What’s Your Story?

I think we all know the joke.  A wife walks in on a husband while he’s bumping uglies with another woman.  There are a lot of variations to the joke, but the punch line is “who are you going to believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?”

To me, this goes to another phrase that lots of folks use on a regular basis.  Lots of children too although not explicitly.  That phrase is immortalized in the chorus of a Jimmy Buffet song:

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it
That’s my life and all that I’ve got
Call me a liar, call me a writer
Believe me or not
Believe me or not

The problem with that, both in business and in life, is that your story changes, or at least it should.  I’m not talking about how the milk got spilled and who’s to blame but how the story you tell needs to evolve as you and your business do.  We’re not the people we were a few years ago – we’re older, hopefully wiser, we’ve experienced more, maybe learned a few things along the way.   We might describe ourselves differently – I sure do – and the same holds true for our business.

Emerson’s quote from “Self Reliance” has always stayed with me since I first read it in college:

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.

While we can’t be in the business of changing everything up every couple of months, we need to be amenable to change – we need to encourage it in our organizations (and in our lives!).  Sticking to your story may get you out of a jam when you’re caught with someone or someplace, but it can very much get you in to trouble in business.

What’s your story today?