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Andy Raskin helps CEOs align their leadership teams around a strategic narrative—a single story that powers success in sales, marketing, product, fundraising, and recruiting. His clients include Gong, Dropbox, Uber, Salesforce, Square, and IBM. In today’s episode, we discuss:
• What a strategic narrative is, and how to craft one
• How having a strategic narrative can bring alignment to your entire company
• Examples of strategic narratives in action
• Who needs a strategic narrative and who doesn’t
• Why Andy thinks about movements instead of categories
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-power-of-strategic-narrative
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Where to find Andy Raskin:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyraskin/
• Website: https://www.andyraskin.com/
• Podcast: https://andyraskin.com/podcast/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Andy’s background
(08:03) What is a strategic narrative?
(10:34) How Salesforce would have pitched the old way
(12:02) Examples of a strategic narrative in action
(15:23) How one piece of writing skyrocketed Andy’s career
(16:40) The power of writing online
(17:53) Two paths to writing online
(19:27) Naming the old game
(20:59) Naming the stakes
(23:29) Naming the objective
(25:17) Naming the obstacles
(26:35) Overcoming the obstacles
(26:57) How the strategic narrative parallels the hero’s journey
(28:25) Telling one story well vs. being a good storyteller
(29:18) The 5-step framework summarized
(31:33) An example of the 5-step framework in action
(36:12) The impact of shifting to the strategic narrative approach
(39:08) Companies that are nailing their strategic narrative
(40:36) Why Andy thinks about movements instead of categories
(44:15) Should every company have a strategic narrative?
(46:33) Signs that something is broken in your strategic narrative
(48:53) Steps to get started on your own
(51:36) How to reach Andy
(51:53) Why the second session is the low point in the process
(55:30) Why the CEO needs to be part of the process
(57:40) Lightning round
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Referenced:
• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/
• Marc Benioff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff/
• Zuora: https://www.zuora.com/
• The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-greatest-sales-deck-ive-ever-seen-4f4ef3391ba0
• Gong: https://www.gong.io/
• Tien Tzuo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tientzuo/
• Want a Better Pitch? Master the “Move”: https://medium.com/firm-narrative/want-a-better-pitch-master-the-move-5fbee071ca7f
• Star Wars: https://www.starwars.com/
• The Hero with a Thousand Faces: https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936
• 360Learning: https://360learning.com/
• Nick Hernandez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoconut/
• Amit Bendov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitbendov/
• Drift: https://www.drift.com/
• OneTrust: https://www.onetrust.com/
• “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott: https://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/pamela.golden/engl2327/shitty-first-drafts-by-anne-lamott/view
• Story: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/
• Out of Sheer Rage: https://www.amazon.com/Out-Sheer-Rage-Wrestling-Lawrence/
• Station Eleven: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10574236/
• Fitbit: https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/home
• Apple Watch: https://www.apple.com/watch
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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