You often hear people saying “we talk too much – I wanna do something!” A comment like that often arises out of a sense of frustration at a situation where action has been seriously delayed by ineffective babbling. We’ve all been there – when we’ve felt the time for action has arrived and others around us seem to be stuck.

We need to make sure, however, that we don’t swing too far to the other extreme – all action and no reflection, all doing and no being, all plans and no stories.

I was reading my textbook (1) for a management subject today and found this reference to another book (2) which talks about the functions of stories. If you’ve ever been sceptical of the power of stories, the functions of stories (according to Denning) can be categoried thus;

• Sparking action
• Communicating who you are
• Communicating who the company/organisation is – branding
• Transmitting values
• Fostering collaboration
• Taming the grapevine
• Sharing knowledge
• Leading people into the future

Many organisations have harnessed the power of storytelling to achieve their goals, their mission, their purpose. I would argue that this is a great strength of the Church – to be able to communicate our vision in story. We learn it from reading the Bible, our collection of stories. The writers of the gospels learnt it from Jesus who often spoke in the story-form of parables. It’s part of our DNA as Christians to tell stories.

So – don’t prevent yourself from taking time to share stories with your friends and within your communities. They are the building blocks of relationships and community. They can lead people into the future – they can lead you into action.

(1) Bolman, L. and Deal, T. (2009) Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (3rd Ed)

(2) Denning, S.(2005) The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass