Do You Tell Stories? If not, you should

One of the most important practices for any leader - regardless of the level - is to capture and tell stories that reveal :

- who you are as an organization
- why you're worthy of pride
- what you value
- what behaviors you value


Doing this helps you:

1. Increase your ability to attract and retain talent
2. Engage your employees - i.e. get them to care
3. Strengthen your culture
4. Improve your orientation and onboarding program by making them more inspiring

I just came across a great article in Fast Company that included an example of a teaching story that tells employees who their employer, Costco, is and why they should be proud:

clipped from www.fastcompany.com Some organizations have evolved stories to simplify strategy. For instance, Costco (NASDAQ:COST) employees know the "Calvin Klein jeans story," as reported in Evelyn Clark's book Around the Corporate Campfire. In 1996, Costco was selling out of Calvin Klein jeans at $29.99 a pair. Then, the chain's buyers struck a deal to get about 4 million pairs at a discounted price; with Costco's usual 14% markup, the jeans would sell for just $22.99. The buyers knew that Costco could easily sell out the full order at $29.99. Where do you set the price? The decision: $22.99. Jim Sinegal, CEO, said, "I use that as an example because it would be so tempting for a buyer to go with the higher price for a very quick $28 million in additional profits, but ours didn't. That's an example of how we keep faith with the customer." These situations could be paralyzing: Should you maximize profit or stick with a rule that keeps prices at bargain levels? The Calvin Klein story resolves the tension. You can learn more about capturing and using stories in my white paper Successful Onboarding: Getting Employees Started Off Right