Articles on Success, Significance and the Evolving Role of Work

Why Stories Matter

At this very moment, three stories are playing out.

You are reading these words — this story I’m beginning to tell you — while having a dialogue in your head. Maybe it’s about the topic at hand — your expectations. Maybe it’s about something not related to this whatsoever. Maybe you just said to yourself, “I’m not having a conversation with myself. What’s he talking about?”

While these two stories are playing out, a third story is happening. You are recording this experience — the room you’re in, the sounds surrounding you, you’re mood, etc. as you read this. You are doing this to help your memory recall this, should you need it in the future.

Of course, not everything we say and hear is a story.

Many things are mere information. Like, “I need green peppers and an onion for the pasta tonight.”

So what makes stories different than information? And why, on earth, should you care?

I’m betting, in your professional life, you build, fix, promote, sell and manage things. You enable people.

But what if you could empower them? Inspire them?

That’s what stories do. Stories empower us. Move us. Inspire us. Teach us.

Jacqueline Novogratz wants to help entrepreneurs in Africa and Asia transform their communities through innovation. How can they do this? Through patient capital investments from people like you and me, and through companies like those in which we work.

But that’s just information. Before you continue reading, please watch this three-minute video…

How did Jacqueline’s story make you feel? Did you feel a connection with her and her cause?

That’s the power of a story. The information I gave you on Jacqueline couldn’t do that job.

Now watch a 1969 video of Fred Rogers testifying before a Senate subcommittee.

In six minutes, Mr. Rogers moved Senator Pastore and others to increase PBS funding from $9 million to $20 million. And he did it through personal anecdotes and stories of progress.

We waste too much time trying to persuade and convince others through facts, features and fear. Through stories, we empower others to change their own mind.

And that’s exactly what I’m doing here.

In giving you Jacqueline and Mr. Roger’s stories, I hope that you will begin telling yourself a story that changes the way you lead, market and influence those you work to serve.

Thank you, Alan, for inspiring this post.

Try This Next Time Someone Asks, “So What Do You Do?”

It happens everywhere. Kids’ sports activities. Church classes. Neighborhood cookouts. You name it.

You meet someone and one of the first things they want to know is what kind of work you do.

There are lots of motives and reasons driving this. A shared connection is one. A potential need fulfilled is another.

But here’s the kicker — most people suck at answering this question.

Should you state your job title and company name?

Should you give a general description of the work you do — “I head sales for a large carpet manufacturer?”

And what if you’re currently unemployed? How do you negotiate that in a proactive way?

The job of this post is to help you think about that question and craft a response for the next time you’re asked what you do.

After all, we’re talking about the story you tell about yourself. So it better be interesting!

That Was Then, This Is Now

Once upon a time, people only had one job.

They were a welder. Or a doctor. Or a hospital executive. Or a home builder.

Today, most of the professionals I encounter have a primary job, as well as one or more side projects. And they do multiple jobs and wear multiple hats. I call this a “portfolio life.”

Take me. I head marketing and content strategy for a large healthcare staffing company. That’s my primary job. I analyze and advise executives and entrepreneurs on their organizational narratives on the side. I also write children’s poetry and literary nonfiction.

So am I a corporate marketing professional, an independent advisor or a creative writer? Of course, I’m all of these. And more. Which makes responding to the question, “So what do you do?” rather challenging.

Think in Threes

When it comes to telling your story, the kitchen sink approach is not the way to go. Nor is the job title or description approach.

Unless you’re at an event surrounded by people in your industry or profession, they’re not really interested in what you do. When someone asks you what you do, the primary thing they’re listening for is whether you are a person worth knowing, liking and trusting.

That’s it.

So your story should be crafted to quickly interest (or satiate) the inquiring person. But please don’t interpret this to mean you should come up with some “catchy” (which is a synonym for “cheesy”) or gimmicky turn-of-phrase.

Think in three.

In other words, when someone asks you what you do, give them a “me in three” response. What this means is that you offer three quick points of interest about yourself.

It might go like this…

“So what do you do, Samantha?”

