Page 178 -

Storytelling’s Value

—

STORYTELLING As parents, we read stories to our kids, sometimes the same ones Just as the Business Model Canvas helps you sketch and analyze
we heard as children ourselves. As colleagues, we share the latest
a new model, storytelling will help you effectively communicate
what it is all about. Good stories engage listeners, so the story is
organizational gossip. And as friends, we tell one another stories
of our personal lives. Somehow, it is only in our roles as business- the ideal tool to prepare for an in-depth discussion of a business
172
172 people that we avoid using stories. This is unfortunate. When was model and its underlying logic. Storytelling takes advantage of the
the last time you heard a story used to introduce and discuss a explanatory power of the Business Model Canvas by suspending
DESIGN DESIGN business issue? Storytelling is an undervalued and underused art disbelief in the unfamiliar.
in the world of business. Let’s examine how storytelling can serve
as a powerful tool to make new business models more tangible.

By their very nature, new or innovative business models can be
diffi cult to describe and understand. They challenge the status
quo by arranging things in unfamiliar ways. They force listeners
to open their minds to new possibilities. Resistance is one likely
reaction to an unfamiliar model. Therefore, describing new busi-
ness models in a way that overcomes resistance is crucial.

!"#$%&'(%)*+(%,,---19. /012013---2485-67