Ayn Rand: The Power of Story
Only one article discusses Ayn Rand without discussing politics. You are reading it.
Assignment:
Philosophy 101. Choose any Philosopher below; spend ten minutes pondering the facets of their philosophy:
Socrates. Kant. Descartes. Aquinas. Hume. Sartre. Rousseau. Spinoza. Locke. Camus. Epicurus. Heidegger. Hobbes. Voltaire. Kierkegaard. Wollstonecraft. Berkley. Adorno. Thoreau. Abelard. Haraway. Chomsky. Dewey. Levinas. Lyotard. Hobbes. Augustine. Beauvoir. Schopenhauer.
Some recalled vaguely; others forgotten entirely. The question: why are their works disproportionately forgettable?
It’s not because of what is in their writing—it’s because of what isn’t:
STORY.
We are wired for story. Stories are teaching tools. Stories model values. Stories shape the future through lessons of the past. Stories are easily recalled and always remembered.
Stories are persuasion’s most powerful resource.
Case Study: Ayn Rand.
Atlas Shrugged; The Fountainhead, Anthem.
All fiction novels written by a philosopher who understands the maxim show, do not tell.
Show, do not tell:
“A technique used in various kinds of texts to allow the reader to experience the story through action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the author's exposition, summarization, and description”.
Ayn Rand presents her Philosophy, Objectivism, in action through fiction novels. She shows the effects of her beliefs.
Why is her philosophy so memorable?
The facts of her philosophy are presented through the power of story.
Regardless one’s opinion of Ayn Rand’s work, a reader’s understanding—and recollection—of Objectivism is unmatched among her contemporaries.
Philosophers gladly tell—Ayn Rand shows. Tell; we’ll forget. Show—we never do.
The leadership lesson is this.
STOP SELLING DATA.
Data alone: boring; forgettable. Uninteresting and more of the same.
It doesn’t matter how compelling the analytics of your proposition are. In a competitive field crowded with binary 0 and 1’s, your data set is lost in the mix.
STORY IS POWER.
For the insurance agent, don’t sell statistics of your firm’s “best in class” service; tell a story how you personally assisted a client—just like them—in a time of crisis.
For the non-profit organization, don’t dazzle us with numbers and statistics— tell a story of the profound impact a specific family has had through the non-profit’s work.
For the Pharmaceutical Representative, tell a story of the patient type who benefits most from your offering. When the Dr. sees the patient profile you describe, recollection of story will compel prescription behavior far more than the cold statistics of a package insert.
Present a memorable case study. Every time. This is your role: create compelling stories that connect your cause at a personal level.
We love stories. We loath statistics.
In a crowded field of philosophers, Ayn Rand doesn’t stand out because of the “rightness” of her views—it is the presentation of her views through story.
Story is the greatest weapon of the effective leader. Take your proposition and craft a compelling, memorable narrative around it.
Persuade through story.
Mark Joseph Huckabee
"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." – Ayn Rand
