Welcome to our website. I’m John Carter, CEO of JCarter & Crew. I’m also the Crew Chief, StoryMaster, Change Strategist and Head Fixer of Broken Stories. This is my own post-executive career strategic story. I created it after a long journey barnstorming through senior positions at the top five advertising agency conglomerates. WPP. Publicis. Omnicon. Interpublic. And The Saatchi & Saatchi Group Ltd. (Which probably means I'm also going for the title of Oldest Living Active Adman of the Mad Men* Generation.)
I've decided to use all that experience and pent-up wisdom to address a major management and communication flaw that I've observed up-close for years. A flaw that has undermined business effectiveness and undone even the best of management teams.
Here's my observation: Businessmen, and other similar left-brain executives, (like financial officers, engineers, IT managers, account executives etc.) tend to tenaciously embrace a dislike for emotional discussion and discourse. In short, they detest drama, conflict, tension, suspense and having to wait to find out what happens. All the things that make a story powerful and unforgettable. For them, that might be entertaining but it's not business.
This addiction to no frills, certainty, metrics, action, tactics, process obsession and bullet-point lists produces an arid, sterile decision making environment. A method that's perfect for laboratories where variables can be carefully controlled and measured. But lousy out in the world of human beings and highly uncontrollable situations. It's a perfect case of using the wrong tool for the wrong purpose. Thus creating an unstable decision making environment that is strong on points and statistics but weak on understanding if those bare-boned pieces of evidence--often fragmented, siloed and political--are part of the solution...or part of the problem. This is the womb of broken stories.
In short, so what? Why should we care? What passion lies behind all the charts, highlights, PowerPoints, and endless, mind-numbing, boring details? Very often nothing but broken stories and bad decisions. Both dangerous and deadly. Probably racking up the most pain and suffering of any flaw in modern management's arsenal of beliefs.
And what's so crazy about this is after all the fancy, formal stuff is done; management retreats to a bar or restaurant and sells all their ideas without so much as a slide, a bullet-point or a chart. Just sitting around telling stories. Why do they pretend to be above taking stories seriously in the board room while informally using them regularly to stay alive?
I suspect that the more formal, ego-driven side of executives like the idea of being supported by huge priesthood consultancies and academic conventional wisdom preachers. Two groups that live off complexity, convolution and very expensive solutions to what usually are simply broken strategic stories full of some easily spotted flawed assumptions. Providing of course, you can get out from under the debris of billions of accumulated bullet points rolling around in your mind.
Now. Let's let's see if we can influence where your story is headed?
Are your corporate decisions being held hostage at bullet point? Note: I'm not the only consultant who has noticed this problem. For an excellent video clip go to Stories@Work. http://www.50lessons.com/storiesatwork.asp
If the answer is "yes"...
Here's are seven reasons why you should personally care about broken strategic stories:
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1.Broken Strategic Stories lead to bad decisions. Both are dangerous and deadly.
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2.Broken Strategic Stories mean you don't have a Story-Master on board to save you from flawed assumptions and the havoc they can cause.
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3.Broken Strategic Stories lead to Corporate Alzheimer's and a false sense of bliss and security.
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4.Broken Strategic Stories mean trouble will always ride a faster horse than the one you're on.
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5.Broken Strategic Stories starve the brain of what it needs most. Ideas that make sense.
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6.Broken Strategic Stories mean you feel safe solving the wrong problem perfectly.
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7.Broken Strategic Stories will send you unarmed into a world of Feral Marketing where monsters roam.
But remember, just because your organization is wandering around with a bucketful of undiscovered broken strategic stories headed for big trouble…
...DOESN’T MEAN YOUR CORPORATE STORY HAS TO END BADLY.
At JCarter & Crew, we’re discovered there are plenty of people who can create jingles, banners, TV commercials, clever Twitter messages...even whole websites. But almost none who can write Strategic Destiny Stories that will guide executive leadership and their communication efforts to safe harbor even during the most stressful of times.
JCarter & Crew wants to show you how we can address your broken strategic story problems before they move from benign to malignant. The Broken Story Syndrome turnaround starts with a Radical Strategic Story Session. We’d like to schedule one for you.
Contact Me:
John Carter, CEO
JCarter & Crew
Office: 512-294-2524
Cell: 512-964-8317
E-Mail: jcarter@jcarterandcrew.com
JCarter & Crew is a change management and marketing consultancy that works with a broad spectrum of clients and their crews. When required, we put together our own crews to work on projects. Much like a movie producer puts together a team to make a film. We have vast experience in both Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial enterprises. We're been doing story-driven consulting for over eight years.
*MAD MEN a currently hot TV series about advertising in the 1960's.
