Acerca da comunicação da estratégia

"What learning actually takes place when the CEO of the organization delivers a PowerPoint presentation outlining corporate strategy – replete with facts and figures, graphs and charts – at an All-Hands meeting?
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As a test, one organization that had experienced rapid growth over the past five years, as well as shifting strategic priorities, interviewed key managers three months after such a presentation. The study revealed that the managers, from various functional areas within the organization, had different ideas about what the corporate strategy was. Some saw the corporation as focusing on differentiation, others interpreted the strategy as being close to the customer, and a few believed that the goal was to be low-cost leader.
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Surveyed four months after the PowerPoint review of corporate strategy, 13 employees identified the strategy as one of differentiation, 26 as one of focus on customers, and 6 as one of cost leaders. The average confidence rating when making this choice was 2.9 on a 5-point scale.
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Or could it be that PowerPoint presentations of facts and figures, charts and graphs, and colorful graphics are just not the most effective way to explain strategy? Given these uncertainties, there’s a case to be made that corporations need replace their PowerPoint presentations with a program that includes a memorable narrative or story that will make strategy persuasive and memorable – one that will capture hearts and minds as well as drive strategy."

Trechos retirados de "Narrative vs PowerPoint: for leaders, it may not be a matter of fact" de Michael Carriger, (STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP VOL. 38 NO. 2 2010, pp. 52-56)

O desconto corrói a marca

""Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith and perseverance to create a brand,"
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From a brand equity perspective the implications of "discount creep" on brands should not be overlooked. Discounting will give retailers a short-term advantage over competitors, but it can come with perhaps unforeseen consequences.
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Truth: Leading with low prices cheapens your brand. Sure, people will rush out to buy your product, prompting a spike in sales. But at the same time, customers will be so focused on price they will lose sight of the intrinsic value in paying full retail price.
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The biggest risk to relying on discounts to drive sales is that it becomes the definitive narrative in your brand story.
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"When you offer a discount, you are taking the focus from the value you provide and placing it squarely on your price. There is no way to escape that."
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As discounting has become more prevalent, many have forgotten that making a sale should not be about discounts and concessions that devalue your brand. Instead, it is a challenge to create more demand within your target audience to inspire purchase at the posted price.
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So what does a brand like Perrier do? They go deep in their ethos and find fresh ways to elevate the brand and keep it relevant.
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In a world where a CEO's life expectancy averages well under five years and brand marketers are measured by short-term financial results, the seductiveness of selling out to sell more is hard to resist. For a long-term strategy, consider striving for the things that create brand value. Otherwise it becomes a race to zero. And that's no way to spend the holidays."

Recordar as curvas de isolucro, para relacionar aumento de volume necessário para compensar descontos em "Pregarás o Evangelho do Valor"
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Recordar:

• "O impacte dos descontos"
• "Arrepios"

Trechos retirados de "The Race to Zero: Time to Rethink 'Discount' Mentality"

"Pricing is Contextual" (parte II)

Ainda a propósito dos tiques socialistas de dirigismo do mercado em "Pricing is Contextual".
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Recordo um "alemão", filho de portugueses emigrantes, nascido na Alemanha e que, com a morte do pai, veio para Portugal gerir a empresa de mobiliário que o pai, entretanto regressado, tinha criado.
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Segundo ele, na Alemanha, os jovens compram no IKEA móveis baratos para os primeiros anos de vida. Só quando "assentam", bem depois dos trinta, é que investem a sério em mobiliário. Em Portugal, surpreendeu-o, os jovens compram móveis caros assim que casam.
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Cada país com os seus costumes, nem bons nem maus, com as suas especificidades.
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A juntar a estas características nacionais, a história que uma mesma empresa quer passar, para os seus potenciais clientes:

"Pricing is not logical. [Moi ici: Eheheh uma afirmação destas para muito boa gente é blasfémia. Para eles o preço é custo mais uma percentagem fixa] Neither is how we attribute value in a marketplace.
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All retailers have a pricing strategy that customers come to understand and each one is different.
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Price, like design, location or quality is part of your brand story—one you are asking customers to believe in. You get to choose the story you want to tell and who you want to tell it to.
It pays to understand what story the people you choose to serve want to believe."

