Let's talk Transformation : The business leaders podcast #112 How storytelling makes innovation irresistible with Susan Lindner
"Its the story not the tech that is the bridge between whether an idea gets funded and gets to market ."
A fun conversation with Susan about the power of stories for the human brain. We delve into the eclectic journey that she travelled to link storytelling and innovation. The human need for connection is ever present, particularly in a digitally connected world. Human connection is about having empathy and understanding others’ situations – essential for innovation & effective collaboration, which requires behaviour change.
The role of stories in creating followers and convincing people is as old as time, and people don’t change much; the prophets moved the word around the world, making them the greatest viral marketers of all time. There is so much power in stories, especially the ones we tell ourselves, which are instrumental in helping or hindering both innovation and collaboration..
We discuss all this and lots more as Susan shares her insights, stories and experiences from working with people & leaders all around the globe .
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- The common trait for innovation is an insatiable curiosity – innovators are constantly asking questions, talking and telling stories with a desire to tell other people.
- The human need for connection is about having empathy and understanding others’ situations – essential for innovation, which requires behaviour change.
- The advent of the Internet made it clear that the story was the bridge between new tech/ideas and how to get people to change their behaviour around interacting with the technologies.
- A ‘tech translator’ needs to use plain language to tell a relatable story that matters to the readers, and CIOs need to take the same approach; they must become storytellers themselves to get the funding/recognition they deserve.
- The role of stories in creating followers and convincing people is as old as time, and people don’t change much; the prophets moved the word around the world, making them the greatest viral marketers of all time.
- How did they succeed in selling an idea that wasn’t visible to our human minds, and persuading us to continue sharing their stories long after their death?
1. They relied on a shared history and looked for common ground (orthodoxy vs. progressivism); evidenced by similar calendars/rituals across religions.
2. Their basis was in core values; behaviour change requires new, worthwhile values to replace old ones that are no longer sufficient.
3. Their message was memorable; an innovative message requires momentum for other people to adopt it - stories create both memory and momentum.
4. They got other people to tell it; identify early adopters who will absorb the message and amplify it, pre-programming others to share it.
5. The made good use of language; rallying cries ground people to the mission of change.
- There will always be doubt, even among early adopters, and impactful communication varies among national cultures – we must be clear about the cultural values in the tribe we are currently in.
- Empathy mapping asks what matters to the listener: What does my listener need to hear to say yes? What is the pain of saying yes? How do I tell a story that mitigates risk? What is the gain for my listener? [think, feel, do, say]
- Corporate athletes must become amazing listeners before they can become good storytellers by asking their teams for the context before the content; practicing telling the story; and adapting it to other cultures.
- According to McKinsey, storytelling is one of the top 40 skillsets every executive must have in order to be able to explain and ask for money - pitching is now part of the innovator’s job description as a result of the startup culture.
- Intrapreneurship programs are aimed at avoiding messy M&As and scientists must become intrapreneurs who budget for the breakthrough.
- Communication science is not valued enough; many technologies are generated by the spoken word, as opposed to the written word, and it is a good thing to create shortcuts and make life easier, but without losing authenticity.
- The bigger quest is to ensure that no innovation is lost due to not having a story to help the listener understand it better or because their value was not understood - changemakers need help and tools to tell their story.
- Behaviour change also involves understanding how stories can bring about huge change (e.g. at the ballot box), but it starts with the story we tell ourselves, which is often the hardest one to stomach.
- Communities in a digital world should approach behavioural change/innovation with empathetic listening and appreciative enquiry: What is working now? Where is the good? This is the starting point.
- Shared history is often painful, but there is strength in that - we connect over trauma rather than triumph, and building communities is a way to innovate (even though it can feel unfamiliar).
- The story of innovation is that developments are now faster and more intuitive; the lean methodology and short innovation sprints make us more supple and flexible and able to look at the learnings from failure.
- Can we listen even more to our past, present and future, and to those around us? Stories are 22 times more memorable than facts: What do I want people to remember? What do I need them to do? What emotion do they need to feel to take action? What do I need them to say and do?
Find out more about Susan and her work here :