In the 30’s and 40’s, Frank Capra was one of this country’s most famous screenwriter/directors. In his memoir, The Name Above The Title, he recounts how he saved his award-winning movie, Lost Horizons, from dying a premature death.

“I ran up to the cutting rooms, took those blasted first two reels in my hot little hands, ran to the ever-burning big black incinerator—and threw them into the fire.”

This is how the expression “burn the first reel” originated.  Translated, it means, cut out the fat from the beginning of your story.

“Burn the first reel,” is an important axiom when it comes to business storytelling.

When telling any kind of a story to friends, you will have a lot of freedom to add color through what you might think are interesting details.  But the people sitting around a conference room table are far less accepting and far more impatient than they might be if you were telling the same story over a beer.

Some may disagree, but I believe that that business storytelling is the most challenging form of narrative.  Because in addition addition to requiring good storytelling skils, it requires one to know how to strike the balance between too much and too little exposition.

Here are some suggestions for how to burn the first reel:

One of the biggest mistakes business storytellers make occurs when they open with an origin story or  a story that describes how their business began.  Too often the storyteller will get carried away by going into harrowing detail.  Certainly, most audiences will be interested in learning how a company’s struggles were overcome to achieve success. However, they don’t want to struggle themselves to get there.

One way to avoid doing this is to use the “Now, Then, How” formula:

Instead of providing a long chronology of events that occured over time, the “Now, Then, How” formula can get to the heart of your story very quickly.  Additionally, throughout the telling of this story you will hold your audience’s attention because their curiosity will be piqued.

Here’s an example of how to use it?

Now:   “This is a headline that appeared in Accounting News last week.  (Headline reads:  “Dokes Accounting ranks highest in customer satisfaction”).

Then: “Twenty-five years ago, Mr. Dokes would have had a hardtime imagining this could be possible.  You see, we’ve  hadto learn a great deal through trial and error to get to wherewe are today. ”

How: One of those things we’ve learned is what I’d like to talk to you about today.

In just a few sentences you will have created a curious readiness for your audience to hear how and why Dokes does what it does.

This is not to suggest that adding a few flourishes to an origin story should be avoided at all cost.  But if you’re going to go that route, it’s important that you keep detail down to a minimum.   This is often a judgement call, but when in doubt, cut it out.

If you’re up for it, let me show you via this torturous example of an origin story along with some likely audience reactions.  While reading this, you may think this is donen to exaggerate the point.  But it is very similar in structure to an origin story  I once heard given by a salesperson.

“I’d like to tell you the story about the idea that inspired Joe Kayser, to start the company I work for.

[AUDIENCE REACTION:  A story?  Why doesn’t he just get to the point? ].

Prior to 1989, Mr. Kayser had worked in quality control for a major widget manufacture.  Every day he would stand over an assembly line looking for faulty widgets in order to make certain that anything that was out of spec was sent back to be re-processed.  It was hard work, especially given the fact that so much of what was coming at him was faulty.  He tells us that he often felt like the famous I Love Lucy scene where she’s put in charge of dipping chocolates  – you know, the one where she can’t keep up and ends up eating the chocolates that she can’t dip (he models the scene as he talks about it). Ha Ha.

[AUDIENCE REACTION:  This guy is trying too hard]

It got so bad that 30% of what Mr. Kayser was looking at had to be sent back or completely thrown out.  This obviously cost the company he was working for a great deal of time and money.  It didn’t take him  too long to realize that most of the mistakes would start to occur after lunch and grow in numbers when shifts ended.  So he went to his boss and said, “Bob (that was his boss’s name)

“Why don’t we give line workers 15 minute breaks every hour instead of at the regular two hour interval?”

Of course, Bob had to take Joe’s request up the line to his bosses, bossess, boss AND get it agreed to by the union. Ha Ha.

[AUDIENCE REACTION:  How long is this story going to take?]

