Big Ideas

At its core this book argues that stories are the most effective medium for communicating value, aligning groups behind an idea, and creating memorable differentiated brands. The book is generally targeted at marketers and business leaders however these ideas are relevant for anyone trying to communicate information in a compelling and memorable way.

Hall describes four types of stories, each which serve a different purpose:

• Value Story > more effective sales and marketing
• Founder Story > increase confidence and differentiate
• Purpose Story > align and engage
• Customer Story > better sales, marketing, and credibility
  

She argues that all stories have a common structure:

• Normal: Things are how they are.
• Explosion: Something happens.
• New Normal: Things are different.
  

And every story must contain four key elements:

• Identifiable characters
• Authentic emotion
• A significant moment
• Specific details
  

Notes

"Companies whose cultures wither instead of thrive because their leaders can't articulate the stories of why they do what they do."

Part I: The Irresistible Power of Storytelling

1. The Gaps in Business an the Bridges That Close (and Don't Close) Them

• Gaps are problems in your business between where you are where you want to go
• Bridges are strategies to cross those gaps
• "No matter the scenario. No matter the gap. No matter the product or the audience. The easiest, most effective way to build bridges that capture attention, influence behavior, and transform those who cross them, resulting in gaps that stay closed and bridges that last, is with storytelling."

2. Once Upon a Brain

• "You have to captivate in order to influence. You can't gain trust if no one sees you in the first place."
• Stories speak to an emotional core which is more powerful for stirring people to act

3. What Makes a Story Great

• "Stories, somewhere along the way, became known as brands. And somehow we forgot that, no, not everything is a story."
• Four Components of a Great Story
• ~Identifiable characters
• ~Authentic emotion
• ~A significant moment
• ~Specific details
• Structure of a story‍
• ~Normal: Things are how they are.‍
• ~Explosion: Something happens.‍
• ~New Normal: Things are different.
  

Part II: The Four Essential Stories - The Tales Every Business Needs to Tell

4. The Value Story

• "The value story helps bridge the gap between the problem and the value of the solution"
• "When it comes to sales and marketing, the value story is king."
• "While more information may seem like the way to make an obvious decision more obvious, the reality is this approach often muddies up an otherwise easy yes."
• "People don't buy the thing. They buy what the thing will do for them."
• The essence of a value story is to "illustrate value in a way nothing else can."
  

The Storytelling Framework

• Normal
• ~What is your customers' problem?
• ~What pain are they experiencing?
• ~How do they feel?
• ~How is it impacting their life? Their business?
• ~What's keeping them awake at night?
• Explosion
• ~How does your product/service solve the pain or problem?
• ~How does your product/service make their life easier?
• ~What does the experience of using your product/service feel like for the customers?
• ~How is using your product/service different?
• New Normal
• ~How is life different after?
• ~What is enhanced or improved?
• ~How do the customers feel?
• ~What pain points have vanished?

5. The Founder Story

• "Used to increase stakeholder faith in the person who created the company."
• "When it comes to a new product or idea, you're selling yourself as much as anything else."
• Your founder story gives emotional weight to your conviction, it communicates trust.
• Your founder story can be a way to differentiate your brand. Build a relationship with your customers.
• "Done right, the founder story does this. It taps into the desires that stir at the core of every human."
• "All things considered equal, your founder story will differentiate you from the competition, connect you in a meaningful way to your customer, and make you an easy yes."
• Where to look for the story?
• ~Go way back
• ~Remember the "there has to be a better way" moment
• ~Look for the blood, sweat, and tears

6. The Purpose Story

• "The purpose story offers members of an established organization a reason to show up each day. To commit, to cooperate, and to accomplish something together."
• "People want a purpose. If you don't give them one, they'll make up their own."
• Purpose stories can be used to create alignment around a goal or the mission of the organization.
• "Purpose stories live and die on how well, how strongly the story supports a specific message. The purpose story is dependent on, first, the clarity of that message and, second, how clearly that story illustrates that message."

7. The Customer Story

• Customers stories come with more credibility.
• "When you tell someone your product is great, that's called marketing. When another customer tells them, it's called a referral."
• "A customer story draws people in, makes them care, feel connected, and perhaps most importantly, makes them feel understood"
• How to get customer stories
• ~You must ask
• ~Ask specifically - give your customer a template or a guide
  

Part III: Create Your Story - Finding, Crafting, and Telling Your Story

8. Finding Your Story

• "The single biggest barrier to not telling your story isn't procrastination or being afraid of sharing or stage fright; it's assuming you don't have a story in the first place."
• "If you ever feel like you don't have stories, it's not because you don't; it's because our stories don't sound like stories to us. Our stories just sound like life."
• When looking for stories it helps to start with people, places or things
• Think about firsts
• Make a list of customer objections and questions
• Look for when you've seen your message in action
• Choosing a story cheat sheet
• ~Value Story > more effective sales and marketing
• ~Founder Story > increase confidence and differentiate
• ~Purpose Story > align and engage
• ~Customer Story > better sales, marketing, and credibility
• Tailor your story to your audience
• Keep in mind what you want them to "think, feel, know, or do"

9. Crafting Your Story

• Normal > Explosion > New Normal
• Start in the middle with the explosion
• Go back to the beginning
• End with the new normal
• "A story should be as long as it needs to be"
• Common Pitfalls
• ~Not crafting the story to specifically support your goals
• ~Cutting the small details and nuances that make it relatable and tangible

10. Telling Your Story

• Tell stories in presentations
• Start with a story
• Tell stories in interviews
• "When it comes to telling stories, only tell the stories you are comfortable telling."
• We tell stories all the time to our friends and family. Storytelling is natural so get out of your own way.