Toward Narrative Strategy

Abstract

Strategic planning exercises often begin with the observation, “We need a better story to tell.” We argue that this is not just a figure of speech but that the narrative form is uniquely appropriate to both the development and the effective communication of good strategies. Drawing on recent literature in the relatively new field of narratology, we argue that the temporal structure of stories allows for a reach into the future that evidence-based, analytic approaches cannot achieve. The case of Nakamura's turnaround at Matsushita/Panasonic is cited as an example of narrative strategy.

KEYWORDS:

• Leadership
• management
• memory
• narrative
• phronesis
• religion
• risk
• story
• strategy