Storytelling to Highlight Your Company Values
Let me guess. Your company has a set of values you’re committed to. Values and commitments that set you apart from anyone else, right? Sorry to break it to you, but it’s not your values that set you apart. Everybody has values. What actually sets you apart are the stories of those values in action.
Here are three steps to bring your values to life:
Step One: Take Inventory
Write out your company's mission or vision statement. Make a list of the values that you promise or that you're committed to within that statement. Easy enough, right? You’ve probably already done this. But guess what… so has everyone else, and this is where they stop. They make the list, post it on their website, print it on brochures, add it to PowerPoints, and call it a day. But the work has just begun.
Step Two: Recall Specific Moments
Once you have an inventory of the values, it’s time to recall specific moments where those values were at work. When have you seen them in action? If you don’t have the stories, launch an all-out search and leave no stone unturned. Talk to employees at all different levels. Reach out to your best customers and ask when they remember being on the receiving end of one of your values.
Step Three: Tell the Stories
Once you find the stories, it’s time to get them out into the world. Years ago, companies were limited in the ways they could share their stories — basically radio, television, print, and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth, all of which were cost-prohibitive. Obviously, today there are unlimited options. But don’t let that overwhelm you. Start small, with one medium. Go to your website, for example, click on the tab I’m sure you have that says “Our Values,” and instead of just leaving it as a list of words in a large font with a generic paragraph of smaller-fonted words beneath it, write the stories there. Then expand to social media posts. Eventually, film some videos. Then work the stories into pitches, presentations, and team meetings.
It’s one thing to say you have values. It’s another thing to say what those values are. But if you want those values to mean something to someone, you better start connecting the value to a story. And then watch those values come to life.
