The Best Story Wins
Can I successfully connect my kids' TV habits to Napoleon and then turn it into a commentary on climate? Let's give it a shot.
My son Ian loves a Netflix series called "Alphablocks" and its math-based spinoff "Numberblocks." In both, the characters tell a story - supported by song and dance - to teach foundational concepts.
He learns 3x3=9 or that "ph" makes the "f" sound in words because he remembers the episode's story. He also learns a few songs I'll hear on repeat for months on end.
Steve Jobs famously said, "1,000 songs in your pocket." It certainly sounds much better than "x" GBs of storage for music.
Churchill was a surprisingly lousy politician. But, he was a prolific writer and speaker. He once wrote to a colleague:
Each year it is necessary for a modern British Government to place some large issue or measure before the country, or to be engaged in some struggle which holds the public mind.
He understood the power of controlling the story.
Napoleon knew that the narrative coming from the battlefield shaped the collective mood of France's revolution. He managed every detail of information flowing back to Paris and even embellished it for his wife to ensure the story stayed consistent.
He displayed an extraordinary ability to present terrible news as merely bad, bad news as unwelcome but acceptable, acceptable news as good, and good news as a triumph.
All of them realize(d) that the best story wins. (we did it!)
Morgan Housel popularized this idea in his new book Same as Ever, but he initially shared the insight in 2016 on an episode of The Knowledge Project.
Almost every winning campaign in recent history is devoid of facts and instead embraces a feeling.
Think Different: encouraged everyone to push the boundaries
Just Do It: inspired millions to embrace their inner athlete
Various political examples that I won't get into. This isn't a politics blog
If you need further proof that words matter, the number of Americans who support "spending on the poor" is 71%. But, if you call it "welfare," that number plummets to less than one-third.
Sometimes, I wonder if the climate movement is winning this battle.
Talented people pour into climate technology companies daily because they believe in the story that adds meaning to their work. There's 10x more capital focused on funding companies in climate than at the peak of Climate 1.0. More successful startups are raising money and gaining real traction than ever before.
At the same time, I see headlines celebrating the decline of electric vehicles while the market grows 30% a year. Or, I read about major banks pulling out of ESG movements, all while their investments in sustainability continue to grow.
Because we're a community of (mostly) logical people, we see the problem and an investment opportunity of the lifetime then back it up with facts. However, the stories that unleash the forces of the masses don't require logic or facts.
Ironically, it's the opposite. The people who can throw facts, self-awareness, and consciousness to the wind tell the best stories. That makes selling others easier. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's terrible.
An uncomfortable truth is that bad ideas with strong support will almost always do better than good ideas with poor support. Our collective hope is based on the belief that these movements eventually require a "there" there, but a story goes a long way.
Doomerism, despite being the preferred method of some, also doesn't work. Several studies, including a recent one published in Science Advances, found that if everyone thinks we're doomed, they'll go about their normal routines anyway. The doom and gloom demoralizes the public into inaction despite getting much of the attention.
The rule trickles all the way down to companies, too Great stories raise money (sometimes too easily), great stories sell products, and great stories attract great people.
Movements are born from great stories, and the climate movement could use more storytellers. But, of course, storytelling is a slippery slope if not paired with copious amounts of intellectual honesty and humility, something the world could use a lot more of.