Explain to a classroom of 7 year olds

Telling Great Stories & Learning to ListenSome Thoughts on Narrative & Data, IDC Oct 2011

People love storiesThey love all kinds of stories simply told

They can take 90 minutes to play

Years to write & months to read

Minutes to sing

They can seem simple, but still be complex

Were just suckers for good narratives with great returns

Great storytellers need to be great listeners

They know their audience coldThey have walked in their shoes

Lived in their homes

Slept in their bedsIn fact, sometimes, they know their audience better than the audience know themselves

Making them capable of magic

You should be able to tell your story to a class of 7 year olds

Pick a field big enough for a never ending story

But remember, stories are not just about communications

Stories live in your product

They live in how you run and analyze your business

Good communications just make sure that things look good and sound their bestSo make your products simple to use

Shoot for no cognitive barriers

Make the value crystal clear

Sell benefits and a big big vision

Something you can grow into with age

Oh, one more thing. make it look sexy

These days the benchmark is real-time

So your product should respond instantly

Speed and reliability are at a premium

Table stakes are easy, quick and free

You should use data to be relevant

30To be personal

To be social

To tell stories beautifully

And in tune with the medium

Be simple Be quick Be relevant

You need to win a place in the box inside peoples head

Trout36

Then let them share your stories

Short morality tale about insight

Chip Wilson in 1998 Vancouver43

407,326113,032

Over 100 stores

Short morality tale about data

Who are you telling the story to?

Investors who write $200m chequesDavid Eiswert. lead portfolio manager of T.Rowe Prices Global Technology Strategy

542% of TV households by region18% in Bay Area

15 mins of streaming per month61% of subscribers

Customers who write $8 chequesDavid Eiswert. lead portfolio manager of T.Rowe Prices Global Technology Strategy

62

Talk less

Listen more

So how do you find a signal in the noise?

If you cant measure it you cant manage it

Where do you tell the story?CustomersHomeTeamSchoolInvestorsMediaEvent

What do you measure?SalesOperationsMarketingFinanceSupport

What drives actions? NPSCohortsFunnelsSingleticsUnit Economics

When do you measure?QuarterlyReal-TimeMonthlyDailyAnnuallyWeekly

What tools & tech? HadoopMultivariantBIPersonalizationAnalytics