Em Portugal, a história da marca FNAC é muito diferente da história em França, aposto. Em Portugal, muitos não reconhecem que a FNAC é uma loja low-cost que aposta no volume, por isso, pode praticar preços mais altos.

Trechos retirados de "Price Is Not Just A Strategy, It’s A Story"

"Tell them a story"

No Twitter apanhei esta mensagem útil para muitas empresas que conheço:

Não é publicidade, é um caso, é um relato, é emoção, é paixão!

"more about emotion and not just a number"

Por que é que as joalharias escondem o preços das suas peças?

"Customers can get spooked by high prices. "They'll go, 'Oh, this is crazy,' and they'll just walk right out," she said.
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Without a price tag, customers have to ask before they bolt. The store gets a chance to explain the story behind the earrings or necklace. That makes the decision to buy more about emotion and not just a number,"

Aplicação para a sua empresa?
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Os seus comerciais apostam naquele "makes the decision to buy more about emotion and not just a number"?

Trecho retirado de "Why Jewelry Stores Hide The Price Tags"

Deixe de pensar como Saul, não há um caminho único

A receita do costume, o caminho mais percorrido, é a proposta de Saul para combater Golias:

"In recent years, many companies responded to the challenging economy by approaching competition from a financial perspective. Business owners strove to keep their organizations as lean as possible, to optimize efficiency, and minimize the risk of losing business to a rival who offered lower prices." 

No entanto, há os minoritários que decidem seguir outro caminho, quase uma blasfémia:

"But at the same time, some companies launched products and services - not all of them true necessities - which became must-have items despite being priced at the high end of their markets.
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What enabled those businesses to zig as the market overall zagged? In many cases, their driving success was not in sales, but in storytelling. Their revenue ran counter to market trends because they created a narrative that integrated those products and services into the lives and identities of their target customers."

Os primeiros, ainda que não o pareçam, são como aqueles espaços Grab & Go, templos da transacção, honestos mas assépticos. Os segundos, estão disponíveis para a empatia e personalização:

"Share the story of the personal interests, challenges, or pain points that led you to develop your products or services. That shows your prospects that you have some common experiences and goals--that you “get” who they are and what they need. “People want to feel good when they make purchasing decisions." 

Recentemente, numa empresa, propusemos o seguinte lead para o começo da primeira história:

"Lembra-se daquela história sobre areia suíça vendida à Arábia Saudita? Era uma areia especial. Recentemente tivemos a história do petróleo argelino vendido à Venezuela. Era um petróleo especial. E uma empresa portuguesa começar a vender peles para a pátria das peles de alta qualidade? Sim, uma empresa portuguesa começar a vender peles para Itália... devem ter algo de especial, não?"

Trechos retirados de "Best Practices in Positioning: Tell Your Story, Your Way"

E que histórias sobre a sua oferta costuma divulgar?

"An experience can consist of a product, for example a theatre play. An experience can also be a supplement to the product, such as a dinner at a certain restaurant, or the experience can be the whole package, making the experience not just a product, but a mental process, a state of mind, for instance an evening out combining dining and seeing a play. The main point here is that experiences are always more than just the product. The core of the product might be an experience, like a theatre play, but it is always more than this: it includes where it takes place, the décor, whether the seats are good or not and so forth. One can also gain an experience via technology, such as the web net or watching television. The experience can also be a supplement to a good or a service. It is not the product, but the supplements of it which provide the consumer with the experience. It is not the shoes, but the fact that these shoes are fashionable and show who you are, which is the experience.
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This is an experience you cannot get from just any pair of shoes. It is the design, the marketing, the usage and symbolic value of the shoes that makes them an experience. The shoes acquire a story or a theme and it is the story or the theme, rather than the product, which the consumers buy and cherish in the experience economy. The story or the theme is constructed to sell whatever the product might be, whether tangible or intangible: shoes, vacations, music, films, food, museum visits or events."

E que histórias sobre a sua oferta costuma divulgar? E que histórias sobre a sua oferta ganham ressonância no mercado?
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Quanto tempo dedica a pensar nas histórias que podem ajudar a criar a experiência adequada aos seus clientes-alvo?

