Steve Yastrow

The idea of a constantly evolving story is much more accurate than many organization’s thinking of their story as static. How many times do companies, “Build the website” then leave it for five years, or how many non-profits use the same list of donors from last year and beat them to death with entreaties for money? Both of those organizations need a new story.

You have to have someone great in charge of the story all the times, not just hire someone once every ten years to completely overhaul it.

During these overhauls, you get abrupt changes that shock both employees and customers alike. Broad declarations like, “Okay! We’re merging Department X with Department Y.” or “Electrasol is now known as Finish (even though it’s been Electrasol forever)” are disorienting for the recipient.

If you can evolve these stories instead, you would achieve much more fluid changes that would make sense to everyone.

I understand the argument that’s everthing is different now. The balls are all up in the air and we don’t know how they’re going to fall. Rule book torn up, what’s worked before won’t cut it anymore, etc. And I don’t disagree – it’s a different landscape now.

But one thing hasn’t changed – human nature. People will still behave as they do for the same kind of reasons – moving away from pain, attracted to pleasure, staff responsive to recognition, and so on. I think that what we need now is to have a better INSIGHT into why people behave as they do. It was too easy before to get away with an average product, mediocre customer service, unimaginative marketing, under-performing employees. That’s not good enough now.

My point is that in order to adapt to the new economic landscape, we need to get back to understanding (really understanding) what motivates people and how we respond to that. That’s never changed – it’s just more imperative now.