Compelling Stories

An online Fast Company story about the questionable veracity of many of our most cherished creation myths around companies such as You Tube and Google suggests something critical for independent and international school administrators.  According to Dan Heath, co-author of Made to Stick and a Fast Company columnist, "It's not enough to have the value of their work, we also want there to be a really compelling story" (said about the You Tube creation myth).  

Heath's statement resonates for schools.  It's not enough to have the value of an independent education, as evidenced by whatever indicators your school associates with its mission, prospective parents (and students) have to respond to your story.  Maybe not so much the creation story, though many schools have great ones, but more the story of how your school makes the world a better place through its students.  The irony is that many dot-coms have to burnish (not to say embellish) their stories, while the vast majority of independent schools already have good ones.  They just don't tell their story in a compelling way.