Trecho retirado de "Introduction to experience creation" de Per Darmer and Jon Sundbo incluído em "Creating Experiences in the Experience Economy"

O efeito Shark Tank tem algo a ver com... (parte II)

Parte I.
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Acerca das histórias que as empresas contam aos clientes, ou não. Para reflexão:

"A great story is never just about you or something that happened to you, no matter how seemingly interesting the characters or events may be. A great story, no matter the subject, is always really about them (the audience) with a universal appeal.
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"Nobody wants to hear about your triumphs. We want to hear about what a fool you are, because that’s what we are." Most people, however, do not want to talk about their failures or their struggles with their weaknesses. But your honestly and willingness to be vulnerable is what draws your audience in.
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"Nobody wants to hear about your triumphs. We want to hear about what a fool you are, because that’s what we are." Most people, however, do not want to talk about their failures or their struggles with their weaknesses. But your honestly and willingness to be vulnerable is what draws your audience in.
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No struggle, no story. No obstacles to reach your goal? Who wants to hear about that? Where is the lesson in that?"

Trechos retirados de "The key to storytelling is not your perfection but your humanity"

As histórias comem os factos ao pequeno-almoço

"even in business meetings, numbers don’t ever speak for themselves.
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To influence human decision making, you have to get to the place where decisions are really made — in the unconscious mind, where emotions rule, and data is mostly absent. Yes, even the most savvy executives begin to make choices this way. They get an intent, or a desire, or a want in their unconscious minds, then decide to pursue it and act on that decision. Only after that do they become consciously aware of what they’ve decided and start to justify it with rational argument.
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He began with an alluring description of the future state — improved margins, a cooler, higher-tech product line, and excited customers — then asked his audience to move forward with him to reach that goal. It was a quest story, and it worked.
Good stories — with a few key facts woven in — are what attach emotions to your argument, prompt people into unconscious decision making, and ultimately move them to action."

Recordar Kotter e o:

• See
• Feel
• Act

Trechos retirados de "Decisions Don’t Start with Data"

Histerese

Estes trechos:

"Good products work. Great products become part of our story.
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Good marketing tells the story. Great marketing is the story"

São de uma profundidade incrível!!!
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A segunda frase faz-me recuar aos meus tempos da termodinâmica química e saborear a palavra "histerese".
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Trechos retirados de "Difference" de Bernardette Jiwa.

Desenvolver a relação, fugir do granel

"Como pode o vinho português continuar a crescer na Alemanha?Tem de envolver-se e trabalhar o perfil da diferença. O vinho é um negócio muito pessoal.[Moi ici: Não é um negócio para granel]
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Quem são os principais concorrentes dos vinhos portugueses neste mercado?Portugal tem um nicho na Alemanha e concorre com todos. Mas desde que tenham um estilo muito individual, os vinhos portugueses não têm, estatisticamente, concorrentes diretos. [Moi ici: Parece Mongo, com a diferenciação acirrada, há lugar para todos]
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O que é preciso para convencer os grandes compradores e sommeliers a colocarem os vinhos nas cartas dos grandes restaurantes?Convidando-os e ensinando-os sobre o que está a acontecer e mostrar-lhes as experiências da verdadeira cozinha portuguesa acompanhada pelos melhores vinhos. Muitos não sabem nada sobre a vossa cultura e vinhos. Se Portugal quer estar nas melhores listas de vinhos, tem de fazer acreditar quem decide nos vinhos portugueses." [Moi ici: Desenvolver a interacção, densificar a relação, alimentar as histórias e "mitos"]

Trechos retirados de "Hendrik Thoma: Vinho português "tem de envolver-se e trabalhar o perfil da diferença""

Histórias que densificam relações

Este trecho está muito bom e capta a essência da coisa:

"I’m not sure how or when the adidas Predator brand of football boots became part of Adam’s story, but these were the boots he rationalised were ‘the best’ and only they in turn would make him be ‘his best’. He never, ever wore any other football boots. These weren’t just boots though, they were months of hopes and dreams about goals that might be scored, or games that could be won with a single accurate cross, wrapped up in red leather with three sliver stripes down the side." 

