Storytelling and Archetypes For Your Business

We tell ourselves all kinds of stories. The story of where you’ve been, where you’re going, who is going with you. Think of the cave drawings, the fairy tales, and the tales we embed in our daily conversations. So it’s not a huge stretch that we create stories about our businesses.

Some of our stories are fantasies-working with the uber-ideal client or having people get so excited about our ideas that they take on a life of their own.

Some of our stories are myths. Not that they are blatantly untrue but more like Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth where we try to get our heads around something profound and mysterious. Myths contain archetypes which are symbols of  or examples of types . We need the archetypes to make sense of our lives. Archetypes like villains, beasts, and heroes capture truth and illuminate how we can understand ourselves on a deeper level.

When it comes to running a small business, there is no shortage of archetypes. Here are a few:

• The ”I’m busy” small business owner This archetype is the one where the business owner works mega-hours and is busy all the time doing stuff. Some of the stuff makes money, some of it doesn’t. All of it is stressful and out of focus
• The Henny Penny small business owner You know this person. He or she can sound very much like the children’s story in which an acorn falls on the chicken’s head and she is sure the sky is falling. Without much thought or planning, this small business owner is running around in a panic. Everything is a drama and all of it a crisis.
• The Nerd Technically proficient, even awe-inspiring about how much he or she knows about his or her product, services, and the intricacies of the technology. However, this small business owner can struggle with the business side with the administrative, financial, and personnel tasks.
• The Entrepreneur Creative, larger than life and exotic with all of their ideas and high energy. This archetype is a mixed bag though. On one hand, the passion and creativity are essential to keep one’s business fresh, interesting, and responsive to the market. On the other hand, this person can become too enamored with continuously developing new ideas and lead the company in too many directions at once.
• The Wise Elder This can have less to do with age. It’s more about experience. This business owner makes  it look smooth and sophisticated. They can be generous with mentoring newer business owners. They develop new initiatives with their business while also maintaining a stable foundation for their business. They may also qualify as a Guru and be sought after by trade organizations or media to speak about their expertise.

Most of us have taken on any of the archetypes at one time or another. They are simply part of the experience of being a business owner and they help us understand our story. Leading a business is an expression of ourselves. The ways we interact with others, our philosophy of life, and how we use self-awareness are incorporated into our story. With such big themes, it makes sense for us to inhabit an archetype.

What archetype are you inhabiting right now?

Which one would you add to the list and why?