Mind Your Farm Business — Ep. 86: Strategic storytelling

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Those in agriculture have been encouraged to “tell their story” for years, all in the name of maintaining the social license to operate, or to gain acceptance and understanding of farm practices by the public.

But there’s another reason for farmers and agri-business owners to tell a good story: to attract and retain great staff and customers.

On this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, host Shaun Haney is joined by Jason Thompson, founder of Storyist, who explains that humans are fascinated by a good story — whether it’s an origin story, a new way of solving an old problem, or where someone draws inspiration.

Thompson says that telling the story of a farm or business is a powerful way to convey values and what drives a business at-large. This, in turn, can inspire people to buy-in to the business, figuratively and literally.

“When you want to get clear about the kinds of people you want to be a part of your organization, it’s really useful to be able to show share culture and value stories, because it’s one thing to say ‘we’re all about resiliency, and hard working and kindness,'” Thompson says. “Those are all great words, but we don’t remember them unless there’s an example of when that organization used kindness to benefit their employees or their customer.”

Thompson adds that capturing the values and goals of a business in a story will also stick with those who hear it — 22-times more than if the same person were presented with just data and figures.

It’s also key to be honest in the storytelling. Building trust and conducting the business in line with the story is just as important as the story itself.

Disclaimer: Royal Bank of Canada and its subsidiaries are not responsible for the information provided in this podcast, and this information does not necessarily reflect the views of Royal Bank of Canada or any of its subsidiaries. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its subsidiaries.

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