“You know how lines in grocery and department stores get backed up at the worst possible time? Well, I help them avoid this problem. I’m also a blogger and mom of two teenagers.”

Which leads to further discussion of customer logistics or blogging or parenting.

See how it works?

In addition to in-person introductions, the “me in three” technique also works exceptionally well in social media bios, article bylines and your website’s “about” page.

But There’s a Catch

Context matters. A lot.

Don’t use the same “me in three” responses with everyone everywhere. Tailor it to your audience.

For example, in my organization and industry (healthcare), I am a marketing strategist, writer and analyst. With you, I am a storytelling coach, writer and content advisor. With my literary friends, I’m a poet, creative writer and mentor.

Take a look at how the Management Innovation eXchange (MIX) uses the “me in three” approach for their bios. (If you click that link, scroll down to the section subtitled, “Meet the MIX Team.”

The 3Ws

An alternative approach to the “me in three” technique is what I call the 3Ws. With this approach, you clearly and succinctly answer three questions:

Who are you?
What do you do?
Why do you do it?

This approach is most effective when you are among your industry colleagues or professional peers.

Why? Because the more specific you can get, the more engaging your story will be.

When I tell the story of what I do to healthcare executives, it may sound something like this:

I am a marketing strategist who can help you create, deliver and measure content that grows your business. I do what I do, because I believe in what you do as a healthcare executive. And through the increased reach and impact of your organization’s story, I have a hand in impacting the lives of patients, physicians and clinical workers.

Now it’s your turn.

Create a master list of blurbs that describe interesting pieces of what you do. Then, choose the best three next time someone asks.

Also, write (and re-write) your responses to the 3Ws. Succinctly capture and communicate who you are, what you do and why.

Now it’s your turn — what advise do you have? What are some of your techniques for tackling the “what do you do” question? Share it in the comments.

And, speaking of sharing, please share this post with others you think could benefit. Or, even better, write your own post!

Your Strategic Advantage in a Digital World is…

In our me-too, look-at-me, always-on, multi-channel, click-away world, it’s hard to tell stories that spread.

Very hard.

In desperation, some choose to pander or shock. But attention alone isn’t a strategy. And first impressions tend to linger.

Your goal is to lead, influence or change things in some (preferably measurable) way.

You certainly need solid distribution channels for your stories. But good stories blasted to every purchased list, wire service and social media outpost available doesn’t guarantee engagement. Typically, it just positions you among the factories of digital noise and clutter.

So what can you do to help your stories spread without the crutch of gimmicks?

To increase the impact and reach of your stories, build a real relationship with one person at a time over time.

Quite frankly, there is no better way to earn the trust and attention of key stakeholders in your organization or industry than by looking them in the eyes and, first, listening to their stories.

I learned this working in hospitals. In hospitals, the most effective organizational leaders and medical professionals regularly “round.”

When making rounds, you physically show up in key departments of the hospital and talk with patients, families, nurses, physicians and technicians. It takes a lot of time — it can feel like wasting time. But, over time, relationships are forged that allow for informal, shorthand communications to take place.

This is something email, marketing collateral, ads, PR, content marketing, social media and even phone calls can’t do.

Imagine you have an announcement or news item you wish to share:

Option #1 — You can pay for distribution on a PR wire, plus blast it out through social media and email.
Option #2 — You can personally email a handful of industry journalists and thought leaders, knowing your chances are pretty high some or all will share it.

Which option gives you a strategic advantage?

In 2009, Hugh MacLeod wrote a killer post title, The Twenty. To paraphrase his main point, there are about 20 people in your industry or “space” who matter. Either they know you and your story or they don’t.

These “20” are typically a mix of journalists, thought leaders and clients. And, of course, in your world, that number may be more or less.

The point is that we listen to those we know, like and trust.

This was a key piece of the strategy driving Regis McKenna‘s ground-breaking work in Silicon Valley.

Your secret advantage in a digital world is a personal relationship with those who matter.

And, like any true asset, these take time to build.

Do you regularly meet face-to-face with “the twenty” who most matter to your story? Do they even know you exist?

