Stories Are Better Than Statistics
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My purchase of a new vehicle started like any other ... some on-line research followed by a few test drives. I visited three different dealerships and test drove an Accord, a Sonata, and a Verano. Of the three vehicles, I certainly favored the Verano the least. I quickly eliminated it from the running.
While visiting with a good friend the next day, he asked about my search. I generically responded that I had tested a Honda, a Hyundai, and a Buick. He excitedly asked if the model of the Buick was the new Verano. His question wasn't that odd, but his sudden excitement was very peculiar. When I confirmed it was indeed a Buick Verano, his giddiness soon became justified. As an industrial designer, working for GM just a few years prior, his design concept was selected as the most fitting design for Buicks new car, and he was thus assigned as the lead designer for the Buick Verano project.
He quickly whipped out his smart phone and started swiping through his portfolio, showing me some of his original sketches and concepts. It was pretty exciting. All of a sudden, I actually knew the guy who was the lead designer of the Buick Verano (never mind I didn't like the vehicle that much ... initially)!
Almost immediately, we left to test drive the car one more time. When we arrived to the dealership, my friend circled the car over and over, telling a new story with each lap. And with each story, my opinion of the car started changing. It was odd actually, but I started liking the car more and more. During the drive, the stories from my friend improved, as did my vantage point. The Verano quickly moved up in my ranking. I bet you can't tell which car I purchased! I was soon the proud owner of a vehicle I barely liked just days before.
How did I go from almost hating it to owning it in less than a week? I now had a connection, that's how. And that connection was a result of some unrehearsed and impromptu stories from a close friend.
This experience has had an unexpected, yet profound impact on me. For instance, it has drastically changed the way we interview and hire candidates. I soon realized that if I tell the right story, and I tell it the right way, I could get potential employees to fall in love with working for us before they showed up for their first day on the job.
My company has a great story to tell. A humble beginning. Some struggles and successes. Some relocations and expansions. Some bizarre products, and some popular ones. And some unique employee perks. It wasn't hard to draft a story, and it was even easier to tell it. As VP, I rarely got involved in the interview process. But I specifically asked my HR department to include me from then on. I personally sit down with each candidate, after they have passed a screening and an initial interview, for a one-on-one story time. With all the optimism it deserves, I get to tell our story.
Along-side two HR professionals, I recently co-presented a workshop on employee engagement. I felt completely out of place. As an engineer, I felt I had no business sharing the stage with two seasoned HR Directors. They presented some amazing ideas and principles, coupled with some impressive statistics. It was then my turn to address the audience. All I did was tell my story. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my message was received ... and remembered. After all, people remember stories far longer than they will remember statistics (there's probably a statistic to support this claim somewhere out there).
We all have a story. So, find yours and write it. Then tell it. You'll be glad you did.
While visiting with a good friend the next day, he asked about my search. I generically responded that I had tested a Honda, a Hyundai, and a Buick. He excitedly asked if the model of the Buick was the new Verano. His question wasn't that odd, but his sudden excitement was very peculiar. When I confirmed it was indeed a Buick Verano, his giddiness soon became justified. As an industrial designer, working for GM just a few years prior, his design concept was selected as the most fitting design for Buicks new car, and he was thus assigned as the lead designer for the Buick Verano project.
He quickly whipped out his smart phone and started swiping through his portfolio, showing me some of his original sketches and concepts. It was pretty exciting. All of a sudden, I actually knew the guy who was the lead designer of the Buick Verano (never mind I didn't like the vehicle that much ... initially)!
Almost immediately, we left to test drive the car one more time. When we arrived to the dealership, my friend circled the car over and over, telling a new story with each lap. And with each story, my opinion of the car started changing. It was odd actually, but I started liking the car more and more. During the drive, the stories from my friend improved, as did my vantage point. The Verano quickly moved up in my ranking. I bet you can't tell which car I purchased! I was soon the proud owner of a vehicle I barely liked just days before.
How did I go from almost hating it to owning it in less than a week? I now had a connection, that's how. And that connection was a result of some unrehearsed and impromptu stories from a close friend.
This experience has had an unexpected, yet profound impact on me. For instance, it has drastically changed the way we interview and hire candidates. I soon realized that if I tell the right story, and I tell it the right way, I could get potential employees to fall in love with working for us before they showed up for their first day on the job.
My company has a great story to tell. A humble beginning. Some struggles and successes. Some relocations and expansions. Some bizarre products, and some popular ones. And some unique employee perks. It wasn't hard to draft a story, and it was even easier to tell it. As VP, I rarely got involved in the interview process. But I specifically asked my HR department to include me from then on. I personally sit down with each candidate, after they have passed a screening and an initial interview, for a one-on-one story time. With all the optimism it deserves, I get to tell our story.
Along-side two HR professionals, I recently co-presented a workshop on employee engagement. I felt completely out of place. As an engineer, I felt I had no business sharing the stage with two seasoned HR Directors. They presented some amazing ideas and principles, coupled with some impressive statistics. It was then my turn to address the audience. All I did was tell my story. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my message was received ... and remembered. After all, people remember stories far longer than they will remember statistics (there's probably a statistic to support this claim somewhere out there).
We all have a story. So, find yours and write it. Then tell it. You'll be glad you did.
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R. Dru Laws is Vice President of Seljan Company in Lake Mills Wisconsin, the Chair of the ARM (Association of Rotational Molding) Education Committee, a member of the ARM Board of Directors, and a global contributing editor to RotoWorld Magazine. Dru has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University, and an MSc in Polymer Engineering from the Queens University of Belfast.
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