Are You the Hero or Guide in Your Story?
Last weekend I had the pleasure of vacationing with my family as well as my wife’s sister’s family on a rock climbing trip to the City of Rocks National Reserve, nestled in a small town in Almo, Idaho. It’s world-class rock climbing on granite rock and there are hundreds of climbs rated from easy to extremely difficult. The best part is, it’s only a two-hour drive from where I live in Utah.
I’ve enjoyed rock climbing for several years since college, but I don’t get out as much as I used to. On this particular trip, I didn’t expect to do much climbing for myself but was able to help those in our group who had never had an opportunity to climb before.
The Hero vs The Guide?
In his writing, author Donald Miller talks about four key characters or roles we often play: the victim, the villain, the hero, or the guide. In this article, we’re going to focus on the latter two roles.
As a business, the ultimate role we can play is the guide. We want to “guide” our clients and customers toward a successful outcome, by “inviting” them into a story where they are able to play the hero. A successful outcome could be the purchase of a product or service your company provides in order to solve an internal or external problem your customer has – making your customer the hero.
Miller defines the hero as “the one willing to face their challenges and transform.” A hero can’t make it on their own, because they don’t know how. This is where the guide comes in.
In my example of rock climbing, I wasn’t looking to be the hero last weekend, but rather the guide empowering others to be the hero in their own story. During one key experience, my brother-in-law was climbing while I was belaying him from below. I could see his legs shaking as he slowly made his way up the rock, asking me over and over again to make sure the rope was tight.
I kept assuring him that there was absolutely no way he was going to fall and that he was safe. When he finally reached the top, I lowered him back down to the ground and I could tell he was excited as he looked back up toward the route he had just completed, “I can’t believe I just did that!”
It felt amazing to enable others to feel the joy and adrenaline I feel when climbing. I imagine the lively discussions their family had during their car ride back home talking about what it was like climbing and how scary it was.
We Are Not Meant to Be the Hero
When companies try to be the hero in their own story, they are completely missing the point. At Stories With Purpose, we always say that every company needs a brand story, but I’ve seen so many over the years that only talk about who they are and what they do. Even in your own brand story, you need to tell potential clients how your product or service can help them be the hero in their own story.
Instead of saying, “We provide this particular service…”
Try saying, “Here are 3 reasons why we provide this particular service…”
Put yourself in their shoes. What is the outcome your customers want to see by purchasing your product or service? How does it make them feel or what problem does it solve?
Your goal is to guide them toward making the best decision possible, which happens to be what your company offers in order to solve their problem, therefore allowing them to become the hero in their story.
Are you ready to be the guide in your customer’s story? We can help. Let’s get started today.
