22 WAYS TO ACHIEVE A GREAT ROI FROM STORYTELLING IN BUSINESS By Roger E Jones

Stories are 22 times more memorable than facts. However, too many leaders focus solely on trying to make things happen using facts, figures and logic. These fact-tellers are rarely successful. However leaders who engage using stories should expect to achieve a good R.O.I. Rogers Corporate Storytelling Audit is like shining a spotlight on the road to making things happen, tapping into peoples different perspectives and compiling action agendas with greater ownership through the effective use of story. The Corporate Storytelling Audit can provide clients with a range of insights ranging from how to embed values to enhancing sales performance, through to aligning employees to your strategic direction to obtaining hidden customer insights. Lets briefly consider 22 ways you could employ storytelling to enhance your R.O.I. as a result of the Corporate Storytelling Audit. As you read through the list think which might provide the greatest payback to your business in the coming months. 1. Change - changing peoples minds takes more than a persuasive argument. Use a story that celebrates the past whilst demonstrating the need for change. Weave common threads from the past into your future story 2. Recommit - a well told story about why you have a passion for your business could allow employees to recommit with your organisation. 3. Strategy - convert your strategic plan into a strategic story that captivates not only the imagination of your executive team but also the hearts & minds of all stakeholders. 4. Vision - stories can enable employees to envision a successful and productive future. 5. Innovation - observe how highly innovative companies spread the stories behind their new developments within their company to encourage innovation. 6. Engage - a well crafted story can rekindle the passion that makes people want to give themselves to your organisation. 7. Leadership - your leadership story will give people the confidence to be led by you. 8. Inspire - use a story to paint the picture of the future. Tell it with passion to engage your stakeholders hearts. 9. Knowledge management - sharing stories of how others have got things done can be far more effective than asking employees to read instructions and manuals. 10. Self-awareness - understanding how the positive and negative experiences in your life-story have shaped your values will enable you to increase your self-awareness.

11. Teams - foster greater team performance through stories that illustrate how to handle conflict, overcome obstacles and surpass goals. 12. Creativity - stories move people away from linear logic and help spark creativity. 13. Selling - top sellers are great storytellers, they understand the power of stories to bring benefits and value propositions to life. 14. Perceptions - whether people judge a new idea or new development as good or bad depends on perceptions. Stories shape perceptions. 15. Mission - a story can provoke shared and common experiences that allow employees to reconnect with your organisations mission. 16. Buy-in - when trying to persuade a well told story about the challenges your idea overcomes will be far more effective than a list of bullet point facts and numbers. 17. Culture - the culture of your company is the sum total of the stories your employees tell about it. Change the stories if you want to change the culture. 18. Analysis - a story can build the bridge you need from analysis to action. 19. Behaviours - stories of employees exhibited behaviours that will make your organisation a success will encourage others to replicate their actions. 20. Branding - your brand is the stories people tell about your product or service. Listen to the stories people currently tell about it. 21. Motivate - sharing stories of employees past and current successes can open the eyes of others to what they can achieve. 22. Less remote - tell a true and moving story from your life to show the people you lead who you really are and how you tick.

For more information on Rogers Corporate Storytelling Audit please: T: +44 (0)20 8878 3429 E: info@RogerEdwardJones.com www.RogerEdwardJones.com

Copyright 2011 Roger E Jones