(Image by Just Ard on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The Story of National Doctor’s Day

Red Carnation: A Doctor's Day Tradition — Red Carnations are the symbolic flower of National Doctor’s Day.
(Photo: Elizabeth McClay)

March 30^th is National Doctor’s Day in the United States.

The story of how this day came to be is as strange as it is fascinating. It arose out of recreational drug use, which was in vogue in the 1840s.

I want to share the story about Doctor’s Day with you. More importantly, I want to tell a broader story about how physicians impact our lives beyond the obvious.

If you are a physician, I hope this honors you and the sacrifices you make each and every day in service to patients like me. Thank you for what you do.

It All Started at Parties Called “Frolics”

Dr. Crawford Williamson Long was born in Danielsville, Georgia. He pursued his formal medical education at Transylvania College in Kentucky and the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1841, at the age of 26, Dr. Long returned to Jefferson, Georgia and started his medical practice. During this time, a new fad had developed: Inhaling nitrous oxide (i.e. laughing gas) at parties some called “frolics.”

It was as a participant and supplier at these “frolics” that Dr. Long observed how those who fell and suffered minor injuries while under the influence of ether, were oblivious to pain.

This led to his theory that ether could be used as an anesthetic in surgical procedures.

On March 30, 1842, Dr. Long was able to test his theory, when he surgically removed a cyst from James Venable’s neck, while Venable was under the influence of ether. It was a historic moment in modern medicine — the first use of anesthesia in surgery.

Eudora Brown Almond’s Resolution

Ninety-one years later, in Winder, Georgia, Dr. Charles B. Almond’s wife, Eudora, sparked an idea — a day should be set aside to honor physicians through acts of kindness, gifts and tributes.

The day chosen was March 30^th, in honor of the anniversary of Dr. Long’s first administration of anesthesia in surgery.

According to several records, on the first Doctor’s Day cards were mailed to physicians and their wives, flowers were placed on the graves of deceased doctors (including Dr. Long) and Dr. and Mrs. William T. Randolph hosted a formal dinner at their house. Toasts were offered during the meal calling for continued observances of Doctor’s Day.

And, gradually, this observance began to spread.

In 1958, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution recognizing Doctor’s Day. And on October 30, 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed what became Public Law 101-473 designating March 30^th as National Doctor’s Day.

Doctors’ Impact on Society

It goes without saying that physicians have played a huge role in the advancement of modern medicine. But many have made significant contributions beyond the practice of medicine.

William Carlos Williams was a pediatrician and general practitioner in New Jersey. In addition to his full-time medical work, he also emerged as one of the leading figures in modern poetry. And he influenced and mentored new generations of poets, including the Beats, Black Mountain Poets and the New York School.
Viktor Frankl, holocaust survivor and author of the classic book Man’s Search for Meaning, was a neurologist and psychiatrist.
I’m reading a biography on Dr. David Livingstone with my younger son. He was a pioneer medical missionary in Africa as well as a travel writer.
Although he never practiced medicine, the father of manga, Osamu Tezuka, passed his medical exams and faced a career crisis when he had to choose between being an artist or physician.
Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to run a sub-four-minute mile, was a distinguished neurologist.

Physicians have been among our great writers, politicians, inventors, social activists, researchers, athletes, astronauts, pioneers, statesmen, philosophers, theologians, mathematicians, educators, adventurers, entrepreneurs, musicians and artists through the centuries.

It’s a Tough Time to Be a Doctor

Mommas once wanted their babies to grow up to be doctors and lawyers and such.

Times have changed.

One of my core areas of focus is researching and writing about trends impacting physicians, their practices and their outlook on the profession.

Over the four years we’ve surveyed physicians, we’re seeing a growing discontent among physicians from all specialties and regions of the country.

One of the most shocking findings came last year.

When asked if they would recommend the medical profession to a young person, 59 percent of physicians said no. Decreased autonomy and reimbursements, increased time away from patients dealing with administrative and regulatory hassles, the corporatization of medicine, fear of litigation and longer hours are key reasons driving this.

