What can 33 monks teach us about storytelling
“Remember: It’s not about telling a story. It’s about telling a true story well.”
The above was a piece of advice which a columnist for Inc. magazine, Jason Fried, shared with his readers back in May of 2010.
“I can already hear some of you saying “Sounds great. But I can’t write.” So hire a writer,” continued Jason.
In my experience, one of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face in growing their businesses is this: They fail to appreciate the importance of telling their story well. Let me ask you: If storytelling is not your strong suit, why wouldn’t you hire a professional to help you articulate your story?
I recently came across a small group of people who seem to appreciate the importance of having their story told well. I am talking about the 33 contemplative monks responsible for the Abbey of the Genesee monastery. Their home on the web is located at MonksBread.com. Notice how they’ve harmonized their logo, their website, their product mix, labels, etc., to convey a clear & authentic story to their target audience? (I recently had the pleasure of exchanging a few words with one of the 33 monks behind MonksBread.com, and he confirmed that they did indeed hire a professional marketing firm to help them articulate their story.)
“Of course, words alone won’t do it. Words are two dimensional. Your products and services provide the third dimension — depth. But when it all comes together, you’ve got a package that’s hard to ignore.”
With those words, Jason finished his column. All I can add to that is: touché!