Many executives undervalue the power of their corporate story. They do not realize the intrinsic link between financial performance and the strength of their story.
In fact, an article in the Journal of Business Strategy, illustrates the “financial upside” of activating a clear, compelling and consistent corporate story. And, the “agony” executive teams experience when they don’t. But before we get to the numbers, we need to share the definition used for “corporate story.” The journal defines corporate story as …
“A narrative tool that tells the tale of a company’s strategy in action. It is a clear, structured, compelling articulation of who we are and where we’re headed that rallies emotional and rational support from stakeholders.”
So what’s the financial upside for executives who effectively leverage this narrative tool?
> According to Deloitte, organizations that effectively communicate the corporate story and business strategy, have a 43 percent higher market-to-book ratio than those organizations that did not. (Deloitte)
> Watson Wyatt also found companies that leverage a clear corporate story to provide employees with line of sight to strategy, goals and priorities increased their market value by almost 5 percent.
So, you are probably asking, what’s the downside? Well, executive teams who do not develop and activate a clear, compelling story experience what the journal refers to as “the agony of the untold story.” These companies …
> Fail to establish organization alignment
> Lack clarity across leaders, managers and employees
> Experience a higher percentage of disengaged employees
> And yes, fail to achieve optimal financial performance
At OnMessage, we specialize in helping executive teams develop and activate powerful corporate stories that drive organizational clarity, alignment and performance. If you want to increase the financial upside of your corporate story, speak with one of our experts today.
That’s Your OnMessage Minute.
