Challenge  I have worked with some governing political parties in times of political transition and disrest in  recent years. As someone not caught up in the political games, or taking sides, I can see more  objectively without being reactionary. The challenge has been political campaigns where there  was so much focus on the opponent. With an opponent being bigger, louder, with more money  and resources, parties feeling outnumbered or outmatched. However, there was data supporting  that the bigger political party was not seeing past the data to see the voter’s stories and  problems in their lives.  The team was in the middle of a campaign, overworked and tired, reacting to every blip they  saw in the polls or things the opponent said to get a reaction. In this way, they were not sticking  to a strategy or have a central core vision for the branding they were communicating.  However, the real problem is less what political parties and governments are doing and more  about the problems they are creating or solving for the people they are governing. While political  parties are a venue through which the solutions come, whether one political party is successful  is not the required solution. The real solution is to get them to work more effectively so they  provide solutions for people’s lives.    Selection  Because I needed the team to focus on a common goal or vision, rather than being distracted  by a loud opponent, and also needed their focus to be not on data but solutions for the problems  in people’s lives, storytelling became a good way to do this. Storytelling allows a focus on how  to create a cause instead of just solve problems by making the main character being the  problems, the reality that the current state is more dangerous than any other option by using  language that relates directly to the audience.  I also needed to change the problem/ solution focus to political party ideology and focus on the  policies and problems in people’s lives. Storytelling made it possible to make the strategy  effective for all members of the political teams, to focus on a cause and build energy around that  goal.    Application  One team leader with one group used to be a coxswain for rowing crews, so I was able to use  this example as a base. That the team needed to bring a lot of different people pulling in  different directions to the same place working in coordination toward a goal. That the opponents  were like another boat in a race, and during a race it is a distraction from focusing on the work  to reach the goal and working with your team to look at the other boat. One of my team leaders  knew and had the specific experience to pull a team’s focus together and how to motivate them  and get them to apply pressure to surge ahead so he was able to use those skillsets already in  place.  One of my other teams I had a historian expert tell the longer narrative story about the history of  the country. He observed trends and patterns in these interactions and engagements. That  when my team tried to go up against a Goliath head on, the Goliath focused all of the energy on  smashing them. However, the alternate narrative was that when they did not try to go head on,  and let the opponent bicker among themselves, the opponent would crumble on their own, so

this became a core focus of our strategy, to let the opposing team’s conflicting agendas work to  our advantage.  Starting with this basis for team strategy, then we focused on the story and vision they would  create to provide solutions that directly answered problems in people’s lives, beyond data  points. We focused on creating the story that the current state was dangerous because the  opponent was taking more from the people than giving, and building a vision that was more  sustainable, that discussed the tensions this created in people’s lives, and let the audience  debate for themselves which narrative presented more value for the problems they faced.    Insight  The first time I used this approach, the response I saw from the team and the energy they  created was a great. I saw them implementing these narrative points we discussed, and  creating a more comprehensive brand that they owned. They stopped focusing on what the  opponent was doing, and applying these strategies in their conversations with voters. In the  resulting elections, one team was successful in a landslide, winning with support of 60%, a huge  increase over previous elections. Another team also had responses of 80% approval from the  narratives and solutions they were presenting. It was great to see concrete metrics in response  to the new strategy I was taking to find more effective solutions.  It was exciting to see the energy the team had in implementing the ideas, but sometimes it was  trial and error to find the story elements to build trust and learn what works. Hopefully with more  practice, there will be less lag time on the front end to get things moving in the right direction.    Approach  I think one piece that would help as a next step would be some Mind-Mapping exercises. Since  there are different sectors of the community with different problems and different motivations,  this could be an effective tool to define criteria for different ideas and approaches that can be  field tested to see which are most effective. Now that the political campaigns are over, in  government, there can be innovation applied in how the policies effectively continue to improve  solutions for people’s lives.   Also, in upcoming performance measurements, using mind-mapping to define the criteria to  design strategy to take the bigger vision and apply to different sections of the community might  be a successful next step or approach to the problem.


