Tell ’em a story
Why storytelling is so important in communicating innovation
Innovation is all about trying to convince others — people to help develop your idea, sponsors to back you, markets to buy in to your great new thing. So it makes sense to spend time and effort crafting a tale which will draw them in, intrigue them, capture their attention. Of course you don't want to oversell but as long as you've done your homework and the foundations are firm you’ll benefit from creating your particular version of a castle in the air….
Which is the message I’m trying to get across in the latest instalment of my project to capture the key lessons of innovation and entrepreneurship in the form of a song….
or
You can watch it on my YouTube channel here
Here are the lyrics:
Pitch perfect…..
Releasing the power of your innovation, unlocking the value in your idea
It’s never ever automatic, it won’t just magically appear
It’s a long and winding journey, experiment as you go
Assemble information, find out what you don’t know
Put it all together, use a canvas or checklist
Make sure you’ve got what’s needed, it’s all there, nothing missed?
What’s your value proposition, the market that you’re aiming for?
What’s your plan for how to reach them, who can help you open up the doors?
What else will you need to help your great idea survive
Resources, operations, how to make it come alive?
Don’t forget the money, how the cash goes out and in
And keep that all in balance or it all goes in the bin
Chorus
You’d think that after all this effort, making your business plan secure
Offering the world the next better mousetrap, they’re gonna beat a path to your front door
But you’d be wrong, for one good reason, great ideas don’t sell themselves
It’s all about communication, not canvases or business plans on shelves
People listen to a story, that’s what shapes why they adopt
Give them something to believe in, tell a story that is hot
Get them believing, feeling, caring about what you’re trying to do
Cos if they believe your story, then they’ll believe in you
Chorus
Don’t expect that after all your effort, making your business plan secure
Offering the world the next better mousetrap, they’re gonna beat a path to your front door
You still need a firm foundation, a business plan filled with detail
But you also need to get attention, without that you’re going to fail
You want supporters, you need sponsors, want your market to buy -in?
Tell ’em how you’ll solve their problem, how you take away their pain
Wrap it up inside a story, paint a picture, make it real
Give them more than facts and figures, give them something they can feel!
Chorus
Then if you’ve really done that hard work, making your business plan the best
The world will start to pay attention, and your innnovation’s gonna do the rest!
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If you’d like more songs, stories and other resources on the innovation theme, check out my website here
Or listen to other episodes of my podcast here
And if you’d like to learn with me take a look at my online course here
