At first sight, the two words “Strategic Narrative” may read like this:
- The communication (through the use of storytelling),
- of something of high importance.
Most people assume that the process looks like this:
- Step 1 – First, create your plan.
- Step 2 – Then, articulate it clearly.
But in reality, it’s the opposite.
- Step 1 – First, articulate your plan.
- Step 2 – So you can create it.
It’s not because you have a strategy that you will be able to articulate it.
It’s because you’ve articulated your strategy (many times) that you’ve created it.
As former MIT professor Edgar Shein said:
“We do not think and talk about what we see; we see what we are able to think and talk about.”
So, please don’t wait until you’ve built your strategy to communicate it. Instead, start by communicating it, so you and everyone else can see it.
Do it soon.
Do it fast.
Do it often.
Do it in public.