Consistency, cohesion, and coherencefour days beforeMy colleague Micah introduced me to this framing of different degrees of…The story of an opportunity

Triggered, intentional, and spontaneous coherence2021I’ve been chatting about organizational coherence with a few folks, and this…The challenge of coherence2021Part of my work involves spotting challenges across teams within Google. Over…While geeking out on this idea of coherence and possible mechanisms that bring coherence, I ended up in a fun rabbit hole of narratives as catalysts for coherence. There seems to be certain kinds of stories that somehow end up bringing people together, organizing them and the outcomes of their efforts into a coherent whole. Looking back at my experiences, the one that stood out was the story of an opportunity.

Finding the setting2022In the previous story, I talked at length about finding the setting,…Making sense of SWOT with customer-vendor loops2022When brainstorming entries for a SWOT analysis, it might be useful to…Generally, the story of an opportunity is a prediction of compounding returns. Such a story conveys a mental model of a compounding loop, along with a recipe (sometimes just a sketch) for reaping benefits off it. I use “compounding returns” and “benefits” here very broadly. It can be straight-up money. It can be gathering enough impact to get a promotion. It can be acquired insights, carbon emission reduction, the attention of others, or practically any tangible or intangible thing we find valuable.

A vision and a hallucination2022To be compelling, a vision must be posed as a solution. That…The story of an opportunity begins with describing the status quo in a way that’s resonant for the listeners. Then, it depicts the (boring/awful) future based on the status quo, setting up for the big reveal: the possibility of drastically different outcomes. This is the central moment of the story, the captivating twist in which the listeners acquire a mental model — how a change in their actions can lead to exponential returns.

Learning from the nadir2023I’ve talked before about traps: how to get into them, what they…At this stage of the story, the fork in the road is presented. Do the old thing and get old results, or do this other thing and get to ride the power of compounding returns. The story of an opportunity continues with plotting a path, helping the listener become convinced that taking the new path is plausible and perhaps even prudent. There’s usually a discussion of costs that might be high, but meager next to the predicted outcomes — and a conclusion that asks for commitment.

How to make a breakthrough2022Ever since my parents bought me an MK 54, I knew that…There’s something incredibly powerful about such stories. The glimpse of that mental model can be intoxicating and inspiring (and sometimes, ruinous). Growing up in the Soviet Union, I was prepared for linear outcomes: things will happen in this sequence, and then this will happen. It will all roughly be the same. Then, the iron curtain fell and the American Dream unceremoniously barged into my youthful mind. The movie that truly changed my life was The Secret of My Success, a bad movie that aged even more poorly. But back then, the cartoonish portrayal of riding a compounding loop of wit and circumstance was my fork of the road, followed by dramatic life-defining choices.

Steady winds, doldrums, and hurricanes2023It just so happened that this year, many of my friends and…Say it in many different waysthe same dayShared mental model spaces are challenging to grow and expand. Mental models,…The story of a threatlinks here, 2021Continuing my exploration of narratives that catalyze coherence, I would be remiss…The story of belonginglinks here, 2021When I try to examine stories of belonging, I notice something interesting.…The story of agencylinks here, 2021Just like the other catalyst story, the story of agency leans on…A story of an opportunity can act as a force of coherence in an organization. It can inspire people to come together and do amazing things, putting their hearts, sweat, and tears into the common goal. It is also just a story, and as such, can morph or be replaced by other stories, affecting coherence. The durability of a story’s power seems to reside in the accuracy of its prediction: how does what happens next reflect on our chances for riding the compounding loop? In an unpredictable environment, this accuracy diminishes quite a bit, making it more challenging to find a lasting story of an opportunity. Yet, it does seem like we collectively yearn for these stories, continue to look for them — and feel betrayed by them when the predictions don’t pan out.