I recently had a parent-teacher conference about my youngest daughter, Noa, with her kindergarten teacher who’s a rock star. We were talking about how Noa’s very capable overall, and is a child who does things when she’s ready, and on her terms. “Her terms” is the key phrase, which Steve and I wholeheartedly support.

It’s been said that if you don’t toot your own horn, then you can’t complain when there’s no music. A bit blunt perhaps, but very true, and applicable today more than ever in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

On the surface, CSR is comprised of the efforts and initiatives a company takes to assess and hold responsibility for its impact on the environment and social wellbeing at large.

In advertising and communications, effective frequency is the number of times a person must be exposed to a message before a response is made. Theories have ranged from three to twenty times, leading to countless spirited discussions amongst academics and practitioners alike looking to identify the magic number.

Whatever the answer, and it varies by person, the fact remains that recipients of a message can only retain a limited amount of information per exposure and it often takes someone hearing a message multiple times to transition that person from awareness to understanding, and finally, to action. 

Company “profiles” are everywhere today – on corporate websites, in job postings, and on social media sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. With one click of the “About Us” link, anyone, anywhere can hear your company story.

So why are so many stories and profiles so weak, so boring and uninspired?

If this is one of the best shots at telling a company story, why do countless organizations settle for a poorly written, poorly designed, dry-as-dust blurb? 

Making progress! Coming out of last week’s Challenge, did anything you learned about yourself surprise you, or shock you even? Did you get a new perspective? How did that resonate with you? 

This next Challenge in the Knowing Yourself phase is about helping others get to know you, too. Disclosing yourself to others also requires you to leave your comfort zone, yet the benefits that come along with disclosure are abundant including building trust, credibility, relationships and connections. 

Don’t Tell Stories Without a Purpose

Sometimes leaders get so caught up with grabbing an audience’s attention that they miss the point. For instance, a personal anecdote is great but only if it connects to what you’re trying to communicate. In other words: It doesn’t really matter if your son won the state high school basketball tournament unless his game-winning shot says something about what your company team needs to do every day.

While it’s great to see leaders embrace stories, it’s so important to realize that simply storytelling—without the goal of teaching employees what they need to do in their work—defeats your purpose.

Use Stories to Connect Employees to Strategy

I’ve had several moments with clients when the power of storytelling really hits home with their teams. One recent experience stands out. It was one of those times when a light bulb clearly went on.