The Key to Engagement is Narrative
Customer engagement, employee engagement, and supplier engagement are hot topics in quality management. We know that engagement (which is marked by rich interaction and involvement) is different than participation (just showing up). In the quality domain we don't typically distinguish between active participation and being a spectator.
Consumers can either participate or be engaged; prosumers are always engaged.
The key to achieving engagement is to develop a narrative. A hero's journey with one role specifically less defined, waiting for someone to step into its import, and in doing so - fulfill a slice of their own destiny. Companies like Storied exist specifically to help you craft a narrative - to sell a product, build a following, or start a movement.
As explained by novelist Justine Musk, engagement (from the perspective of how the concept can be used to become a better blogger) is this:
John Hagel makes the distinction between story and narrative.
1. Stories are...
Bad Metrics
It's one of the two times each year where people are dusting off their strategic plans, hosting their parties and strategy workshops, and making sure the KPIs and metrics on their scorecards are the ones they want to be watching in the next period.
But most people really aren't that religious about measurement systems, or tightly aligning specific actions with the needle they are most likely to move. The goal of "becoming data-driven" usually isn't accompanied by the discipline and perseverance to make it happen, even though the payoffs are huge.
And none of us are immune to bad metrics. Sometimes, a metric is just too emotionally enticing to give up.
I use one bad metric myself, and no matter how bad I know it is, I keep using it to evaluate (one dimension of) my personal value. PSA: It is never good to tie your worth as a human to a metric (any metric). Gen Z may have more luck than us Gen Xers on this one.
My bad metric, the one I can't emotionally detach from, is number...