In the English folktale, Jack
and the Beanstalk, young Jack trades his mother’s milk cow for a handful of
“magic” beans. When he tells his mother what he’s done, she angrily throws the
beans on the ground and sends Jack to bed without his supper. Next morning they awake to find a gigantic
beanstalk reaching to the sky. This will become Jack’s pathway to finding
riches, success, and living happily ever after.
Magic beans are like that. They can perform a similar magic
for your business, if you know where to find them. In the original folktale, the
magic beans come from an old man who meets Jack and the cow on their way to
market. In the business world, you find can them in stories told by your
employees, co-workers, and clients.
Getting to know your customer’s pain points can be a source
of magic beans. So can understanding the ways that your organization has dealt
with failure, success, and those all-important, should-we-go here-or-there forks
in the road.
So make it a habit to listen. Probe. Listen some more. And when you find those magic beans, don’t
throw them on the ground the way Jack’s mother did. Cultivate them. Nurture
them. Plant them deep in your organization. Turn your magic beans into narratives that capture who you are and become the foundation of your company’s
brand.
