Squirrel Inc.

A Fable of Leadership Through Storytelling

by Stephen Denning
Jossey-Bass © 2004
208 pages

Focus Take-Aways
Leadership & Mgt.
• Leaders can use stories to accomplish specific objectives within their organizations.
Strategy
• Each of the seven forms of storytelling is designed to generate a particular outcome.
Sales & Marketing
• To convey an idea and inspire action, tell a true story with an individual protagonist
Corporate Finance your group can identify with and a positive ending that sparks insight.
Human Resources • Use a true, moving story from your life to show the people you lead who you are.
Technology & Production • Share a relevant story of past adversity to demonstrate your values.
Small Business • Generate teamwork and community by telling an interesting, moving story that
listeners can relate to and then encourage story swapping among group members.
Economics & Politics
• Use humorous, yet caring, factual stories to expose false rumors.
Industries & Regions
• Tell a true story illustrating a problem in a particular setting, its solution and its
Career Development
explanation to teach or share information.
Personal Finance
• Simple, positive, futuristic stories that are vague yet evocative can generate energy
Concepts & Trends and enthusiasm for the organization’s vision and help lead people into the future.
• Storytelling creates a natural, collaborative connection between leaders and
members of the organization.

Rating (10 is best)

Overall Applicability Innovation Style

8 8 9 7

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 Relevance
What You Will Learn
In this Abstract, you will learn: 1) A purposeful story about squirrels in business; 2) The
seven techniques for telling stories to accomplish specific objectives; 3) How to tell each
kind of story; 4) How to determine what story to tell; and 5) Why storytelling is a natural
means of leading; communicating ideas, values and information; fostering teamwork
and defeating rumors.
Recommendation
Any leader will benefit from mastering sincere storytelling that is designed to achieve
specific organizational objectives. By using some storytelling techniques himself, in
the form of a fable about business-owning squirrels, author Stephen Denning teaches
you how to tap into your natural storytelling ability, so you can focus your listeners’
goals and vision. He explains what types of stories elicit a variety of desired outcomes.
He also teaches you how to tell your story and explains the reaction you can expect to
generate if the story is apt. Storytelling lets leaders engage people, helps them relate
to the company’s goals and creates a forward-looking organization. With Denning’s
guidance, you can use your ‘once upon a time’ skills to build camaraderie, focus and
happy endings. getAbstract.com recommends this book to all leaders, since storytelling
is destined to become an unexpectedly critical skill.

Abstract
In a Nutshell
“So this squirrel goes into a bar...” begins the fable, referring to the treetop nectar bar
where the corporate critters from Squirrel Inc. hang out. The bartender narrates a story
about Diana, a rising executive who comes into the bar all dejected. She feels like an
outcast because she made a great presentation and her managers looked at her like she
“The ability to tell
was crazy. She wanted the firm to change from helping squirrels bury nuts to storing nuts
the right story at
the right time can for them. Management thought that was much too radical.
have a pivotal
impact on the suc-
The bartender teaches Diana that she could reach her managers better by telling a “story”
cess or failure of than by presenting data. He tells her how to create a story to bring about change, perhaps
any major change by using an example of a few squirrels who actually stored nuts, instead of burying
effort.”
them, and showing how it worked pretty well. The approach is: if they did it, why can’t
we? And better and bigger. Diana pursues her dream, with help from other squirrels,
some adventures and lots of storytelling. She provokes change and gets promoted. But
her progress stems from using stories to foster change, reveal a leader’s character, build
teams, share information, create a sense of community, promote trust, deflate rumors,
“The underlying envision the future and transmit values. And the rest, as they say, is history.
reason for the
affinity between Telling Stories Is a Natural Communication Tool
leadership and Whether or not squirrels tell stories, people have been telling them for centuries — as a
storytelling is
means of preserving history, sharing heritage and experiences, and passing knowledge
simple: narrative
— unlike abstrac- from generation to generation. In fact, storytelling comes naturally to most people,
tions and analysis though it hasn’t always been an appreciated leadership asset. Telling stories is a key
— is inherently component of developing a fully functioning organization capable of embracing change.
collaborative.”
Such companies as IBM and McDonald’s have managed change by using different forms
of storytelling to communicate complex ideas and generate employee buy-in. The seven
high-value forms of storytelling are:
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 1. Stories that Inspire Organizational Change
Change stories should communicate new ideas quickly and be easy for listeners to digest.
“There are differ- The first step in creating a story designed to effect organizational change is to figure
ent purposes in out the end result you want. Then, identify the idea you must communicate. Next, find a
telling a story, and true story from another organization that has achieved this type of positive result. Learn
for each purpose
you tell the story in all you can about the circumstances of this situation and how they did it. Highlight
a different way.” the positive outcome. The premise? To show your listeners, “If they did it, so can
you.” Practice telling the story of how the company in the story accomplished its goal.
Use the perspective of an individual protagonist with whom your group members can
identify. Incorporate time and place. so listeners realize that it is true. Be sure it clearly
demonstrates why the change or adoption of the idea was necessary so your listeners will
relate to it. Then they can apply that same insight to your organization.

