Can you guess what one thing Ryan Reynolds says Hollywood taught him about business marketing?
You guessed it…
Storytelling.
In fact, in a recent interview, he called Hollywood’s ability to transcend reality with story the “greatest legal drug on earth”:
“Whether you’re talking about the unexpected nature of sports, low-cost wireless, gin, connected TV marketing,” he said, “the connective tissue between each one of those things is actually, ironically, storytelling, the same way it is with movies.”
When I talk about storytelling bringing the “human to innovation”, that’s exactly what I mean. It’s connective tissue. And connecting innovation with heart is where great things happen.
A while back, I was giving a workshop to veteran innovators at a multinational tech company that specializes in specialty glass.
The scientists in the room started to tell me about their manufacturing processes, the exquisite sand they use, their “triple-layering effect”, the fractography behind how the glass breaks.
Suddenly, one of the participants – Annie – received a text and exclaimed, “Oh my god, I’m an aunt! Look!”
She held up her cell phone with a photo of her newborn nephew, and we took a moment to congratulate her. Then, the scientists dove back into telling me how their glass was made.
I stopped and asked, “Can you imagine if Annie’s sister had shown us a picture of that beautiful baby and said, “It’s he precious? He has the most amazing pancreas. Let me tell you all about his lymphatic drainage system, and how his small intestine functions almost effortlessly to process every bite of food.”
We laughed, but the lesson was clear…
We can’t get so caught up with what we’ve built, that we forget to talk in a universal language that people can relate to.
That’s what Innovation Storytelling does. It helps bridge the gap between innovators, key stakeholders, early adopters, and everyone else.
How are you using the connective tissue of storytelling to bring your innovations into the world?
Want to come onto the Innovation Storytellers podcast to talk about it?
Send me an email and let me know.
-Susan.
This Week’s Best Articles on Innovation
Human Dynamics: Three High-Impact Steps To Amplify Employee Engagement – FORBES
Industry Insider: Retaining Talent Amidst The ‘Great Resignation’? Here’s FUJIFILM Business Innovation APAC’s Approach – Human Resources Online
Innovating Grid Resilience From The Outside In – POWER
The Adoption of Innovation – Stanford Social Innovation Review
The Future of Employee Engagement Is In The Metaverse – The Drum
With Innovation, We Can Keep Reducing The Toll of COVID-19 – TIME
