What's Your Story?
Story matters. Humans are storytellers and we have evolved to learn, share, teach and bring understanding through storytelling. Storytelling for a city is incredibly important and often overlooked.
The trend in “branding” is all about storytelling. When done correctly, branding tells the story of who you are, whether you are creating a personal brand, a corporate brand or a community brand. Sometimes brands just happen, like Silicon Valley. Other times they are paid for, like “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.” But those taglines only have meaning because we understand the story behind them, and they tell a truth about the community. Silicon Valley is the heart of the high tech and computer world, so named because computing power is based on silicon chips. The Las Vegas tag line is just a newer version of “Sin City” that speaks to the gambling and other activities that help drive the city’s tourism industry.
Branding is just one way to tell a story, but it can be a good one. What story do you want your residents to hear? What about your employees? How about the businesses you want to attract and grow? When a city council thinks about city employees, what is that story and does it match what the manager thinks about the employees? Does it match what the employees think about themselves?
Budget Storytelling
What story does your budget tell? Is it a story of rebuilding, improving customer service, training employees or investing in infrastructure? At times budgets tell stories about economic hardship, while other times they reflect a growing economy.
The city manager’s office drives many of these stories. The budget can and should tell the story of council goals as well as how the organization meets the needs of the community and the priorities of the organization. Often the budget is seen as an annual task for the finance staff without greater reflection on its story. In reality the budget is one of the most important policy documents a city has. It is a plan that tells the story of how the city’s resources are allocated to achieve the city’s goals. How you package this story, how you brand it, is important.
The story needs to be communicated early, so that it drives changes to the budget. It needs to be explained to employees, elected officials and community stakeholders. There needs to be agreement on the story, on why investments are being made in certain areas and how those investments will turn a story into a community’s reality.
Characters and Purpose
The story we tell our employees, and that they tell themselves is important. Stories about the jobs in an organization and the people who work there can be powerful and inspirational. With unemployment rates hovering around five percent, it is going to become more difficult for cities to attract the best employees. Fortunately, cities have a great story to tell.
Public service is an intrinsic motivator. Extrinsic motivators such as recognition and pay are outside forces that encourage certain types of behavior. Intrinsic motivators come entirely from within; such as when people want to help others because it makes them feel good. Unlike extrinsic incentives, intrinsic motivators encourage employees in creative jobs to do their best. A good place to learn more about the science behind this is the book Drive by Daniel Pink.
We can frame intrinsic motivations by explaining that what cities do is important. A city employee is making the community better. Unfortunately, we often forget to tell this story. When you ask a city employee what they do, they may say, “I am a planner.” What they could say, and should definitely think, is “I make sure that the development and redevelopment of the city meets the needs of those who live here.” They may say, “I am a building inspector.” They could say “I make sure the buildings in this city are safe for the people who use them.”
Every position in a city is important to meeting the needs of the community. This is a huge advantage in terms of hiring over the private sector, especially for younger generations, but only if the story is told. A public works employee filling potholes is making the community safer, improving quality of life and making it easier to move through the community. A parks employee is helping to create spaces where the community can gather, kids can play and people can enjoy a healthy environment. Think about how motivating it is to remember why we do this job, and then think about how much easier it will be to keep and recruit employees when the purpose of the organization is well known and well told.
The Importance of the Truth
Probably the worst mistake people make when telling stories is not being truthful. You know when someone is trying to pull one over on you. The sandwich doesn’t look nearly as appetizing in person as it does on TV, the used car likely has a little damage and that guy emailing you from Kenya isn’t really going to give you a million dollars.
You may think it is appropriate to tell the story of what you want your community, workforce or budget to become. While you can tell these stories in the context of future desires, a brand is not an opportunity to “fake it till you make it.” If your story doesn’t truly reflect who you are or what your community is, people will know and you will lose their trust as well as the opportunity to tell them about your community.
If you are unsure of what your story is, ask people to tell you. Whether you use surveys, put together word clouds or send people out with cameras, there are many ways to get an accurate reflection of what the community actually is.
It may not be in your nature to be a storyteller. If not, find someone who is. Ask employees to tell the story of what they do for the community and spread their message. If you are a storyteller, start talking. Spreading a true understanding of what your city is and where it is going doesn’t just explain; it reinforces.
How effective are stories? In the words of Rudyard Kipling, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”
