What’s Your Narrative?
Your narrative is a part of you, and you are part of it
I’ve been extremely inspired by the work of John Hagel on narratives. I saw him speak at SXSW about the power of narrative and just this week he published a post about the untapped power of narratives. While the traditional use of “narrative” has blended with “story,” Hagel pushes us to redefine the subtle differences between the two.
To recap, here are the distinctions. First, stories are self-contained — they have a beginning, a middle and an end. Narratives on the other hand are open-ended — the outcome is unresolved, yet to be determined. Second, stories are about me, the story-teller, or other people; they are not about you. In contrast, the resolution of narratives depends on the choice you make and the actions you take — you will determine the outcome…. Throughout history, millions of people have given their lives for narratives. Every successful social movement in history has been driven at its core by a narrative that drove people to do amazing things,
Whatever you want to call them, when defined this way, narratives are extremely powerful. They are the foundation of our society’s fabric, they are what gives our lives meaning — they are remarkably human. A story focuses on the journey of the hero — with the beginning and an end — it’s told and its goal is to impart knowledge or illustrate a point. A narrative, on the other hand, is felt as much as it’s are told — it can be made up of stories and people, with the power to compel the listener to act and become a participant. There is no safe divide between the audience and the actor — rather, a narrative is a collection of stories that have already happened, and an invitation to create more.
As a community junkie, I am immediately drawn to the relationship between communities and narratives, and their power to create movements.
No one has created meaningful change on their own. Whether we’re talking about the Civil Rights movement, the Impressionist movement, or Arab Spring — none of these movements just happened; rather, they were a result of deliberate and continuous sets of actions over time by many people, resulting in small wins, in turn getting more and more people to act.
When people are part of a community, tied together by passion and a collective narrative, the power and possibility a movement is exponentially greater than if they were acting as far flung groups or individuals. There’s a whole fascinating science to virality, where the more interconnected the network, the quicker the movement spreads. This is where community design becomes critical — how you help people come together in deliberate ways that maximize the possibility of both: loose and close ties, with multiple nodes. That’s a topic for a whole new post.
But a community, no matter how purpose built, is not enough to create change. To create a community of action, you need urgency, purpose and the belief in what’s possible. Without those ingredients, it’s just a community of interest. To get people to act is a whole different story. This is where narratives come in. Because of their inclusive and participatory nature, narratives become these catalysts for entire communities that create urgency, belief and purpose — while clarifying how each individual can be a part of it. They help define actions of people, and are defined by their actions, becoming richer and drawing more people in the process.
With online tools, we now have unprecedented power to become part of communities, become ignited by narratives and help shape the future. Hagel often talks about the power of an opportunity-based narrative replacing a threat-based narrative. In today’s age of abundance and accessibility — of opportunity, human connection, and knowledge — we no longer need to be driven by fear and zero-sum based narrative. With unfettered access to each other’s knowledge and experience, we can now turn a critical eye to propaganda and decide for ourselves if we want to be driven by hope or by fear.
This is why I love the job of a community manager — because when I see people come together to create and believe in what’s possible, it fills me with hope. Industrial-age mentality has taught us to swallow creativity, but now we are free to connect with others and focus on doing what makes us human in the first place — create. Create magic, create a legacy, create hope. I see small actions start to take place, gaining momentum and creating magnetic narratives, attracting more and more actions.
Each community has a narrative, as does each organization, and even individual — it just may not say what you think it says. Does your narrative empower people to act and find their meaning, like Nike’s “Just do it” or Apple’s “Think different?” Or is it closed off, inwardly focused or designed to elicit action through fear, like “War on terror” or companies locking their customers into dysfunctional relationships through complexity and confusion.
What your narrative says is up to you. It’s only your legacy.