“We tell stories for

Limit extraneous detail to avoid confusing your listeners. Instead, focus on pertinent
all sorts of pur- points that communicate your message. Clearly point out the negative results of not
poses, uncon- adopting the new idea or change. The purpose of an organizational change story is to
sciously, instinc- let the listeners’ imaginations run wild with their own ideas, sparked by the successful
tively, intuitively.
We don’t have to story of what someone else has done. When listeners hear what another firm has been
be taught how to through, how it improved by implementing a change, then they can brainstorm how a
do this. We do it similar change or idea could improve their organization.
naturally.”
Craft a narrative, otherwise known as a springboard story, that helps your listeners
understand how change can have a positive impact on their organization by showing the
impact it had elsewhere. As they apply the same ideas, your listeners will discover the
benefits of change for themselves. The idea of the story is to get listeners thinking “what
if.” Stories help listeners become receptive to change because they envision what could
happen in their own situations in your company. Use an example story to plant the seed
“When you tell dif- of an idea and watch it grow on its own. You don’t have to tell listeners that a change
ferent stories, it is beneficial — they will discern that naturally. The successful story guides listeners
can put your
authenticity in
along the paths you want them to follow by inviting them to use their own imaginations,
question. If you consider possibilities and visualize how to apply similar ideas.
can get a story
that works with the 2. Stories that Share “Who You Are” as a Person
whole organization Corporate culture is notorious for being impersonal, often a code for a lack of trust
— the top, the mid- in leadership. Put a human face on the organization’s leadership team to build trust so
dle, the bottom,
the front office, the
listeners will follow along willingly. People do not want to follow leaders they don’t
back office, and so trust, so it’s important to develop that trust level. One way you can proceed, without
on — it’s generally compromising your aura of strength and authority, is to share a story that tells something
more effective.”
about who you are as a person.
The story you select to tell indicates your character and your company’s character. Your
choice of a personal story is revealing. A story designed to explain who you are should
be traditional, with a beginning, middle and ending, including a crisis or climax, a plot
and a resolution. Tell it with real feeling and colorful detail. Even if the story is not about
“They might say
you, the kind of story it is and the message inherent in it will tell listeners something
they’re not inter- significant about you as a leader. They get to know you, an essential step in building trust
ested in a story, in your leadership, just by hearing the story. Then, they begin to identify with you. They
but if you tell them figure out where you came from and where you are going. A story shows what you stand
a story, they’ll
listen.” for as a leader, what you believe and how you may behave in the future.
An organization’s leaders reflect on the organization itself. Just as stories tell something
about an individual, they also tell something about a company and its brand identity.
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 When you tell traditional stories about your organization, you reveal something
significant about it as well as about you.
“You need a true
story. It’s the truth
of the story that 3. Stories that Foster Teamwork
springs the listener When people feel included in a community, they have a sense of belonging and work better
to a new level of together to reach mutual goals. This is the essence of teamwork within an organization.
understanding.”
Sharing common stories helps individuals develop a sense of community and shared
purpose. While this type of sharing is common in social situations, many organizations
have not incorporated it at work, insisting instead that employees keep their personal
and business lives separate. Actually, sharing stories in the workplace accomplishes two
prerequisites to teamwork: bonding individuals and creating community.
As a group leader, nurture teamwork through storytelling by arranging face-to-face time
for the group to interact without any predefined agenda. Begin the meeting by telling
“You need to tell a moving story that everyone can relate to, a story that stimulates conversation and the
the story as if sharing of similar stories. Then facilitate open sharing of individual stories within the
you’re living it in
your own mind for entire group. Encourage others to tell their own stories, as prompted by the initial story.
the first time. It’s This process creates shared experiences, intimacy and understanding, which leads to
the intensity of feeling like a community and generates energy. End the meeting with a call to action,
your belief in the
story that sparks enabling the newly-created community to work as a team to complete a common work-
the listeners to live related objective. While a large corporation itself will not feel like a community, as a
it also. If you leader you can develop community within the organization. This sharing and bonding
believe, they too
will believe.”
launches the kind of teamwork that leads to creative thinking and collaboration.
4. Stories that Create Shared Values
Many organizations select a set of core values to live by and be known for. Yet, the
usual approach — creating posters and slogans to tout these values — rarely works
to integrate these values into the organization and its people. Storytelling is a more
effective means of creating a value-driven organization. Here’s how it works. The next
