Histories
History is storytelling at its most meaningful.
If my office were on fire and I could only save one item from my portfolio, it would probably be Building Bridges Across Time: A History of California Pacific Medical Center. I first researched and wrote this little book in the mid-1990s, then updated it three times over the years as other hospitals have joined the CPMC family. Vanity isn't what makes me love the Bridges history; I love it because the story matters.
A corporate history should make sense of what happened.
At first glance your history may resemble a series of unrelated events: this happened, then this, then this. Only a closer look reveals the patterns, trends and highlights.
The history of California Pacific Medical Center is the story of non-profit healthcare in San Francisco, which in turn is the story of human suffering and how individuals have stepped forward and persevered to relieve it. Your corporate history should find the meaning in your own predecessors' experience, your own work today, and your hopes for the future.
I love articulating an organization's history. I love helping people pull out all the scattered pieces of their jigsaw puzzle and put the picture together. When the last detail falls into place, a light goes on illuminating not just the faces and events of the past but why and how they made a difference.
- Read the Table of Contents to Building Bridges Across Time.
- Contact me to talk about your organization's history.
A corporate history should bring people together.
Nothing unites like a shared experience. Your corporate history is a gift to your employees, board members, and other stakeholders (customers, members, patients, students, faculty). If your organization is in crisis, history provides perspective. If you've had a merger, history shows people what they have in common. If change is coming, history braces them for it. A well-crafted corporate history inspires loyalty without sermons, and hard work without the need for carrots or sticks.
The human spirit can accomplish almost anything as long as we stick together. That's the lesson behind every great organization, yours included. We learn this in kindergarten; it's nothing new. What can transform it into a page turner, and a community builder, for your stakeholders are the unique milestones and personalities that make the story their own.
- Read a chapter from Building Bridges Across Time.
- Contact me to talk about your organization's history.
To learn more about my services to use history to tell your story, please contact me directly.