Good Morning,
When we enter a new group or join a new organization we are often bombarded with information about that organization. Information including what are the goals, values, mission of organization as well as what is the expectations for the new people. A lot of this information comes in large volumes of text or what some call word overkill. It seems the technical writing profession thinks that they get paid by the word and not getting the concept across.
What happens with all of this information? Our eyes roll over with overwhelm and mental overload. We pick up a few concepts and words here and there and some of us even start forgetting stuff we knew prior to joining the new group or organization.
The author of my current read, Carl Sewell, ‘Customers For Live: How to Turn That One-Time Buyer into a Lifetime Customer’ (http://www.amazon.com/Customers-Life-Buyer-Lifelong-Customer/dp/067102101X) talks about another way to bring people into the fold without all of the overwhelm.
They share stories.
Stories of the best and brightest who have been with and are still with their organization. They tell what they did, why they did it and the outcome. It paints a picture of the company and its values and missions and what is expected by hearing the tales of those who exemplified the mission.
Better yet, telling tales brings the information to life. Just about everyone I have ever met was more comfortable listening to or reading a story then having volumes full of rules crammed down their throats. Also, people will get more from the stories right off the bat than trying to dissect and digest all of the rules and regulations. The story tells the listen or reader ‘this is what we are looking you to be like’.
I know I would have preferred stories of the ideal Disputes Manager instead of that nice lady dropping 25 pounds of books, nearly a foot thick of text on my desk saying ‘here are the rules’.
While stories cannot replace all the rules and regulations, they can definitely get people on the right page fast, and make them ready for the larger, heavier information that will inevitably follow.
So let’s share some stories.
Enjoy
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