If your male and of a certain age you almost certainly spent some of your formative teenage years glued to the screen immersed in one or more of the original Star Wars trilogy. Even if you didn’t have a plastic light sabre, own a brown dressing gown with a hood or attach Chelsea buns to the side of your little sister’s head, you’re almost certain to be able to remember the core Star Wars story at some level.
It recently struck me that whilst the work world I currently inhabit (strategy development) seems a long way from my teenage world of all things Star Wars, there are some striking parallels, and there are some genuine lessons that can be learnt from looking more closely at the wizardry of George Lucas and friends.
At the heart of the success of the Star Wars trilogy is a great, well told story that you can interact with at a number of different levels, regardless of whether you are an obsessed teenager consuming all things Star Wars or one of the slightly more “normal” majority just looking for a bit of light entertainment. Whilst as business professionals we are unlikely to possess the creative genius of a George Lucas or have a raft of Hollywood special effects at our disposal to bring our strategic stories to life, I believe there are some key Stars Wars elements we should seek to emulate in creating great strategies:
1. Follow the rules of great narrative structure
- Clearly set the scene/highlight the problem (Darth Vader led Empire is close to completing the Death Star and finally defeating the Rebel Alliance)
- Be crystal clear about the ultimate goal you want to achieve (defeat Darth Vadar and the Empire)
- Highlight the key issues and challenges that need to be addressed along the way to achieve the ultimate goal (Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Luke Skywalker, locate plans for the Death Star, find a way to get on board the Death Star, destroy the Death Star)
2. Make your brand/business the hero and inspire your team/organisation that they have what’s needed to win
- Provide a realistic but inspiring assessment of your brand/business’s competitive advantage (“the Force”)
- Pinpoint your competitors weaknesses (Death Star is more powerful but inflexible against a speedier and nimble Millenium Falcon)
3. Use powerful visual and verbal language and structures to engage your audiences
- Memorable, pithy, call to action language (“may the force be with you”)
- Key characters/players in the strategy landscape expressed through well understood archetypes (Han Solo = the everyman hero, Yoda/Obi Wan Kenobi = the Wise Sage)
- Clear and strong visual metaphors (Darth Vadar’s black cloak and hood)
- Use of a range of non-verbal devices (John Williams’s theme music, R2D2’s droid language, Darth Vader’s breathing)
One of the biggest challenges we all face getting our strategies to truly drive our businesses and brands forward, is engaging and inspiring our teams and communicating our well considered strategies with crystal clear clarity. Maybe Yoda’s book of strategy is unlikely to be hitting the shelves any time soon, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons to be learned from a galaxy far, far away. May the force be with you next time you’re building your strategic plan!
Steve
