Every practice in Peter Denning and Robert Dunham’s The Innovators Way is grounded in communication. This book codifies into practice what I’ve done by instinct throughout my whole career – coaching innovators to powerfully communicate through every step of the eight practices in this great volume.
A true innovator knows she must help her audience overcome their failure of imagination. You need to help people see! Denning and Dunham talk about the power of stories to help people see. They tell us that a good envisioning story inspires your audience to believe there is a better future, that it’s worth effort to get there, to trust you to help them get there, and to want to hear more from you.
Echoing my Brené Brown example about how open to be when you’re communicating about your powerful idea, Denning and Dunning say, “Speakers with a clear sense of their personal missions are the most effective innovation storytellers.” You need to show and tell why your idea matters so much to you. That’s the most powerful way to get people on board.
Innovators need stories that inspire commitment and action towards adoption – because having people think about your idea is necessary but not sufficient. You also need them to do something. Can you do it? Yes you can! And you must!
Denning and Dunham quote story expert Robert McKee who says it’s a mistake to leave storytelling to the professionals. They tackle the myths about storytelling that possess so many innovators:
- Journalist skill is needed to be a good storyteller. Nope. You have the in-depth knowledge and passion for your idea.
- Logic-based stories sell. Uh, nope. Rational explanation won’t win converts – you need to engage emotions with stories
- You need an elevator pitch. They believe that the point of any short conversation is to make your listeners want to continue the conversation, not to deliver all your value in 30 seconds.
Your idea matters so much to you. Nurture it by becoming a great communicator and a great storyteller! How about using a little bit of your holiday downtime to think about the stories you’d like to tell?
Speaking of holidays, Happy Thanksgiving next Thursday to all American readers! For all of you outside the US, enjoy not hearing from your American colleagues for four days! poseyblog is taking off Nov 24. I’ll be back with a new post on December 1.
Communication is the essential last mile in finding and motivating the right teams, acquiring strong allies, powerfully bonding with customers, and capturing mindshare with compelling stories. Nothing will serve you and your vision better than developing exceptional communication skills.
