How often have questions like these come up: How did we do that? Why did it work? Why didn’t it work?
Answers usually draw upon a knowledge of the past, but we all know it’s hard to retrieve. People who were involved aren’t available any longer. Documentation is sparse and hard to track down. That leaves us often with a knowledge chasm that’s nearly impossible to close. Without drawing upon working knowledge in our companies or brand organizations, our abilities to size up situations, understand consumers, create products, services or experiences, and respond in timely ways are compromised. And with that reduced opportunities to win business or bring out something great.
We can help make sure that gaps are less likely by listening for the evolving story about the development of a new product, brand repositioning, ad campaign or new market, for just a few examples. This type of listening isn’t done with social media monitoring tools, but by listening to one another. Here’s an 11-point plan to get started:
- pick a topic that is crucial to the success of the business
- ask questions;
- gather data by interviewing people across functions;
- specify the research and data that were used: e.g. what was done, what data was or was not available, what was and was not valuable;
- learn the roles and actors involved and how they inter-relate
- identify points of cooperation and conflict;
- understand how issues and problems were resolved;
- document results and impacts;
- detail lessons learned and recommendations for improvement;
- tell the story from multiple points of view, and;
- add periodic afterwords that keep the story updated.
I’m stressing the phrase “evolving story” because the work our companies and brands do is continually unfolding and that is what needs to be captured. After the fact write-ups appear artificial and heroic- they’re too neat and tidy, and gloss over the messy details, setbacks, and politics.
Telling the evolving stories will imbue our companies and brands with their own lore that can be passed down from one organizational “generation” to the next. These stories provide a shared context within which we can operate with confidence and purpose, and by keeping them updated, help us let go of those traditions that no longer hold and which hold us back.
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