What makes a good business story?

Ask most people what makes a good story and you’ll hear familiar answers.

It needs to be memorable.
It should create emotion.
It should inspire action.

All true, but also not enough.  Because those are the outcomes of a good story, not the reason it works.

At its core, a good foundational business story does something more fundamental.
It reduces cognitive load. 

And that reframes the critique.

Instead of asking whether a story is compelling or inspiring, a more useful test is this:  Does it make it easier for people to know what to do?

From that perspective, strong business stories tend to share a small number of underlying characteristics.  Not as a checklist, but as lenses leaders can use to assess whether their story is actually doing its job.

1. A good story creates orientation

From story theory, one of the primary functions of story is sensemaking.

In uncertain environments, humans use story to answer:

• What’s going on?

• What matters here?

• How should I act?

For organisations, this is crucial. It gives people a mental shortcut for decision-making.  It answers questions before they need to be asked.

If your story doesn’t make choices clearer, it isn’t doing its job.

2. A good story is defined as much by its limits as its ambition

Most organisations describe what they stand for.  Far fewer are clear about what they won’t do.

But stories only become believable when they introduce constraint.

In story theory, tension exists because something is excluded.  Not everything is possible.

Strong business stories:

• make trade-offs visible

• give permission to say no

• create coherence through focus

Without limits, story becomes aspiration, not guidance.

3. A good story shows up when things are hard

Stories aren’t tested in moments of success.  They’re tested under pressure.

When priorities collide.
When trade-offs hurt.
When the ‘right’ choice isn’t always obvious.

A good story doesn’t disappear in these moments, it becomes clearer.

It answers a simple but revealing question:  What do we do when this costs us time, money or comfort?

4. A good story is consistent enough to be trusted

People don’t need novelty from organisational stories.  They need reliability.

In story theory, repetition is what creates belief.  Not saying the same words - but reinforcing the same meaning through behaviour, over time.

Consistency isn’t boring.  In organisations, it’s how trust is built.

5. A good story lives in behaviour before language

Words matter. But they come second.

Stories become real when people can point to them:

• in decisions

• in priorities

• in what’s rewarded or challenged

If the story only exists in language, people will treat it as performance.

If it exists in behaviour, they’ll believe it.

A closing reflection for leaders

The question isn’t: ‘Is our story inspiring enough?’

It’s: ‘Does our story help people decide what to do, especially when things are unclear?’

Because the best business stories don’t just sound good.
They reduce friction, guide judgement, and bring coherence when things are messy.

And that makes story far more than a communications asset, but one of leadership’s most powerful tools.