Storyfinding

When working with companies, I don’t try to tell stories - I help them find theirs.

One thing I learned from podcast interviews is that you can never really be too certain where a conversation will lead. You might have a plan for how a conversation will go, but that can get derailed pretty easily and you end up on a unique journey you didn’t plan for. I’ve used this same approach when doing discovery sessions while brand building with companies and founders.

There’s an interesting thing that happens when you’re hopped up on caffeine and a couple hours into a chat. The conversation takes a left turn and you’re so far off the rails of where you originally thought you’d end up. The conversation is chaotic, often staccato, but it’s pure. These are the best stories. You can sense a shift in the energy when you come across such a gem. Postures change, eyes widen, and speech patterns hasten. There’s an excitement that’s hard to contain and difficult to explain.

These conversations are are often like reading a first draft. It’s messy and terribly written, but there’s an idea forming there. A spark of something that could become something amazing. We hold onto first drafts because it’s uncomfortable to share something in such an infantile state - but these are the stories I seek out. These are the stories that are begging to be told. The ones that need some nurturing to reach a state where it can be shared. These are also stories that take the most time to develop to the next stages.

I can read and research everything publicly available about your company (and I do - as well as everything about your colleagues and competitors), but these have often gone through multiple rounds of revisions. They’ve been refined and processed to the point where it’s acceptable for others. By this time, you’re looking at a version that’s reductive from the source material - and if we start our conversation here, then we’re already missing out on some of the best parts that make your company unique.