Este é o poder da história, da cultura, do mito que associamos a uma oferta e que densificam a relação, a interacção.
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Um pouco como neste caso "Uma maneira original de fazer azeite":

"Para o Ângelo, um alimento não é uma parafuso. Tem uma história que merece ser contada como se de uma notícia se tratasse, com título, texto de entrada, parágrafo de resumo, desenvolvimento e desfecho."

Trecho inicial retirado de "The Purpose Of Brand Storytelling"

Qual a história da sua empresa?

""I'm hard-pressed to think of a company that doesn't have an interesting foundational story," says Paul Smith, an executive coach, former director of market research at Procter & Gamble, and author of Lead With a Story. "But I suspect there are many that haven't crafted and told theirs. And they're important. People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. A nameless, faceless corporation with no real purpose, no story, is not an inspiring place to be."
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"In a world where people have a lot of choices, the story may be the deciding factor," says Nick Morgan, a communications consultant and author of How to Tell Great Business Stories."

Qual a história da sua empresa?
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Trechos retirados de "How to Tell Your Company's Story"

Ainda sobre contar uma história

A propósito de "É contar uma história", este trecho retirado de "Becoming a Category of One" de Joe Calloway:

"Here’s the toughest question that most companies can’t answer:
“What’s your story?”
When I ask that question of my clients, and I usually do, I’m generally met by one of these responses: “ I don’t understand the question.” or “We make/sell ___ (fill in the blank with whatever product the company makes/sells).” When met by one of these responses, I broaden the parameters of the question a bit. I ask them to think about what’s important to them, what they’re about, what’s up with them, what the deal is with them, why they come to work every day, what good they are in the world, what is meaningful to them about their work, what they’re proud of, what they stand for, or what the point of all this activity is.
When given these thought - provoking options, they sometimes still respond with “I don’t understand the question.” This means trouble. If they have no sense of what their story is, what’s really important, and what the point of it all is, they are going to find it difficult to compete with a competitor who has figured out these basics. We’re talking about a sense of purpose.
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Some companies say that the point is to make money or make a profit. That’s like saying that the point of life is to eat. It’s backwards. Of course you have to eat to stay alive, and you have to make a profit to stay in business, but surely eating or making a profit aren’t the point of it all. Assuming we all agree that making a profit is a good and necessary thing, then perhaps the question to ask is what’s the best way for us to go about making a profit?
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Your Story Is Your Culture
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The question is whether or not you have a culture by design or by accident, and whether the culture you have is the culture you want.
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Your Story Is Your Brand
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The brand is, in essence, your story. It’s who you are, what you promise, and your ability to deliver on that promise.
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Your Story Is Your Common Focus
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most employees have trouble answering the questions “What’s your story?” or “What’s important here?” because it never gets talked about. The reality is that it should be being talked about all the time. It’s the essence of leadership to constantly remind everybody of the story that drives you to do what you do. Sadly, many people with leadership titles confuse leadership with management. Management is about how the organization works. Leadership is about why we’re doing it in the first place and what the point of it all is. Leadership is all about the story."

É contar uma história

Era capaz de jurar que já escrevi sobre esta experiência aqui no blogue; contudo, a verdade é que não consigo encontrar nenhuma referência. Assim, cá vai este interessante exemplo que devia fazer corar muito economista da nossa praça:

"Glenn and Walker bought cheap throwaway objects from thrift stores and garage sales, always for pocket change or a couple dollars at most. Then a writer would create a fictional story about the object, in any voice or style.
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The once-unremarkable object (now transformed into a "significant object" by virtue of the fictional back story and information associated with it), then would be listed for sale on eBay. The winning bidder would receive the object and a printout of the story.
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The difference in original purchase price and story-enhanced resale price would be recorded as the value added by attaching a story to an object.
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Examples: A pair of plastic shark and seal pens cost $1.99 to buy. Its resale price, after Susanna Daniel added a story, was $35--an increase of 1,659 percent. A yo-yo with the Amoco logo on it cost 25 cents. Its resale price, after Mark Sarvas added a story, was $41--an increase of 16,000 percent.
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The overall results for the first 100 items bought, storied, and resold on eBay: average object purchase price: $1.29. Average resale price after the story was added: $36.12. Average increase in value: 2,706 percent."

