Design Thinking course – Assignment

Challenge

I started working for a digital agency that at that time was in the process of transformation from IT  integrator to digital transformation partner. Their focus with clients was very agile as well as the  practices of the company but a less-agile approach to business management was missing to ensure  solidity, predictability and performance of processes. I was coming from a corporate background  with a long career in process design and improvement, business excellence and waterfall project  management and I could see how some elements of this would benefit the successful deployment of  the company strategy in turning into a digital business partner.

Selection

I selected the storytelling methodology. Storytelling is defined as “the process of using fact and  narrative to communicate something to your audience. Some stories are factual, and some are  embellished or improvised in order to better explain the core message”.

Why I used this technique is because it was the best one to showcase my previous experience in this  type of transitions and at the same time reach the mind and heart of the leadership team as well as  the company employees. By explaining something in a story mode, people turn more inspired and  engaged in your message, they can relate better to it and it stimulates their own thinking process of  what could be possible and even how they could contribute to it, that is exactly what we needed to  make a sustainable change in the company.

Application

They talk about the four P's of story telling People, Place, Plot, and Purpose. That’s what I used as  reference when developing my engaging story. (1) Firstly, I introduced the challenge with my  character, Peter. Peter went into comma for 20 years and when he woke up he woke up to a  different world than the one he left, he left being a pure technical professional focused on IT  platforms and technologies, he woke up and what was needed of him was a consultative strategic  understanding of their clients, and he was… lost!. (2) Secondly, I mentioned the people that were  part of that story, not only Peter, but also his customers that now needed different things and  friends of Peter like John, Tom and Sean, that had had the time to catch up with the rhythm of times,  they had had time to adapt!. (3) Then I referred to the tension in the story: Peter had the option to  “renew or die”. For some time, he felt it was better to be like an ostrich and hide his head in the  sand, and kept thinking how good professional he was before the comma, lost even contact with his  friends John, Tom and Sean because they did not talk the same language anymore, and what is  worse, no customer would partner with him. (4) Finally I presented the possibilities in this story.  Peter realised he had an option!, he could evaluate where he was, take some time to understand,  and what was better, he knew John, Tom and Sean, with whom he could partner to learn their best  practices and to reach his customers better. And, with determination, optimism and courage he did  so.

Insights

They say storytelling is not a process but an art. It requires creativity, vision, skill, and practice. I  experienced this in my application of this tool. It is not a straightforward “tool”, it needs preparation,  it needs confidence in front of the audience, it requires truly putting yourself in your audience shoes  in order to determine what will engage them the most. This tool helped with my challenge because  it helped me to bring a topic – otherwise a bit dry – to all level of employees, it generated discussion

and opened two way communication between management and employees on how to go about it,  on what really customers need, on what profiles and skills are more important to prioritize in order  to shift from being an IT integrator to a digital transformation partner. The use of the tool also  helped me understand that the “storyteller” is just the opener of the “show”, the real “show” comes  later with the interaction it catalyses and the energy it inspires in the teams, that leads to action. For  once cultural barriers between different nationalities in the company were not so, because we all  understood the message of a good story.

Approach

I think for the aim of this specific situation using storytelling was the best tool to use, since I wanted  to mobilize people. I wanted to let people know that they are not alone in their fear, that change  and the unknown are frightening, but that there is light at the end of the tunnel, there is a way, we  might just need to think more collaboratively and get a pocket of action started in the right direction  to ignite the full transformation in the company. Months later, people still were talking about Peter,  and their friends Tom, John and Sean, even when someone got a bit “stuck in the past” they would  say, “Peter did, why cannot we?”. The most rewarding proof of change in action.

