The Story, Strategy And Success Approach

This is an approach that is sometimes used by individuals, teams and organisations. They aim to describe a compelling story, strategy and success.

Such people aim to describe what they have done or intend to do. They need to make this credible by giving specific examples that resonate with their chosen audience.

People who take this approach need to be seen as authentic rather than just following a technique. Many leaders, for example, have attended courses in storytelling. But it is vital for them to believe in what they are saying and communicate it in a believable way.

Let’s explore how people may translate the story, strategy and success approach into action.

The Story

Different people follow this approach in different situations. They may be aiming to get a job, inspire people, run a marketing campaign or do another activity.

Some people follow the story approach when applying for a job. They describe their CV and what they have accomplished in the past. Sometimes this can be useful but it may or may not relate to the employer’s goals.

Some people take another approach. Bearing in mind their strengths, they describe the specific things they would like to do to help the employer to achieve future success.

Let’s look at one example. Several years ago I worked with a person who was going for a job interview with a company. During a mentoring session they said:

“I hope that I can impress the people who are interviewing me.”

Looking ahead, we explored another approach. This involved aiming to inspire people rather than trying to impress. They would focus on how they would like to contribute to helping the company to achieve its goals.

This approach involved creating the equivalent of a positive story. They would aim:

To show they understood the organisation’s values … To show how they would aim to contribute to achieving the company’s vision … To show how they would get some quick successes and deliver visible results.

The interview went well and, after several calls, they were offered the role. One piece of feedback they received was this:

“You showed that you had done your research and focused on the company’s goas. Many of the other people used the interview to try to sell themselves.”

The Strategy

Some people go further then communicating a compelling story. They describe the specific strategies that can be followed to achieve the picture of success.

Good communicators often move from the describing the strategies to giving specific examples. They also aim to bring these to life in a way that resonates with their chosen audience.

Different people follow different frameworks when communicating the strategy. Some follow the What, Why, How, Who and When approach.

Some mainly focus on giving the headlines and also a few examples. Some go into more detail. Much depends on the results they want to achieve. Here is the framework that some people follow.

The Success

Good communicators recognise that people buy success rather than the theory of success. Bearing this in mind, they aim to bring the story and strategy to life by taking the following approach. They aim to describe:

The specific things they will do – or have already done – to get some quick successes;

The specific things they will do to perform superb work, keep people informed about their progress and find solutions to challenges;

The specific things they will do to focus on continuous improvement and do their best to achieve the picture of success.

Good leaders recognise that people believe what they see rather than what they hear. They therefore aim: a) to act as positive models; b) to produce some quick successes to show that they are serious.

Such successes need to be credible, however, rather than just window dressing. They need to have substance, model the way forward and encourage people to do their best to achieve the goals.

Good leaders maintain the momentum. Some do this by producing success stories that highlight when people have followed the strategies and done superb work.

Such leaders also encourage people to focus on continuous improvement. They encourage people: a) to keep building on what they do well; b) to tackle areas for improvement.    

There are many ways to do fine work. One approach is to describe a compelling story, strategy and success. It is then to encourage, educate and enable people to achieve these goals.

Let’s return to your own life and work. Can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way? If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme.