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Story telling in product

management

Sander Veraar

www.productcampsg.com

28 September 2013

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Introduction

Sander Veraar

Senior Product Manager

Contact

sg.linkedin.com/in/sanderveraar

twitter.com/sanderveraar

Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Premier partner for secure IT,

communications, networking and

mobility solutions delivered to large

and mid-size businesses and

government agencies globally.

Experience

16 years overall experience in IT

services of which 8 years in

Product Management.

Here today to meet great people, to share my experiences and to learn from yours

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• Establish connection with stranger

• Explain who you are as a person

• Show dreams/values/goals/accomplishments

• Essential to build trust

“Who am I?”

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• Stories are a powerful tool to convey a message. Business stories differ

from ‘regular stories’ told for entertainment in that you tell them with an

objective, goal or desired outcome in mind.

Why (business) story telling?

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• Build trust / show mutual benefit

• What’s in it for you?

• What’s in it for me?

• Useful when “selling” something (such as an idea), “negotiating” or

“asking for favors”

“Why am I here?”

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• In the scrum methodology of agile software development work is

expressed as a series of user stories.

• An example user story is the below template developed by Mike Cohn,

which identifies who the end user is, what the end user wants, and why in

a single sentence. It is most often written like this: “As a [end user role], I

want [the desire] so that [the rationale].

Story telling in product development

http://scrummethodology.com/scrum-user-stories/

http://scaledagileframework.com/stories/

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A show of hands…

http://burneylawfirm.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/show-of-hands.png

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Context

• Where and when the story takes place

• Who’s the main character?

• What does he or she want?

• Who, or what, is in the way?

Action

• What will the main character “do”?

• Which setbacks/failures/obstacles did he/she encounter along the way?

Result

• Main characters fate

• What should the audience have learned?

Structure

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• Aspirational story

– Situation – Action – Result

• Hero’s Journey

– Introduce the hero

– Introduce the villain

– The ‘missing’ piece

– Transformation/triumph

– Showcase result

“Vision Stories”

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• Welcome to the company retreat for businessstoryboardbuilder.com.sg.

As most of you know my name is Bob and I am speaking to you as the

(fictional) head of product management for our company.

• 2014 was a great year for us. We gained many new users and earlier this

month we celebrated our 10,0000 story board created via our website.

For 2015 we have set the ambitious goal to double that number.

• In order to achieve that goal Jean, our services product manager, has

proposed a new service offering which allows our users to submit

storyboards directly to a local printing company and have the result

delivered as A3 story boards anywhere in Singapore within 2 hours.

• This meets a nascent demand in the advertising sector and we believe

this will lead to a two-fold increase in repeat purchases in that area.

Aspirational story example

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• Can you tell me about your vision? / Five years from now, where will your

company be?

• How are you going to get there? / What opportunities do you see for your

business? What challenges do you face getting there?

• Can you help me understand how [opportunity/challenge] connects to

[vision/long term goal]?

• Can you describe to me what the future of your business would look like if

you were able to solve/eliminate [challlenge]

• Next embark on your hero’s journey

The hero Journey

in a business context

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Introducing…

http://thumb7.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/100254/100254,1301949862,1/stock-vector-cartoon-of-a-knight-running-from-a-fierce-dragon-isolated-on-white-74602573.jpg

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The missing piece

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/cartoon-illustration-boy-red-shield-18122434.jpg

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Transformation/Triumph

http://newyorkjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/9290106-cartoon-of-a-knight-facing-a-fierce-dragon-isolated-on-white.jpg

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The result

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cjMYSt-InL4/UDf9ETjwNHI/AAAAAAAADUI/PYT4hMKxrAI/s320/441832-Cartoon-Dragon-Using-A-Crutch-For-A-Lame-Leg-Poster-Art-Print.jpg

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• “I know what you are thinking”

– The elephant in the room

– Validate other people’s worries or concerns

– Paraphrase or summarize

– Helpful to reduce opposition

• “Value-in-action”

– Reinforce the values that you want your audience to demonstrate or think about

Other common story types

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• Business storytelling is the art of using stories to connect with employees,

customers, suppliers and anyone else involved with your organisation

• Great inspiring stories are authentic

Closing Remarks