But months later, his suggestion was finally implemented. He was very excited to see his idea come to life.  There was only one problem.   His idea only reduced mistakes by a mere 2%. This became quite embarrassing for Joe.  And now, going back to the old system of 15- minute breaks every 2 hours, the company had to keep the new 45 minutes on/15 minutes off procedure.  Not giving up, Joe experimented with a number of alternatives until he came up with a process.  For instance,

[AUDIENCE REACTION:  “For Instance??”  This guy is killing me!]

he tried …….. and FINALLY, he found a process that reduced mistakes down to 3% from 30%.   And today, I’m going to show you how ……

[AUDIENCE REACTION:  Wonder how I can get out of this meeting politely]

Let’s burn the first reel with this alternative to the same opening

In 1989 Joe Kayser made a discovery that became the inspiration behind what our company is today.  As a quality control manager for a larger manufacturer of widgets,  he experimented with a number of ways to reduce assembly line rejections until finally he discovered a way to reduce mistakes from 30% to 3%.

[AUDIENCE REACTION:  That’s impressive. How? ]

The mistake he discovered may surprise you.  It often does because it is so hidden.

[AUDIENCE REACTION: What’s the mistake?]

In addition to discovering this mistake, Mr. Kayser developed a process for correcting the problem.  It’s a process that is now being used by the following companies and with these results

[AUDIENCE REACTION:  I’m all ears]

Certainly an origin story can make for an engaging introduction to your presentation.  However, unless you can use it to quickly get to the point, it could have an opposite effect on your audience.

Keep in mind that THE most important point of any presentation is “what’s in it for them.” There’s nothing wrong, and everything right about using a story to help you set up that point.  But if you make your audience wait too long to get there,  it’s likely that the only point you’ll reach is one with the one with no return.

Learn more about telling your Brand Story here!

I would never even think of telling someone they have an ugly baby. Moreover, I’m not the guy who will admit that you really do look fat in those jeans if asked. However, if you believe that you should cast your customers as the hero of your brand’s story, my conscience obliges me to risk a possible insult. At the very least, I urge you to reconsider.

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that all customers are important. Customers who aren’t, are like 39th birthdays. They only come around once. However, to regard them as important is one thing. To dress them up in the clothes of a hero is quite another.

Consider first what the word “hero” implies. Heroes are people who solve the big problem or resolve the burdening tension that few others can. They are the dragon slayers, the courageous visionaries, the people who take huge risks to accomplish unimaginable feats. As such, they become objects of admiration and emulation. Okay, you nor I might be able to do what Michael Jordan did on the courts, what Chesley Sullenberger did on the Hudson River or what a first responder does while putting life on the line for victims of some tragedy. However, these and others we designate as heroes become symbols of principles, ideals and causes we revere and choose to support.

So, if you still think your customers are heroes, perhaps you should stop trying to sell them and hire them instead.

Learn The Important Differences Between Storytelling And Storybranding

The countervailing point of view is that brands, not customers, should play the role of hero in the brand story. Taking into consideration the requirements of heroism, this too may be an overreach. However, it is possible for brands to become hero-like. Because like heroes, brands have the potential to symbolize ideals or causes people belong to and support.  People don’t wear Harley Davidson tattoo’s, become walking ads for North Face or decal their car bumpers with the name of a favorite political candidate because they are paid to do so.

 In fact, providing customers with ideals worth rooting for is one of the most important functions a brand can perform. For this reason, and in addition to becoming known for a unique functional benefit, an equal or even greater effort should be put against associating a brand with ideals it stands for.  As a matter of fact, functional benefits are eventually copied or they go the way of the typewriter, the Walkman or Windows v 1.0. However, ideals like perfection, persistence, independence, responsiveness, just to name a few–these do not have expiration dates.

It should also be said that becoming associated with an ideal does not come about through lip service.  It requires an unabiding commitment by management.  This explains how Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Howard Shultz and others turned their brands into best-selling stories. It’s also worth noting that in each of these cases, they committed to something greater than making money.  Certainly their fortunes didn’t come about by ignoring the importance of profitability.  But through ups and downs, their efforts to stand up, stand firm and stand for something meaningful remained steadfast.

Something too should be said about the need for authenticity once a brand sets out to become associated with some ideal. David Ogilvy once admonished, “Your customer is not stupid. She’s your wife.” Today’s consumer (and a certain wife I know) are not easily fooled. Authenticity demands an honest and passionate conviction.  Otherwise,  you’ll be found out.  For this reason, it’s important to let the voice that is saying “THIS is what I believe in” be the voice that leads your quest.  In case you are having difficulty hearing that voice, it could be because it’s being drowned out by the voice of that customer you refer to as “hero.” Asking your customers what you should stand for is like asking your children how to be a good parent.

Learn more about telling your Brand Story here!