Reflection - Storytelling tool

Challenge:

My challenge is about selling digital transformation in my organization. Established more than 40 years  ago and operating in a very competitive and mature industry (financial services), the use of technology  has always been a consequence of either a pressing need for reliability or efficiency, a regulatory  requirements or just to keep up with the competition. The use of technology as the basis of our  competitive advantage has never been considered and making it front and central requires a major  change in strategy. As if this were not enough, different stakeholders have different views about what a  future driven by technology should look like. Some stakeholders imagine a future with little human  intervention (fully digital model) while others see technology as an enhancer of human capabilities.  Most financial institutions are undergoing their own versions of digital transformation and no two  institution are following the exact same path. Furthermore, digital transformation needs to be planned  and as such it needs to be properly understood and there must be a common view with proper buy-in  among stakeholders.

Selection:

I have selected the storytelling tool for management as it is clear from the lecture in the video it allows  to capture people’s imaginations and to create an emotional bond among stakeholders and an idea, be  it a brand or, in this case, an enormous companywide endeavor. The storytelling needs to be adequate  for each audience: staff that could be concerned about being replaced, management who may not feel  adequately prepared to operate in a different environment, leadership who may be facing steep  investments with less than clear returns, and finally, directors representing shareholders who need the  business to remain competitive in order to maintain or grow their shares’ value. Through repetition, the  story about our digital transformation can be internalized and made widely known and embraced.

Application:

I have created several stories over time to deal with the specific objectives. The initial story was about  the changes that were already happening across many industries (e.g. the demise of Blockbuster at the  hands of Netflix and other streaming services). The second story referred to how financial institutions  have been transforming by adopting technologies with the potential to create new customer  experiences and eventually new revenues sources. My last version of the story describes a path for  transformation and starts describing a potential future. These stories have been told in several ways:  presentations to executive committee and board, townhall meetings (in-person and virtual), corporate  communications (using all available media), creating roles of digital ambassadors, etc.

The storytelling has been very effective as the format lends itself to capture people’s attention and  facilitates retention. It also helps obtain feedback and broad participation in terms of new ideas about  areas that require transformation prioritization. Nowadays, there is widespread understanding of the  purpose and objectives of our transformation and people are eager to start measuring and reporting the  results.

Insight:

Selling an abstract concept that needs wide buy-in, participation and feedback required a tool that  would set it apart from the common approaches utilized to engage for every day’s projects and  initiatives. The use of storytelling to open a discussion about the need, the problems to solve, the  different ways to approach the problems, and the potential benefits for customers and the corporation  proved from the onset to be effective and engaging. Of course, some people did not like what was  implied in the early stories and those had to be refined to make them attractive to the largest number of  people. The use of suspense (e.g. what would happen if we do not transform?) followed by a resolution  (e.g. we would be most likely bought by a competitor) proved extremely helpful to make people think by  themselves and draw the necessary conclusions.

Approach:

I’m planning to keep using storytelling as the main tool as the digital transformation program evolves  and to obtain feedback and buy-in across the organization. A bigger challenge is about to begin as I’ll  need to adapt these stories to new audiences like the professional investors’ community.

As we start developing digital solutions intended to improve employee and customer journeys, I’ll need  to use other design thinking tools like visualization and mind mapping (to help stakeholders discover  problems and potential solutions), and learning launch (to test most attractive solutions with groups of  employees and customers, in order to gather feedback and continue refining our designs).

