A Narrative Is Not A Story

by | Nov 18, 2021 | Strategic Narrative Canvas

I was on a call with Klaus today, a German colleague based in Bruxelles who works in the space of technology for aging well–a crucial challenge we’ll all face at some point. We were speaking French, with some English in the mix. I invited Klaus to react to my model,...

The Return Of The Common Enemy

by | Nov 11, 2021 | Strategic Narrative Canvas

As we’re ending Veteran’s Day in the US (Armistice Day in France), I’d like to share with you the content of a post I wrote last May. This is my way to show military members gratitude for their sacrifice. I thought exploring a pattern typical of...

First, Deconstruct The Old

by | Nov 9, 2021 | Strategic Narrative Canvas

Innovation is a battle between two narratives: the old and the new. If you want to introduce a new idea or product with the goal that we will adopt it, you have to help us realize that the current narrative–aka the current way we do something–is now old, worn out,...

How To Make People Care

by | Oct 24, 2021 | Strategic Narrative Canvas

This is a fundamental question. The answer: we care about what’s at stake. As humans, we need to know two things to decide if we will join you. First: what we would lose if we didn’t join. Without a clear understanding of what we might miss, we may never fully feel...

Four Stories

by | Oct 18, 2021 | Strategic Narrative Canvas

As I’ve said before, a strategic narrative is a system of stories that you build intentionally to mobilize people to participate in a new opportunity. Four stories; these are the four indispensable stories you need to build a killer strategic narrative: The origin...