time your organization wants to communicate an important value, tell an internal group
a story about one of the organization’s leaders that exemplifies that value in action.
The story does not need to name the value; in fact, it is probably better not to assign
“A resonant per-
sonal story may an abstract “tag” to the value. Let the story speak for itself. When a leader lives the
not need to have organization’s values and employees hear positive stories about the leader’s real life
an explicit objec- actions, in the here and now, they understand and absorb the importance of those values
tive: the audience
finds the meaning.” without being “taught.” The stories transmit the values and the listeners absorb them.
In the absence of a true story, use a parable — a positive, believable story with a limited
amount of context and an obvious moral. The story’s action will still transmit and convey
the value that the storyteller intends to emphasize. There is no need to preach the value;
the story exemplifies it.
5. Stories that Stop Rumors
“Just as a personal
Every leader knows that almost as soon as a rumor starts, it quickly spreads through the
story can reveal informal grapevine. Curbing its negative effects can be difficult or nearly impossible,
who you are, so even if it is absolutely false. Rather than argue with a rumor, disarm it with truth and
a company can
humor. Counter the current story with one of your own that “ridicules the bad news into
present who it is
by telling stories oblivion.” Use satire to find the humor in bad news or create a new story — a parody —
about itself.” that suggests how ludicrous the rumor is and spread that back up the grapevine. Invite
people to laugh, rather than fear. If you cannot defuse the bad news with humor, you may
be able to poke good-natured fun at whoever launched the bad news, or even at yourself
(which is a safer bet). A short humorous story, even a one liner, can have listeners asking
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 themselves how on earth they could have taken the rumor seriously in the first place. The
very thought becomes a reason to chuckle rather than worry. When people are laughing
“It’s not the quan- about a rumor, it no longer possesses any negative power.
tity of stories that
matters. It’s the 6. Stories that Share Knowledge
quality. Once you A story that transmits knowledge or understanding should include a problem, enough
find a story that information about the problem’s context so that listeners can understand and relate to it, a
works, you keep
on using it.”
solution and an explanation. The story should help listeners apply its solution to a similar
problem in a different situation. It need not contain a hero or heroine, because it doesn’t
matter who the story’s central character is. Focus the story on the discovery or knowledge
that developed in the course of finding or implementing the solution. Incorporate multiple
perspectives — that is, different viewpoints and possibilities. Consider if the problem was
resolved in the best possible way. Would another solution have been better? Explore what
can go wrong and how to fix it. Since knowledge-sharing stories are about problems, they
are usually negative, but they provide great opportunities for “what if” discussions that
can ultimately lead to resolving similar problems. They invite listeners to entertain new
ideas by looking at problems from a fresh perspective.
7. Stories that Lead an Organization into the Future
To use a story to lead your organization into the future, create a vision. Futuristic stories are
“This is not about short and invite listeners to dream about open possibilities. They invite listeners to use their
a story. It’s about imaginations to explore potential realities. Future stories deliberately do not include a lot
storytelling. It’s of detail. Just point your listeners in a general direction and let them run with it. Basically,
your interaction
face-to-face with
sketch a skeleton of the future and allow each listener to flesh it out in his or her own mind.
individuals that A positive story can create buy-in for the organization’s future direction, yet it is free from
makes the differ- constraints. Martin Luther King Jr. told a future story that invited his listeners to journey
ence.”
into his vision for the future in his famous speech proclaiming, “I have a dream…”
Telling a Story Is a Collaborative Performance
A story only has the desired effect if listeners care about it. That requires a sincere,
passionate storyteller. If you believe the story when you tell it, your listeners will believe
it, too. Practice telling your story, but tell it as if it is new each time, not a well-rehearsed
script. Sincerity is critical. The hard work of storytelling should take place behind the
scenes. A well-told story may be a performance, but it should never look like one.
Stories connect you, as the leader and storyteller, with the people you are trying to
lead in a natural, collaborative way. Through hearing the story, people develop insight.
Leader and listener work together.
Storytelling has been important throughout history because people connect through
stories. A message disguised as a well-crafted story is easier to digest and comprehend,
and more welcome than a sermon on the same subject. People have enjoyed telling and
hearing stories for centuries. Put this age-old skill to work for you, by telling the right
story at the right time.

About The Author

Business consultant Stephen Denning, a former World Bank executive, has worked
with such companies as GE, IBM, and McDonald’s to help manage change through
organizational storytelling. He is also the author of The Springboard: How Storytelling
Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations.

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