Three stories about stories
For business owners, sharing your story is an essential part of why you do what you do.
On Monday 7th February 2022 I read three stories about stories.
One in a book, one on a blog and one in a newspaper.
The three stories span 70,000 years. From the cognitive revolution, via Goya and the ‘Greater Fool’ theory, to Boris Johnson.
The stories prompted me to think about the difference between believable stories and true stories.
Story one - why sapiens came to rule the world.
On Monday 7th February 2022 I was 40 pages into Sapiens, the most interesting book I have read in a while.
I read a theory about how Homo Sapiens came to dominate all other animals.
Many animals can communicate facts with each other. But what makes sapiens different is our ability to create narratives around what we tell each other. To add details to things we can't see. To go beyond the facts and imagine.
It began with gossip 70,000 years ago. Sapiens would chat about who to trust, who was able or who was lazy. This created a bond and enabled sapiens to form groups of around 150 people (unlike our closest relative, chimpanzees, who have functioning groups of up to 50).
But gossip alone doesn’t explain why we came to dominate the world. Sapiens needed to form wider allegiances and this is why stories are so essential to life.
Narratives were spun. Myths about gods or land which meant people who had never met before had a shared story to believe in. A shared history. One they were prepared to fight for.
All other animals need a genetic change to alter the way they live. Genetic changes take thousands of years. Sapiens use stories to do it in a year. As an example, in 1789 the French switched from believing kings had the divine right to rule to believing that the people should rule themselves.
Stories mean we Sapiens co-operate on a much larger scale than any other animal. We build armies, corporations, cities, nations and religions all because enough of us believe the same story.
We build trust in one another. Anchored by laws and currency we believe that we all will comply with the rules of the game. If someone doesn't, there is a ruler that will punish them.
But they are all man-made rules. Built on a shared trust. A shared fiction.
We aren’t the largest or strongest animal, but we know how to collaborate so we can bypass the need for genetic change in order to achieve magnificent things quickly.
Stories have enabled Sapiens to rule over all other animals.
Story two - using stories to fool.
The second story I read on Monday 7th February was by the always inspiring Dave Trott.
It starts with a tale about two brothers who spent a lot of money buying a painting by Goya. Unfortunately it was fake.
They thought if they can be fooled, then others will be fooled too. So they tried to sell it on. However, the buyers were wise to their scam and they lost out again. Damn fools.
Similarly in financial markets people buy stock which turns out to be worthless and they too try to sell it on to someone more gullible. It’s called the ‘Greater Fool’ theory. It creates a bubble and then when they run out of fools the balloon bursts. Tulip Mania (1634 - 37), the Wall Street Crash (1929), the financial crisis (2008) and NFTs (now) are all examples of The Greater Fool theory.
Dave Trott compares these stories to marketing teams who pretend their brand will change people's lives. They know it's not true but they think there are enough buyers who will believe it.
He ends with this:
"We know we’re selling things we don’t actually believe ourselves, but we think consumers will believe it.
And yet we know that, before we got into advertising, we were just consumers ourselves, and we didn’t believe it then."
Story three - using stories to make a sense of our time.
The third story I read on Monday 7th February was "Our story during Covid is not Johnson's to tell." by John Harris in The Guardian.
He starts with a quote about Boris Johnson: “to him the point of politics – and life – is not to squabble over facts; it’s to offer people a story they can believe in.”
Johnson has said something similar: “People live by narrative. Human beings are creatures of the imagination.”
Johnson's ability to communicate stories has persuaded enough Londoners to vote him Mayor, enough Conservatives to vote him leader and enough of the electorate to vote for Brexit and an 80 seat majority in the 2019 General Election. Whatever you think of Johnson, he has a rare ability to weave a persuasive narrative.
However, Harris feels that 'Partygate' means he will be in no position to tell the story of the Covid pandemic; of "the awful suffering and sacrifices it entailed, and what that experience says about us collectively and individually."
If we were to have a national Covid memorial service how could Johnson stand up in front of the Queen, NHS workers and the country to solemnly speak about our shared experiences if they didn’t believe he played by the same rules?
Harris ends the article with
"People really do live by narratives, and in times of collective crisis those who rule us need to give us at least some sense of where we have been, where we might be going, and what everything means. Johnson’s serial stupidities mean he is simply unable to do that: if the great storyteller has no stories, his own tale has surely reached its end."
So what?
I’m not sure what point I’m trying to make. What links these three stories together beyond me stumbling upon them on the same day?
I know stories are important. They are central to the way we live. The way we have evolved. The way we gain influence.
The way we market our businesses.
But not any story. Believable stories aren’t enough. Sellers of forgeries are dab hands at believable stories, but they eventually get found out and their world falls apart.
The only worthwhile stories are honest. Ones that are true to you. From your heart.
Share those and you will find a group of people with whom it will resonate. They will nod their heads, support you and thank you.
You will have a tribe.
