marketer Volume 28, Issue 5, October 2009

The Journal of the Society for Marketing Professional Services

Once Uoon aTime BY JOAN CAPELIN, FSMPS, HON, AIA

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II of us love stories. And all of us tell stories, although some do it better than others. President Obarna is by anyonerstally a fine comrnunicator.Yet his quest for a middle-of-the-road approach to healthcare reform faltered until he began to tell the story of his grandmother's last days, rather than lecture to recalcitrant crowds. A recent posting on the RainToday Web site advised a reputationallychallenged company unable to keep staff from defecting to change the quality of the stories it told about itself. Once these stories became more positive and progressive, it declared, the internal and external attitudes toward the company would change.

One of the best business narrators is trainerlauthor Stephen Denning. In Be b&S Guhh bo SmrgaeIljng, he writes, "I could see that storyrekng was more than one rool: It was at least a whole array of tooI+tools that could help achieve multiple purposa such as sparking people into action, cornmuniaung who you are or who your company is, transmittingd u e s , sharing knowledge, taming the grapevine, and leading into the future." Like Denning, I often use stories in business, Many pepper Communication by Drrsip, my collection of insights and anecdotes into what &professional services firms thrive. For M a r k e r chi issue, I'm providing some of rhe stories I use while consulting, training, or speaking publicly. Enjoy and pass them on, with your own set-up and take-away. ?he first story is ofren used as an insight into just how much marketing is enough. Two men encounter a bear in h e forat One of the men pulls his nrnning show out of his knapsack and puts them on. 'The other man, already running fast, calls badc, incredulously, 'You don't think those nrnning shoes are going to help you outrun that bear!" The other man replies, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I only have to outrun you!" Society for Marketing Professional Services

Here is a short anecdote on the theme of legacy, a hvorite of President John F. Kennedy. t French Marshal Hubert Lyautey [1854-13341 once askad his gardener to plant a tree. 'The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. 3he marsha replied: "In that case, there is no time to lose! Plant it rhls afternoon!"

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Here's a brief cautionary tale drawn from the great Walt Kelly's cartoon strip about the creatures of the Okeknokee Swamp, Pogo, a possum, is the hero. Pogo was smnding on the sidewak watching all of his animal friends ride p t on a fire truck. The siren was wading and the lights were Ading. In alarm, Pogo cried out, 'The fire is in the other &rection!'7"~es,'hethe reply, *butwe're making record time!"

A trenchant anecdote about the importance of preparation m e to me recendy, courtesy of architect Rick Cook.

A passerby observed a woodsman who was taking forever to fell a tree, The problem was obvious. He shouted to the woodsman, "Why don't you sharpen your ax? It will cake much less time and effort." The &man responded- "I don't have time to sharpen my ax. I have to chop down this tree!"

Perhaps because I majored in languages and daily struggle to learn the vocabulary of the industry's new technologies, this is an anecdote I use often. A mother cat tmk her kittens out for their first stroll m u n d town. Turning a corner, bhey were suddenly confronted by an extremeIy large and d n g l y menacing bulldog. Undaunted, Mom walked straight up to tht dog, looked him nght in the eye,and barked loudly. 'The bulldog cordbed, backed off and slunk away. '"That, my children," said the mother cat to her little ones, *demonstratesthe importance of being to communicate in a foreign language."

"I c o ~ t dsee that storytelling was more than one tool: It was at least a whole array of tools." -Stephen Dennjng, 73e L e ' s Guide to Stmy-t~IIing Here's a usdid story about how ro understand your audience from %New Yo& Th'Monday morning "Metropolitan Diary*column. A B m + resident named J e E q Graham provided it in August 2005.

Dear Diary: h d y I had an experience with my 3-year-old dmghrer, Christina, that made me realize why I love raising her in this great, d i v a city.

We were waking through our l o d Park Slope playground and passed by a woman in a bkdc burqa covering her entire head and body except for a slit at the eyes. The woman was shouting to a child in a I;mguageI did not m g n h . Christina mpped about six feet away from the woman and stared. I like to let Christina experk= the world at her own pace, and I did not intervene. As she stared, and the woman continued to shout m her child, I prepared myself for the inevitable questions I expected from Christina Why does this woman drm a r e n d y ?Why d m she cover her face?In my mind, I did my best to prepare an answer about religious and cultural d i h c e s that would make sense ro her.

Afm about 10 seconds, Christina turned to me and said: "Dada,the boy is not Lstetungto his Mama" Here's one last story about perception. You can take it on Facevalue, but it's a h oumding when rqlaining how to priorirk the elemenrs ofa marke- plan.

A philosophy professor stood before his class. Worollessly he picked up a large, empty mayonnaise jar and proceded to fill it with ro& about 2'' in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was fulL They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the to&. He asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed ?he professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. "Now,"said rhe professor, "I want you to recognize rhat

this is your life. The rocks are the important thing-your f k d y , Friends, your parmer, your health, your children-

anything rhar is so important to you that if it were lost, p u would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small muff.

"But, if you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your li. If you spend dl your energy and time on the small muff, you will never have m m for the rhings rhar are important to yuu.

"Takecare of the rocks first--the thing that really m a w . Set your priorities. The rest is just sand" rm

About the Author Contributing M i o r Joan Capelin, FSMPS, Hon. AN--publk rehtlons consultant. popular speaker, and SMPS Fellow-k the founder of Ca@n Communications (www.capslln.com), which spacial- in profegsi~nal samicas A m in thedesign and building industty. A recipient of the SMPS Marketing Achievement Award, Joan mn be reached at JCapellnBeap4n.com.