The Start We All Want
How storywork can help you onboard new people
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In many companies, welcoming and onboarding new people is routine. Professional, predictable and perfectly boring. It may answer questions, fill information gaps and introduce the culture, but it is rarely designed to raise enthusiasm and deepen relations.
Here is my advice if you want to include people in your team, organization or community: Turn your onboarding procedure into an adventure, game or quest — any type of story-based experience that will engage people and make them ask for more. Storywork is already used in marketing and sales, but can also be applied to accelerate employee and partner engagement.
The magic of story
The stories we tell are the world we live in. I am sure you have heard this before, but have you considered the meaning behind the words? What is the magic of story that can turn things upside down, chaos into order, and fantasy into reality within a few sentences?
When I say story, I mean an actionable meme, an account of events linking subject and object in time and space. Story is fiction that brings perspective and priority to life by connecting dots of experience to strings of insights. It helps you find patterns in the raw data picked up by the senses. Story guides you to make sense of existence and find your way by pointing to the purpose of doing, and the meaning of being.
Stories can shape you, make or break you, give you wings or tear you down. They are reflected in your mindset, brain wiring, and thought patterns with which you identify. In the end, you become your stories. You can get lost or find yourself in them. They can bring people together and set them apart. Most importantly, you can work with stories to make them work for you.
The energy link
What you are, do and become in life depends on how you manage energy. Everything is connected. The quantity and quality of your personal energy influence your mental capacity and focus. How you gain, store, spend, invest and waste energy impacts your ability to deal with life challenges and opportunities.
We are shaping ourselves and the world through the exchange of energy. When we interact, we…
