Narrative Strategy: Agile Storytelling

I was chatting with a colleague the other day — he leads innovation at a big utility company — and he was venting. Not about the tech (that part was working fine) and not about money (budget was approved). What was holding things up? People.

The technology was good to go. The funding was in place.
But the change just… wasn’t happening.

You could chalk it up to leadership dynamics, org design, or a general resistance to change. And sure, all of that plays a role. But what I saw was something else: a valuable innovation getting stuck. Not because it wasn’t needed — but because the story around it hadn’t landed.

It wasn’t a resource problem.
It was a narrative problem.

And honestly, sometimes the only thing that can keep a new idea afloat is the right story — told in the right way, to the right people.

Let’s Talk About Agile Storytelling

Agile storytelling, to me, is about matching the message to the moment. It’s not just about “selling” an idea — it’s about understanding what people care about and connecting the dots in a way that makes sense to them.

When change feels impossible, it’s often not because the idea is bad. It’s because people don’t see themselves in the story of that change.

And that’s where story-listening comes in. Not listening just to respond, but listening to understand. What do people want? What’s getting in their way? What are they actually worried about?

Let me go back to that colleague for a second.

He was leading the rollout of a new Advanced Metering Infrastructure system (basically, tech that gives you real-time info about energy use — super useful for reducing outages and improving service). From the exec level, it looked like an obvious win.

But the frontline crews? They hated it.

To them, it felt like surveillance. Like HQ didn’t trust them to do their jobs. One guy said, “We’ve been managing this grid for decades — now a computer’s gonna tell us how to do it?”

So instead of forcing the rollout, my colleague took a step back. He stopped pitching and started listening. He joined their meetings. Asked a lot of questions:

• What’s slowing you down out there?

• What’s something that would actually help, tomorrow?

• Where are the current tools falling short?

Then, at the next all-hands, he switched up his approach.

He didn’t lead with metrics. He told a story.

He talked about Maria — a field tech who had to drive 60 miles on a Saturday just to confirm a fault that this new system could’ve flagged remotely. He showed how the tech could cut down on weekend callouts, reduce burnout, and let them focus on the work that actually matters.

The tone in the room changed.
Not immediately, but you could feel it.

The system wasn’t the enemy anymore. It was support. Backup.
Something built for them, not imposed on them.

That’s what agile storytelling does. It meets people where they are.
It listens first, then invites them into a better version of the story.