Qual é a história que a sua empresa associa ao produto/serviço que oferece?
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Quase sempre, quando falo deste tema nas empresas, no uso de histórias do dia-a-dia, sobre:

• as soluções que encontraram para os clientes;
• os esforços que conseguiram realizar um milagre;
• os prazos super-comprimidos para resolver uma emergência;
• ...

A maior parte das empresas não tem consciência dos diamantes que tem por lapidar...

Trecho retirado de "Want to Increase a Product's Value by 2,706%? Give It a Story"

O segundo grande desafio de um BSC, uma narrativa onde tudo isto se interliga?

Enquanto uns violam a primeira regra (better before cheaper), outros, propõem-se a ajudar a seguir o caminho menos percorrido "If You Want to Raise Prices, Tell a Better Story":

"In a world of abundance, what your product does for your customers is important, but not nearly as important as what your product means to them. And this second part — the story of your product — is what yields the greatest pricing power of all."

Leiam a história sobre como aumentar o preço em 2700%, sim, leram bem, 2700%.

"as the number of products and brands in the world proliferate at an ever-accelerating pace, the power is only increasing. In 1997, there were 2.5 million brands in the world. Today? The number is approaching 10 million. So the trend is toward rapid commoditization of just about everything. In a world of almost overwhelming abundance, an authentic, meaning-rich story becomes the most important ingredient to drive a company’s margins up."

A primeira etapa do desafio de construir um BSC passa por identificar os clientes-alvo.
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Uma vez identificados os clientes-alvo, façamos uma viagem ao futuro desejado... como é que a empresa está a funcionar nesse futuro desejado?

• Para quem trabalham?
• Como são conhecidos?
• Em que são bons?
• Por que ambos ganham?
• Conseguem construir uma narrativa onde tudo isto se interliga? Como funciona o ecossistema da procura? Por que é que os influenciadores e prescritores dançarão a mesma música?

Mas atenção a este aviso "Don't Spin a Better Story. Be a Better Company"

A estratégia é a história (parte IV)

"Guber tells us that stories can also function as Trojan Horses. The audience accepts the story because, for a human, a good story always seems like a gift. But the story is actually just a delivery system for the teller’s agenda. A story is a trick for sneaking a message into the fortified citadel of the human mind.
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Guber’s book is relentlessly optimistic about the power of story to persuade. But as the bloody metaphor of the Trojan Horse suggests, story is a tool that can be used for good or ill. Like fire, it can be used to warm a city or to burn it down."

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Um perigo muito real!!!

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Talvez questionando e investigando qual a intenção, qual o propósito, qual a razão de ser que move quem conta a história... se possa minimizar o risco de um contador de histórias mal intencionado.

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Recordo que há muitos anos num programa na TV italiana, durante a primeira parte passou uma reportagem  que demonstrava, que no referendo a seguir à Segunda Guerra Mundial, tinha havido uma marosca e falsificação dos resultados eleitorais no referendo em que os italianos tinham optado pela república em detrimento da monarquia.

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O número de telefonemas que invadiu a RAI foi monumental, era um escândalo, como tinha sido possível permitir que tal tivesse acontecido. Quando a emoção estava ao rubro... intervalo.

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No arranque da segunda parte do programa, o animador do mesmo apareceu a revelar que tudo o que tinha sido apresentado na primeira parte tinha sido uma farsa, para demonstrar a facilidade com que a televisão, nesse tempo muito mais do que agora, podia enganar as pessoas.

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Trecho retirado de "Why Storytelling is the Ultimate Weapon"

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Continua ainda com algo mais sobre o poder das histórias e a manipulação.