Challenge I have worked with some governing political parties in times of political transition and disrest in recent years . As someone not caught up in the political games , or taking sides , I can see more objectively without being reactionary . The challenge has been political campaigns where there was so much focus on the opponent . With an opponent being bigger , louder , with more money and resources , parties feeling outnumbered or outmatched . However , there was data supporting that the bigger political party was not seeing past the data to see the voter ’s stories and problems in their lives . The team was in the middle of a campaign , overworked and tired , reacting to every blip they saw in the polls or things the opponent said to get a reaction . In this way , they were not sticking to a strategy or have a central core vision for the branding they were communicating . However , the real problem is less what political parties and governments are doing and more about the problems they are creating or solving for the people they are governing . While political parties are a venue through which the solutions come , whether one political party is successful is not the required solution . The real solution is to get them to work more effectively so they provide solutions for people ’s lives . Selection Because I needed the team to focus on a common goal or vision , rather than being distracted by a loud opponent , and also needed their focus to be not on data but solutions for the problems in people ’s lives , storytelling became a good way to do this . Storytelling allows a focus on how to create a cause instead of just solve problems by making the main character being the problems , the reality that the current state is more dangerous than any other option by using language that relates directly to the audience . I also needed to change the problem/ solution focus to political party ideology and focus on the policies and problems in people ’s lives . Storytelling made it possible to make the strategy effective for all members of the political teams , to focus on a cause and build energy around that goal . Application One team leader with one group used to be a coxswain for rowing crews , so I was able to use this example as a base . That the team needed to bring a lot of different people pulling in different directions to the same place working in coordination toward a goal . That the opponents were like another boat in a race , and during a race it is a distraction from focusing on the work to reach the goal and working with your team to look at the other boat . One of my team leaders knew and had the specific experience to pull a team ’s focus together and how to motivate them and get them to apply pressure to surge ahead so he was able to use those skillsets already in place . One of my other teams I had a historian expert tell the longer narrative story about the history of the country . He observed trends and patterns in these interactions and engagements . That when my team tried to go up against a Goliath head on , the Goliath focused all of the energy on smashing them . However , the alternate narrative was that when they did not try to go head on , and let the opponent bicker among themselves , the opponent would crumble on their own , so this became a core focus of our strategy , to let the opposing team ’s conflicting agendas work to our advantage . Starting with this basis for team strategy , then we focused on the story and vision they would create to provide solutions that directly answered problems in people ’s lives , beyond data points . We focused on creating the story that the current state was dangerous because the opponent was taking more from the people than giving , and building a vision that was more sustainable , that discussed the tensions this created in people ’s lives , and let the audience debate for themselves which narrative presented more value for the problems they faced . Insight The first time I used this approach , the response I saw from the team and the energy they created was a great . I saw them implementing these narrative points we discussed , and creating a more comprehensive brand that they owned . They stopped focusing on what the opponent was doing , and applying these strategies in their conversations with voters . In the resulting elections , one team was successful in a landslide , winning with support of 60 % , a huge increase over previous elections . Another team also had responses of 80 % approval from the narratives and solutions they were presenting . It was great to see concrete metrics in response to the new strategy I was taking to find more effective solutions . It was exciting to see the energy the team had in implementing the ideas , but sometimes it was trial and error to find the story elements to build trust and learn what works . Hopefully with more practice , there will be less lag time on the front end to get things moving in the right direction . Approach I think one piece that would help as a next step would be some Mind - Mapping exercises . Since there are different sectors of the community with different problems and different motivations , this could be an effective tool to define criteria for different ideas and approaches that can be field tested to see which are most effective . Now that the political campaigns are over , in government , there can be innovation applied in how the policies effectively continue to improve solutions for people ’s lives . Also , in upcoming performance measurements , using mind - mapping to define the criteria to design strategy to take the bigger vision and apply to different sections of the community might be a successful next step or approach to the problem .