narrative lab

We do so much work in the mine safety arena, that I couldn't help but chuckle at the truth that Jeremy Nell has uncovered in this recent cartoon:

We've been accepted to present, alongside some sharp thinkers, our approach to Narrative Change Management at the 29th Organisational Development World Congress.

The Congress will take place on 20th and 21st July 2009 in Pretoria (info here). 

In our presentation, we'll profile how a narrative approach to change management can be applied within change programmes to improve engagement, resilience and awareness. In particular, we'll be looking at a case study of how we developed a Change Story for the Turnaround Strategy within the Department of Home Affairs.

Hope to see you there.

Our mining safety research collaboration with Deloitte has been profiled on Mining Weekly. Feel free to read/comment/distribute it. Read it here.

Here is a simple diagram outlining where you could apply narrative/stories in your organisation, and to what end:

Most traditional companies are quite intentional about choosing their mission, often settling on a well-crafted statement that sets market domination and excellence as their target. Sonja and I have been less intentional, and have rather let our mission emerge over the last 12 months - emergence is a key factor in managing complexity after all :)

What is our mission then?

It's not market domination, nor is it service excellence ... while those are important factors of our business. Rather, our mission is two-fold:

1. Changing the mindsets around the perceived value of water, and
2. Transforming the culture of safety on mines

These have emerged out of numerous client engagements in the water and mine safety arenas. Through gathering stories of water management and mine safety incidents, we have become convinced that part of our calling (if you like) is to use our narrative techniques to assist in changing mindsets and transforming the culture associated with water usage and mine safety.

The case for improved mine safety is a well known one in South Africa, and globally. However, we believe that the case for improved water usage and management in South Africa is less understood. In fact, we are of the opinion that South Africa is on the verge of a water crisis. If our sense of the early warning signals (mainly seen through the stories we have gathered from companies, government, research institutions and society) is correct, we believe that the average South African needs to better understand the true value and cost of water.

The predominant mindset is that water is cheap and of low value - it is a resource that is "on tap" ... I open my tap and water comes out of it. Simple as that. The reality is that potable (drinking) water is more scarce than we'd like to believe, and hence, the value of water is much higher than most would admit.

Here's one story to support this argument ...

We've just released the April edition of our newsletter, Dialogue. You can read it here. Be sure to subscribe to it (see the sign up box on the right of this page) for future editions.

Here it is: our approach to stories within organisations.

The components of this model are:

The difference between big and small "s" stories

Big "S" stories are the stories we normally associated with Storytelling - the well-polished, entertaining stories we grew up with, and the stories told by our favourite Storytellers. They were told to us as fairytales, they are shared around the campfire, and told at conferences as the defining stories about our nation, race, culture and people. 

Small "s" stories are the fragments of experiences that we share in everyday conversation. They are the stories we tell when we get home and tell our family how our day was. They're the stories we tell around the water cooler and as we stand on the smoker's balcony. 

And so, there's a difference between Storytelling and storytelling. It is also important to note that every Big "S" story has emerged out of a collection of Small "s" stories.

The nature of every story

In general, stories are rich in the following two dimensions: touch and concept. That is, stories are high in touch as they touch our hearts and move our emotions - they are entertaining! Then, within the DNA of every story, no matter how deep or polished, is a level of complex information that is valuable - these stories are high in concept.

What stories do

Stories that are high touch and high concept do a few things:

- they provide insight
- they provide us with meaning
- they create influence as we share them, and
- stories inspire people to take action!

Storytelling

We believe that everyone is a storyteller! You may not consider yourself a "S"toryteller, but you are certainly a "s"toryteller. Standing around the braai/barbeque, sitting around a dinner stable, standing amongst friends with your favourite drink ... everyone becomes a storyteller. 

The overall power of storytelling is its ability to enhance communication skills - for both the individual and the organisation. Through prospecting the available stories of yourself, or about your organisation/brand, you are able to identify the patterns within the stories and what the main personal or brand story should be about.  

Storygathering

Also known as storylistening, storygathering is an underutulised technique in organisations. If our assumption about small "s" stories is right, then there are multitudes of stories being told all the time - especially by your employees and customers about your organisation. Imagine how useful it would be if you were able to gather and harness those stories?

Doing just that allows you to solve amazingly complex problems in surprising simple ways. Through discovering and gathering the stories about your problem, you are able to make sense of what those stories are saying, and are then able to act in a contextually relevant way to shift your problem.

Credit

Credit needs to be given to Shaun Callahan of Anecdote in Australia who originally developed this model. We've tweaked it for the South African context and use it with permission.