A estratégia é a história

Parte I e parte II.
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Qual o papel de um empresário?
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Quando todo um sector passa a vida a dizer mal da vida, o que pensam que farão os que, tendo valor,  poderiam equacionar ir trabalhar para esse sector? Pois, não é impunemente que se diz mal!
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"what I really am is its Chief Story Teller.”
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What she meant is that she believed that telling a story was her most important task as a CEO. Actually, she insisted, her job was to tell the same story over and over again. And when she said ‘a story’, she meant that her job was to tell her representation of the company’s strategy: the direction she wanted to take the business and how that was going to make it prosper and survive. She felt that a good CEO should tell that kind of story repeatedly, to all employees, shareholders, fund managers and analysts. For, indeed, a good strategy does tell a story.

...

The most important thing for a CEO to do is to provide a coherent, compelling strategic direction for the company, one that is understood by everyone who has to contribute to its achievement. For that, a story must be told.

...

First, the story must provide clear choices. ... A good strategy story has to contain such a set of genuine choices.

...

Second, the story must tie to the company’s resources. Importantly, the set of choices has to be clearly linked to the company’s unique resources, those that can give them a competitive advantage in an attractive segment of the market.

...

Third, the story must create a competitive advantage. The story must not only provide choices that are linked to resources, it must also explain how these choices and resources are going to give the company a competitive advantage in an attractive market, one that others can’t easily emulate.

...

Thus, it has to be clear from your strategy story why the market is attractive and how the resources are going to enable you to capture the value in that market better than anyone else.

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if you get your story right, it can be a very powerful management tool indeed. It works to convince analysts, shareholders and the public that where you are taking the company is worth everyone’s time, energy and investment.

Perhaps even more importantly, it can provide inspiration to the people who will have to work with and implement the strategy. If employees understand the logic behind a company’s strategic choices and see how it might give the company a sustainable advantage over its competitors, they will soon believe in it. They will soon embrace it. And they will soon execute it. Collective belief is a strong precursor of success. Thus, a good story can spur a company forward and eventually make the story come true."
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O protesto dos funcionários públicos é o de ... tornar menos atraente a carreira de funcionário público. Assim, talvez mais mentes se dediquem a actividades que não vivem do orçamento do Estado.

Trechos retirados de "Strategy is the story"

Continua com o perigo das histórias.

A estratégia é a história (parte II)

Parte I.
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A primeira vez que facilitei um exercício de construção de um mapa da estratégia numa empresa, foi também a primeira vez que percebi o seu poderoso papel como veículo de comunicação, de comunhão, de alinhamento.
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Traduzir a estratégia num desenho, numa ilustração que facilita a explicação, que mostra como é que a empresa pensa que pode ter sucesso, que mostra, várias jogadas à frente, qual o papel de cada um e como é que cada um contribui para a execução da estratégia, que mostra como recursos e actividades se conjugam para seduzir e fidelizar clientes.
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O que aprendi foi a facilidade com que um mapa da estratégia se pode transformar no esqueleto de uma história, a história da estratégia.
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Em vez de uma história de derrotismo, os outros estão contra nós, o futuro é ditado por outsiders, temos o direito adquirido a um naco de queijo todos os dias e alguém tem de o trazer!!!
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“Meanwhile, Mark Adams [outro naufrago, ver parte I] was still screaming. “Didn’t anyone tell them we were fucking out here!” he raved. He had no idea who might have told “them” or who “they” were. He didn’t plan for the situation because he didn’t know his own world or take responsibility for himself. He expected the world to adapt to him, to take care of him.”
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Ter uma estratégia clara, saber o que ela significa, perceber o seu poder, para concentrar esforços e alinhar mentes, vontades e sonhos, é um outro campeonato. É o campeonato do optimismo, é o campeonato dos que têm o locus de controlo dentro de si. É uma outra história, uma outra narrativa, uma outra postura.
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Imaginem agora um empresário, presença assídua nos media tradicionais e que há anos debita sempre a mesma receita:
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"- Para aumentar a competitividade das empresas é preciso reduzir os salários dos trabalhadores. Só assim o país pode aumentar as suas exportações."
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Quando o leio penso sempre nos seus trabalhadores... Como será trabalhar numa empresa em que a única história é esta? Em que a narrativa em vigor é a do jogo do gato e do rato, se se aumentam os salários reduzem-se os ganhos de produtividade. Por que se deve aumentar a produtividade? Para permitir aumentar o nível de vida das sociedades... Ui! Há aqui algo que não bate certo...
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Qual é a história que conta na sua empresa?
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Continua.