And these realities aren’t going away any time soon.

I Have My Father to Thank

As the son of a pharmacist-turned-hospital-CEO, I literally grew up hanging around hospitals.

As a kid, we ate Sunday lunches at the hospital. My dad let me shadow him at work as early as middle school. I got to tag along with him to visit the homes of hospital employees and physicians.

In college, I worked as a runner between clinical departments. My first “real job” was with an orthopedic surgeon. And my career has spanned occupational medicine, geriatric psychiatry, health system planning and marketing and medical office property management.

As I reflect on all the things my father has taught me, one theme stands out: We must enable and equip our physicians so they can best serve patients.

My dad is a physician champion. Always has been and still is. His actions, not just his words, have reinforced this.

And, over the last five years, I have had the privilege of working with an organization led by a man who is also a physician champion. I get to go to work each day to think about how our family of companies can better serve physicians and hospitals.

It’s Time to Thank Our Doctors

On March 30^th, please take a moment and reach out to the physicians who care for you and your family. And please thank them.

Thank them for choosing to do what they do. They are parents, brothers, sisters and children just like you and me. But their work comes with significant sacrifices and stresses unknown to many of us.

I want to live in a world in which more kids want to be doctors. And I want to live in a world in which our doctors are regularly celebrated for their sacrifices and contributions to society.

In celebrating physicians — while not denying the harsh realities of being a practicing physician in today’s world — we can, in time, revitalize the medical profession in our communities and culture.

This begins with storytelling.

The more stories we can tell about who physicians are, what they do and why they do what they do, the more we can influence our children. And theirs.

Start with stories like Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw’s story. Then check out Dr. Benjamin LaBrot’s story. And Dr. Roseanna Means.

If you have a physician story to tell, please write it in the comments. I would love to hear it.

Want to Learn More about National Doctor’s Day and Dr. Crawford W. Long?

National Doctor’s Day Site
How March 30th Came to Be Doctor’s Day by Rod K. Calverly
Crawford W. Long Museum
About Dr. Crawford W. Long

(Carnations Photo by Elizabeth McClay. Creative Commons)

6 Storytelling Lessons from the Apollo Lunar Program

CBS News, with Walter Cronkite at the helm, billed their live coverage of the Apollo 11 launch as, “Man on the Moon: The Epic Journey of Apollo 11.”

Epic. Journey.

One small step. One giant leap.

This wasn’t American history, it was world history.

The Apollo lunar program had all the elements of an epic story:

Heroes: The Astronauts
A Promised Land: The Moon
A Champion: John F. Kennedy
A Campaign: The Apollo Lunar Program
An Ultimate Sacrifice: Loss of life
A Worthy Adversary: The Soviet Union

If you study the story of NASA during the Apollo era, you know it all began with a singular goal set by President John F. Kennedy in an announcement before a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961:

Land a man on the moon
Return him safely to earth
And do this by the end of the decade

To accomplish this, NASA organized teams of rocket scientists, engineers, physicists, chemists, mathematicians, medical professionals, test pilots and others to focus on three core disciplines:

Life preservation — keeping astronauts alive and safe
Propulsion — breaking free of gravity
Navigation — synching an array of moving objects (earth, moon & spacecraft) in real-time

But there was actually a fourth discipline NASA had to master: Storytelling.

And that story has not been adequately told. Until now.

A new book, Marketing the Moon: The Selling of the Apollo Lunar Program by David Meerman Scott and Richard Jurek, tells the story of NASA’s storytellers — how a handful of men fought to allow public access to and participation in this historic era of space exploration.

Could you imagine the moon landing being written as a press release? Think about how powerful it was (and is) to watch that grainy footage of Neil Armstrong descending the ladder of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module to stand on the moon’s surface. Think about how powerful it was (and is) to hear him say those historic words.

The best stories are shared stories.

Here are six lessons I’ve learned about storytelling from the Apollo lunar program. I hope they inspire you to live stories bigger than you and your organization — stories in which others want to participate as associates, partners, investors, clients and suppliers.

