Story + Integrity = Success
Picture it:
March 12, 1938 on the German / Austrian border.
German forces began their invasion of Austria, although they didn’t call it an invasion then. It was “The Anschluss”; an “annexation” born from a time time dating back to the unification of Germany in the late 1800’s which excluded Austria. German speaking Austrians felt they were separated from their fatherland and the Austrian Nazis and Third Reich later saw this as an opportunity to “reconcile” Germany into its fullest and best identity. This was their second attempt in 4 years.
Hearing of these events, a young radio announcer from North Carolina chartered a plane from London to Vienna to cover the unfolding events for the American public, as he was the head of European operations for CBS Radio. His name was Egbert. Don’t recognize him? If you DO know him, it’s by a different name, Edward R. Murrow.
Murrow saw the events in Europe starting to heat up and hired a group of correspondents to help him cover the escalating conflict for the people of America. Those correspondents became known as the “Murrow Boys”. Together, they changed journalism, but they also changed the world through the stories they told. It was later in his career that Murrow would go on to also hire a man named Walter Cronkite, a name you SURELY know and who would also go on to change the world with HIS coverage of another U.S. war, in Vietnam.
The accomplishments of Edward Murrow are too many to tell here, but ultimately his success can be summed up in two fields. First, he was an amazing storyteller. He was curious. He was passionate. His detail and description of what he saw happening around him was clear and precise. He knew the point he was trying to get across, no matter what the story, and he had a magical way of telling it. He knew the power of a story.
The second field contributing to Murrow’s success was his dedication to his personal integrity and that of the stories he told. In 1961, Murrow went on to become the Director of the United States Information Agency. No, not the CIA; The USIA, the official PR agency of the United States Government. It was his job to “... streamline the U.S. government's overseas information programs, and make them more effective". During that time, arguably one of the most important quotes he ever gave is as follows:
“American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful. … To be persuasive we must be believable; To be believable we must be credible; To be credible we must be truthful.”
If only they taught THAT in schools today.
Truth leads to credibility.
Credibility leads to believability.
Believability is the key to being persuasive.
Being persuasive, while telling YOUR Story, is the key to unlocking vast success in your business; and therefore, a healthy and prosperous bottom line.
