‘Best Story Wins’ – Why stories are more powerful than statistics
A long time ago, the org and BU I was part of, had partnered with a consulting org to define the strategy and goals it should focus on in the short and longer term to maintain the edge on customer experience
A couple of folks on my team worked with the consultants to mine through the data to create the analysis.
I recall an data scientist joking, ‘ It is the same data we have and analysis we have done’
On the final presentation though, one slide struck a lot of folks – it highlighted the ups and downs across the customer journey for ONE customer, backed by numbers.
The story of the customer and their pain and delight points across their journey was powerful to influence action though.
I was reminded of this as I was reading Morgan Housel‘s latest book ‘Same as Ever’ highlighting what remain the same, over time.
Like human nature to be drawn to stories.
“The Best Story wins.
Not the best idea, or the right idea, or the most rational idea.
Just whoever tells a story that catches people’s attention and gets them to nod their heads is the one who tends to be rewarded”
While this may seem counter-intuitive from someone who makes a living from numbers, I tend to agree – people love outcomes backed with so what – not R- squared values.
‘Morgan Freeman can narrate a grocery list and bring people to tears, while an inarticulate scientist might cure a disease and go unnoticed.
If you are proficient with tech and can tell a story about what it implies to business and customer outcomes, you almost certainly will get ahead in this new AI driven world.
I’d add to this – If you don’t tell your story – who you are and what you want to stand for – someone else will 🙂
What are you reading this weekend?
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