Chris Hare

Or if you're my manager, you have a narrative about me and what I'm doing with my time and what my future is. We have all of these narratives that can collide with one another. In an ideal world, there's one narrative within a company. One of the challenges is the way that the word narrative is used. Oftentimes within companies, the chief marketing officer will say that they own the narrative.

Or if you're my manager, you have a narrative about me and what I'm doing with my time and what my future is. We have all of these narratives that can collide with one another. In an ideal world, there's one narrative within a company. One of the challenges is the way that the word narrative is used. Oftentimes within companies, the chief marketing officer will say that they own the narrative.

I had a conversation with someone from a company, a well-known company, that was struggling a lot. And this person's manager was the CMO, and the manager said, I own the narrative. I want you to work with me on the narrative. And the CEO came to this person and said, I own the narrative. I want you to work with me on the narrative.

I had a conversation with someone from a company, a well-known company, that was struggling a lot. And this person's manager was the CMO, and the manager said, I own the narrative. I want you to work with me on the narrative. And the CEO came to this person and said, I own the narrative. I want you to work with me on the narrative.

So you can see right there, at a meta level, the challenges they're having with their own narrative about narrative. But... What I found most helpful is, within a business, as a good friend of mine says, there's only one strategy, right? There's not the business strategy and then the marketing strategy and the customer experience strategy. There's one strategy.

So you can see right there, at a meta level, the challenges they're having with their own narrative about narrative. But... What I found most helpful is, within a business, as a good friend of mine says, there's only one strategy, right? There's not the business strategy and then the marketing strategy and the customer experience strategy. There's one strategy.

Ultimately, that narrative needs to be owned by the CEO. And the way that I view it is really, or define it, is... The strategic narrative or the narrative of the company is a translation of the business strategy and clearly communicating that in a way that aligns board to the front lines around the same future and then extending it further.

Ultimately, that narrative needs to be owned by the CEO. And the way that I view it is really, or define it, is... The strategic narrative or the narrative of the company is a translation of the business strategy and clearly communicating that in a way that aligns board to the front lines around the same future and then extending it further.

I mean, you're obviously not going to communicate your business strategy to your customer, but you're going to communicate what's the differentiated future that only our company can create with our customers. In an ideal world, there should be one narrative and it should be the strategic narrative is the brand narrative, et cetera.

I mean, you're obviously not going to communicate your business strategy to your customer, but you're going to communicate what's the differentiated future that only our company can create with our customers. In an ideal world, there should be one narrative and it should be the strategic narrative is the brand narrative, et cetera.

But one of the challenges you run into is the brand narrative is often viewed as what's this creative manifesto that we're going to put out into the world. When you have one narrative that's directly hooked into the business strategy, absolutely it should be part and parcel of the brand, how the brand communicates, but it should be

But one of the challenges you run into is the brand narrative is often viewed as what's this creative manifesto that we're going to put out into the world. When you have one narrative that's directly hooked into the business strategy, absolutely it should be part and parcel of the brand, how the brand communicates, but it should be

If you want to use the word infect, but it should drive every single part of the company, customer experience, finance, operations, etc. A great example of this is when Bracken Darrell was the CEO of Logitech. Prior to that, he was the president at Braun, and he gave this speech about this future, this audacious future where every single part of a company would be led by human-centered design.

If you want to use the word infect, but it should drive every single part of the company, customer experience, finance, operations, etc. A great example of this is when Bracken Darrell was the CEO of Logitech. Prior to that, he was the president at Braun, and he gave this speech about this future, this audacious future where every single part of a company would be led by human-centered design.

And then he went looking for a company, failing so badly that the only way out was that narrative. And so that was Logitech. They were bleeding money, laying people off. I believe he 4X'd them in five years. What was fascinating is they won 250 design awards. He won the Edison Award that Gates and Jobs won. But all of that's big and exciting.

And then he went looking for a company, failing so badly that the only way out was that narrative. And so that was Logitech. They were bleeding money, laying people off. I believe he 4X'd them in five years. What was fascinating is they won 250 design awards. He won the Edison Award that Gates and Jobs won. But all of that's big and exciting.

But you go down to the small level, when they would close their books at the end of a quarter, it would take, I believe, 30 days for them to get any insights from that. So you imagine a company of that size with a blindfold on essentially for that 30 days.

But you go down to the small level, when they would close their books at the end of a quarter, it would take, I believe, 30 days for them to get any insights from that. So you imagine a company of that size with a blindfold on essentially for that 30 days.

And so they had two fairly low level accountants who took what was manifested within that culture about or what was taught within the culture about human centered design aligned to his narrative. And again, it's tricky, right? Because this wasn't who knows how I haven't seen how this was communicated within the company's narrative.

And so they had two fairly low level accountants who took what was manifested within that culture about or what was taught within the culture about human centered design aligned to his narrative. And again, it's tricky, right? Because this wasn't who knows how I haven't seen how this was communicated within the company's narrative.