Highlands and Islands storytelling traditions take pride of place in London
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The Highlands and Islands oral storytelling traditions was at the heart of an international event last month, as consultancy firm StrategyStory hosted a seminar at the annual Strategic Management Society conference.
The London-based event brought together the world’s leading thinkers in the field of strategy and strategic management with 1200 registrants in attendance.
Inverness-based StrategyStory co-founders Kate Hooper and Professor Donald MacLean hand-picked a panel of movers and shakers throughout industries to speak.
The panel included: Admiral Insurance and Confused.com, co-founder, Dr Kate Buell-Armstrong; BAFTA-winning commissioning editor and producer, Adam Gee; the University of Victoria’s professor Roy Suddaby; and Professor Robert MacIntosh, chair of the Chartered Association of Business Schools.
Chaired by Donald, the panel focused on the importance of the role of storytelling and communications in leading modern organisations and creating strategies that actually work.
Dr Armstrong described how stories were central to the growth of Admiral Insurance, Confused.com and her latest venture, the gin distillery, Secret Garden.
Speaking about Admiral Insurance, she said: “We were a group of people who were starting something from scratch and it was clear we were moving into an industry that was by its very nature, overcrowded.
“We designed a culture that we wanted to help us build the business. It was driven by storytelling, essentially. And now, 30 years on, Admiral is still regularly found to be one of the great places to work in independent surveys.”
Mr Gee explained to the audience that connection is, first and foremost, emotional.
Professor Suddaby, one of the world’s leading organisation theorists, emphasised that creating and telling good stories is a craft and that the field of management could engage more with the arts to learn from and with them.
He explained: “Stories are really effective at helping us make sense of complex subject matter, and strategic change in a very large, diversified corporation is a complex subject”.
Professor MacIntosh hosted a lively Q&A discussion with the audience.
Donald and Kate explained the historical role of the Bard, and of storytelling, in creating social order and community.
Kate explained: “We showed how our Highlands and Islands based business draws from the region’s skills and traditions in oral storytelling to support people to work together and help businesses shape their stories and strategies while making sure their workforce is heard in the process.”
Reflecting on the event, Donald said: “There is much to celebrate and share around how businesses and communities work and organise in the Highlands and Islands. Our storytelling traditions are steeped in learnings that can be of significant value to modern businesses. It was an honour to bring together such an experienced panel and be able to share some of our own region’s story with this international audience.”