A estratégia é a história (parte I)

É comum, é mesmo demasiado vulgar, apanhar empresários, ou líderes de associações empresariais, nos media a culpabilizarem os outros, os que estão no exterior da sua empresa ou sector.
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Os problemas da sua empresa ou sector são culpa do escudo que está muito valorizado, dos chineses e dos paquistaneses que trabalham com mão-de-obra escrava, dos bancos que não emprestam dinheiro, do clima porque não chove, do clima porque chove demais, do governo porque não lhes dá um subsídio ou um apoio, da Merkel porque sim e porque não, ...
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O mesmo locus de controlo no exterior pode ser encontrado nos políticos, daí que não seja de estranhar este desabafo:

"Alguns líderes políticos são fracos e não tem a coragem de explicar por que é que os seus países estão na situação em que estão. Em vez de reconhecerem os problemas, alguns governos ou líderes tentam encontrar desculpas, e por vezes é mais fácil dizer que é preciso tomar determinada decisão porque lhes foi imposta"

Volto mais uma vez a "Deep Survival" de Laurence Gonzales, um excelente livro. Um livro que nunca teria aberto se não tivesse sido recomendado por William Dettmer. Nos capítulos 11 e 12 o autor relata os sentimentos dos sobreviventes de dois naufrágios em alto-mar, no caso que transcrevo aqui, 5 pessoas estão num bote de borracha sem mantimentos após o seu barco se ter virado e afundado:
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"She understood that they were on their own. She was thinking analytically, assessing her situation, and accepting reality. She was able to face the notion that she would have to take responsibility for her own survival." (Moi ici: Os sobreviventes assumem a responsabilidade pela sua própria salvação, não ficam à espera que a salvação venha do exterior)

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“While the other crewmembers veered wildly from hysteria to giddiness to deep depression and angry, irratinal arguing among themselves, Kiley [uma das sobreviventes, a que escreveu o livro] fought to consolidate something inside herself. “I closed my eyes, trying to get away from their death masks, from the sharks, from everything.” She was looking within herself for balance.”  (Moi ici: Depois de perceber a realidade, depois de a aceitar, depois de assumir a sua responsabilidade, volta-se para dentro, para encontrar um novo ponto de equilíbrio, uma nova âncora. O mesmo se passa com muitas empresas com que tenho trabalhado ao longo dos anos, ao perceber a realidade que as cerca a mudar, ao perceber que o futuro vai ser diferente do que foi o passado, em vez de esperar pela salvação do papá-Pinho, ou do papá-Álvaro, assumem a sua própria salvação. Como? Olhando para dentro de si, olhando para o seu interior, o que podem encontrar dentro de si que faça sentido na nova realidade? Qual a nova estratégia? Qual o novo modelo de negócio)

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“Meanwhile, Brad Cavanagh [o comandante do navio afundado] was sitting alone by himself on the bow of the boat, shouting at the sky: “Fuck you, God. Fuck you, you fucking bastard!” (Moi ici: Tão fácil ver os gritos transformados em "Fuck you, Merkel). He was doing the opposite of going inside himself, where survival begins. Epictetus wrote: “You must either cultivate your own ruling faculty, or external things; you must either exercise your skill on internal things or on external things; that is, you must either maintain the position of a philosopher or that of a common person. And; “The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is this: he expects all advantage and all harm from himself.” He doesn’t blame others, nor turn to them. He takes responsibility for himself.
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Cavanagh blamed something outside himself for his predicament. He was not looking within for consolation and consolidation, for opportunity and strength.”

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Quando um empresário fala, os que trabalham com ele e para ele ouvem.

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Quando um empresário grita, em sentido real ou figurado, para o mundo, insultando a senhora Merkel ou os chineses, ou os vizinhos da frente que, segundo ele, devem andar a roubar matéria-prima, ele está a contar uma história aos seus trabalhadores, aos seus fornecedores, aos seus clientes, aos seus financiadores, aos seus parceiros.

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E no caso da sua empresa, qual é a narrativa que transparece para os outros?

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Continua.