FIVE

WARNING
STORY PLOTS
EVERY LEADER
NEEDS TO KNOW
EVERY NEW IDEA OR INITIATIVE
REQUIRES PEOPLE TO CHANGE.

A new idea instigates a journey, which looks a lot like

a story. It may affect a few people or a few thousand.
Either way, when you launch a journey of transformation
it can be divided into a five stage Venture scape.
At each stage you’ll deliver several speeches, tell
stories, host ceremonies, and discover symbols

00

DREAM LEAP FIGHT CLIMB ARRIVE (re)DREAM

Regardless of the scale of transformation,
a leader entices people toward a goal by
communicating clearly along the way.
If you understand
where your audience
is in their phase of
transformation, you
can see the journey
through their eyes…
 Deliver speeches Share stories Hold ceremonies

Use
symbols

…and diagnose which type of

communication will be most useful.
Used well, stories create empathy
and understanding unlike any other
type of communication.

Warning

Motivating
Warning
Use warning communication when
travelers seem stuck or are heading
in the wrong direction.

This slidedoc details the WARNING Stories.

Motivating
Use motivating communication when
your travelers are energized and
feeling adventurous about pursuing
your dream.
It’s tempting to focus on the stories with happy
endings, but life isn’t really like that. There’s
benefit in using stories that inspire people
forward as well as cautionary tales that warn
them about holding back.
The people you lead crave communication
that either helps them overcome resistance
or re-commit to the goal.
By alternating between stories that pull your audience
toward a goal and push them away from an undesirable
reality, you can double your effectiveness without
doubling your efforts.
There are 10 story plots to help you lead
your team through transformation

5 Warning Story Plots 5 Motivating Story Plots

Neglect the Call Heed the Call

Ignore the Reward Seek the Reward
Come from Behind Overcome the Enemy
Lose the Way Endure the Struggle
Learn the Lesson Savor the Win
WARNING
STORIES
One

NEGLECT THE
CALL STORY
Talk about a failure to see an opportunity
or disregard a warning
GARY HAUGEN
Tells a Neglect the Call story

Civil rights lawyer Gary Haugen helps

audiences understand the true cost of
poverty by complementing powerful
statistics with heart wrenching personal
stories from individual victims.
Neglect the Call Story

“[Venus] described what it was like when the coals

on the cooking fire finally just went completely cold.
When that last drop of cooking oil finally ran out.
When the last of the food, despite her best efforts,
ran out. She had to watch her youngest son, Peter,
suffer from malnutrition, as his legs just slowly
bowed into uselessness. As his eyes grew cloudy
and dim. And then as Peter finally grew cold.”

—GARY
♦
Two

IGNORE THE
REWARD STORY
Explain the danger of attachment to old ways
AL GORE
Tells an Ignore the Reward story

Al Gore’s fight against global warming began

after hearing a guest lecture while he was just
a freshman at Harvard. His story which conveys
scientific facts, as well as his personal passion
from a young age, inspiring others to take action.
Ignore the Reward Story

“He started measuring carbon dioxide in 1958.

By the middle sixties when he showed my class this
image, it was already clear that it was going up.
I respected him and learned from him so much I
followed this. When I went to the Congress in the
middle 1970s I helped organize the first hearings
on global warming.”

—AL
♦
Three

THE COME FROM

BEHIND STORY
Share what it looks to be overtaken by the enemy
JENNIFER AAKER
Tells a Come from Behind story

Professor Jennifer Aaker shared the story

of two Indian entrepreneurs who ultimately
lost their fight against leukemia as a way
to show the value of social media and
warn others against inaction.
Come from Behind Story

“Sameer and Vinay did not find matches they

desperately needed in the registry… We all knew that
we needed to do something. In eleven weeks, friends
of Sameer and Vinay hosted 470 bone marrow drives
and registered 24,611 South Asians [using social
media]. Both Sameer and Vinay found a match,
though tragically both ultimately died. The drives
they inspired, though, allowed 266 other people
to find matches within a year.”
—JENNIFER
♦
Four

LOSE THE
WAY STORY
Talk about wandering or giving up the fight
ROWAN TROLLOPE
Tells a Lose the Way story

A Cisco EVP tells a personal story about his

nearly fatal failure to pay attention to details
during a risky climbing excursion, which
became a memorable warning against cutting
corners during an important product launch.
Lose the Way Story

“Something in the back of my head told me to stop

so I retied the knot. The moment I put weight on my
line, that first piton popped out and hit me smack
in the middle of the helmet… Had I not retied that
Knot I would have died on that ledge… Before my
climb on Mount Laurel, I was prone to cutting
corners where I could and it almost got me killed…

♦
Lose the Way Story

…When I think of those pitons, one of them represents

‘good enough’ and one of them represents greatness.
I like to keep both of them in my mind so I always
remember what kind of choice I’m making.”

—ROWAN
♦
Five

LEARN THE
LESSON STORY
Recount a failure.
What went wrong and why?
MARY BARRA
Tells a Learn the Lesson story

Instead of avoiding communication about

a fatal error caused by GM employees’
negligence, Mary Barra shared the details
and encouraged employees to keep the
story in their memories as a warning.
Learn the Lesson Story

“We aren’t simply going to fix this and move on. We are
going to fix the failures in our system—that I promise.
In fact, many are already fixed. And we are going to do
the right things for the affected parties… But I never
want to put this behind us. I want to keep this painful
experience permanently in our collective memories.
I don’t want to forget what happened because I—and
I know you—never want this to happen again.”

—MARY
♦
These story types are perfect to warn your
audience to move away from resistance,
but what if you need to motivate your audience
to commit or re-commit to your goal?
To learn the five story types you
can use to motivate your travelers,
use this link:
BUY THE BOOK

MOTIVATING
STORYPLOTS
EVERYLEADER
NEEDSTO KNOW © INATE

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