answer this question?)
5. Write down three things you know to be absolutely true about your company. (Eg., We provide amazing customer service, or We have a great team culture.) What non-numerical evidence have you gathered lately to support those ideas? Challenge yourself to have 5 - 10 conversations with people outside of your normal social circle to learn how they're currently experiencing your brand.