1. It Takes a Team.

Do the names Walter Bonney, Julien Scheer, Jack King or Walter Shafer ring a bell? These guys brought you and I the photos, film footage, interviews, world tours, memorabilia and news stories that allowed us access to the astronauts and space program.

NASA’s storytelling team included experienced journalists, broadcast producers, photographers, event coordinators and public relations professionals curating and crafting stories to create and fulfill public demand.

Who is your storytelling team? Do you even have one? Who are the best storytellers in your industry? Why haven’t you hired them or contracted with them yet?

2. It Takes Time.

It took 57 years, three months and 26 days to get from the Wright brothers first controlled flight to President Kennedy’s man on the moon speech. It took another eight years, one month and 26 days to get from Kennedy’s announcement to Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon.

We live in a now culture. Real-time marketing and customer service are hot topics. Why not let your competition chase the day’s fads, while you work a disciplined plan to lay out an epic story no competitor will be able to steal or mimic?

And, by the way, that story isn’t the one about you. It’s the one about your client landing on their moon (using your product or service).

3. It Takes Practice.

Stories are messy. Especially the best ones.

They go through rough drafts. Edits. Re-writes. And they do all this publicly. But that’s what attracts others interest and participation.

The Apollo lunar program, including what was a nascent Public Information Office (PIO) at that time, embodied the pioneer spirit. They explored new ideas and experimented with ways of bringing the public inside NASA’s story.

Is your story evolving? Has it hit some blocks? Are you deliberately practicing it right now? Publicly?

4. It Takes Courage.

Telling stories that have never been told means doing things that have never been done.

And doing things that have never been done means taking risks. Which means people are going to get hurt. Including you.

Julien Sheer, NASA’s public affairs chief, and his team fought years of resistance from scientists, technicians and aviators to get a television camera on the spacecraft. And his role as a change agent eventually lead to him being replaced after a key ally, James Webb, left NASA.

Are you willing to risk failure and humiliation for your company or cause? Are you willing to risk your job?

If not, you’re story probably isn’t big enough yet.

5. It Takes Sharing.

For a story to spread, it must be shared. But sharing means two things.

First, it means telling it. Sharing it with others. That’s precisely what NASA’s storytellers did. And do to this day.

Second, and more important, it means that others share in it. They make your story their story. They adopt and adapt it.

Forty-four years have passed between Apollo 11’s historic moonshot and the publication of Marketing the Moon. Those stories curated and shared by a team of storytellers nearly a half century ago have become the story Scott and Jurek are sharing today.

Are you sharing a story others will make their own? If not, why not?

6. It Takes Selling.

That’s the core narrative in Marketing the Moon — storytelling had to be marketed and sold inside NASA.

If sales is about convincing others to do something, marketing is about creating experiences in which others convince themselves.

It takes both to sell an organization’s story. It also takes persistence, patience and, sometimes, power plays.

Big Stories Ask Big Questions

Ultimately, the Apollo lunar program — like any epic story — helped us ask timeless questions:

Why are we here?
What’s out there?

I’d like to think we’re here to explore what’s out there. And “out there” means anything we’ve yet to know, experience or understand.

Mount Everest may be earth’s ultimate summit, but the moon has been humanity’s ultimate quest. At least, as of this writing.

And that tees up the core question I would like to pose in this article: Are we still shooting for moons? As human beings? As causes? As organizations?

Why go to the moon? What’s the point? When asked this, Kennedy said:

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…”

In a world in which marketing is believed by many business leaders to be persistent self-promotion, this terrific book reminds us, through the story of the Apollo program’s storytellers, that marketing is about public information — stories — not publicity.

In his forward to Marketing the Moon, Captain Eugene A. Cernan, USN (ret.) writes:

You must share your ideas with (the public) — not talk at them — if you want to achieve your ultimate goal.”

If only today’s leaders would get this.

Thank you, David and Richard, for a beautifully packaged, brilliantly told story. It’s one I’m more than happy to join.

Click here to visit the site for this book.

UPDATE: National Public Radio featured David and Richard in a Marketplace segment. And Bruce Dorminey featured the book in a Forbes interview.