Success Stories: From the Ballpark to the Boardroom

By Kim Palagyi

Today’s opening day marks a time of new beginnings. Fans, players, and coaches alike relish the chance of a fresh start or repeated success. The reality of achieving this dream comes down to more than a big budget and star picks, rather it’s based on a genuine understanding of who you are as a team and what you’re capable of achieving together.

No one understands this better than the Chicago Cubs. After seasons of disappointing performances “The Cubs Way” was enacted by Theo Epstein, President of Baseball Operations and former famed manager of the Boston Red Sox, to revolutionize every element of the Cubs.

“The Cubs Way” outlines and synthesizes who the team is and should be, compiled into a compelling story that delineates the path to success. Just a few years since Epstein’s take over,the Cubs are poised to take it all, right after a spectacular 2015 season with 97 wins and a postseason appearance. This represents a lot for a team that hasn’t won a World Series since 1908. As a “living document” on how the Cubs should play baseball, “The Cubs Way” has made this possible. “The Cubs Way” undermines the idea of building a better team by getting the best players possible, and instead emphasizes how to live out and emulate a specific narrative of success.

It would deal with every detail imaginable, from what foot Cubs players would use when rounding first base (right foot) to what kind of players Cubs scouts should look for (pitchers and hitters who can control the strike zone) to the Cubs’ philosophy of how baseball should be played (loose and fun).

“The Cubs Way” is an internal road map to success. At Woden, “The Cubs Way” sounds all too familiar. We too feel that story, and a business aligned behind a brand narrative bolsters success. So much in fact, that we developed the StoryGuideTM. The StoryGuideTM is a living, breathing document that encapsulates every element of who you are as a business. Furthermore, it is a how-to book on injecting your narrative into everything you do from web copy, to sales collateral, to social media. And just like the Cubs, the StoryGuideTM yields success.

Win your own World Series with a personalized StoryGuideTM that turns your customers and employees into evangelists. A StoryGuideTM helps you find customers and boost lagging sales by creating consistent internal and external strategies. As “The Cubs Way” delineates, the StoryGuideTM values people as the most important building blocks of business.

“The Cubs Way” really boils down to the people. The players, obviously, but then all the scouts, all the people in the minor leagues, here in the big leagues. It’s more than words on a page. It comes down to how deep we dig to get connected to players, to teach the game the right way, how much we care, how committed we are, how we treat each other in the front office, the coaches, the players, how hard we work.

The power of story aligns how people work together. It provides ambition, and a mission to achieve new heights. A strong narrative produces the ephemeral glue that will multiply within your institution and carry your company to triumph. When the Cubs play the Angels tonight they’ll have “The Cubs Way” to rely on, just as the StoryGuideTM will offer a foundation for your business to grow.

Kim Palagyi is an Associate at Woden. Whatever your storytelling needs may be, let Woden help. Download our free StorytellingBlueprint, or send us an email at connect@wodenworks.com to discuss how we can help tell your story.