Tell stories about a possible future

Climbing to the Clarity rung at the top of the Agency Value Ladder means dreaming big and telling inspiring stories about a possible future.

At the lower rungs, everything is about detail, process, skills, talent.

On the top rung it’s about imagination, ambition, inspiration, and leadership.

You’re stepping up to take a proactive role in redesigning your little bit of the world.

And that means you need to lead with a powerful story about a better future.

Martin Luther King did not give a speech about how things are really bad right now but here are three practical things you could do next week. He set out a huge, inspiring dream for a better future.

JFK didn’t say space travel is pretty complicated, so let’s start small and build a few test rockets before the next election, then see how we go from there. He set out a big vision for an awe-inspiring end result.

Malala Yousafzai didn’t say education is great and all, but I understand budget constraints, so perhaps we could increase the number of children being educated by 10% in the next financial year, if that’s alright with you. She set out a compelling idea of a world where everyone receives education and things are just better.

Humans are blessed with wonderful imaginations.

We’re story driven.

The first task of a leader is to ignite our imaginations.

To picture a possible future.

To dream together of what it could be like to live in it.

To fire us up about how we might achieve it.

And only then can you begin to get people committing to this, and choosing to join you in taking action.

So, what is your agency’s big compelling story about the possible future in your market?

How are you going to inspire clients with it?

The first step towards sitting at the top of the Agency Value Ladder is showing people a new idea of what could be ahead.