I want to talk about something I reference constantly but haven’t fully demystified until now: the Story Lab Session.

I realize I talk about it a lot, and it probably sounds like this mysterious thing that happens behind a closed door and then you emerge with a five-year strategy and a sense of purpose and maybe a light emanating from your chest.

So let me pull back the curtain.

First: what it actually is

A Story Lab Session is a two to three hour, deeply facilitated conversation with me and your team that is both diagnostic and generative. We get really, really clear on where you are. And then we get really, really clear on what’s possible.

That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

Except it’s not, because what happens inside that container is something I’ve watched change organizations for years.

What we’re not doing

We’re not doing a strategic overhaul. We’re not building a plan for a hypothetical version of your organization that has double the staff and triple the budget. We’re not throwing the pie so far into the sky that nobody can ever reach it.

What we are doing is looking at your available resources and current operations including the zones of genius, the relational resources, the institutional knowledge, the real constraints, the real capacities, and building from there.

There’s this Bill Gates quote I love, something like: we overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in five or ten. That’s the energy. Properly estimated. Rooted in reality. Aimed at something big enough to matter.

The exhale

Here’s what I notice almost every time.

Somewhere in the middle of a Story Lab Session, the energy in the room shifts. People stop holding their breath. They exhale. Because they walked in thinking this was going to be hard,  and then we start taking stock of what’s already there, and they realize: oh. We actually have a lot.

That’s one of my favorite moments in this work. Every time.

What I’m listening for

I come into these sessions with questions designed specifically for that organization to get at: where are you now, what’s standing in the way, what’s facilitating things, what does your community need to hear from you, and who needs to be in the room for any of this to actually work.

I’m also listening for the founding narratives. The guiding stories. The things that drove people to this work in the first place and whether those are still the compass.

And I’m always listening for what can actually be done with what you have now, so that we’re not handing you a beautiful document that belongs to a different organization in a different universe.

The brief

After every session, I compile everything: what was shared, where the organization wants to go, what the challenges are, what I’ve seen work at organizations facing similar challenges (and we all, truly, have the same problems in different packages) and I weave it into a strategy brief.

Goal statements everyone is aligned around. Specific, phased recommendations. Real next steps that fit into real windows of capacity. The kind of thing you can pick up six months later, or two years later, and still know exactly what to do with.

I have partners who’ve used the same document for over five years. That’s what happens when strategy is built from genuine listening instead of imagination.

Who this is for

You might be ready for a Story Lab Session if:

You’re in an organizational transition. You’re heading into strategic planning. You have that felt sense of we’re not telling our story well or funders just aren’t getting what we’re actually doing. You’re hitting a milestone and you want to use it as a landmark — not just to celebrate, but to pause, reflect, and plan forward.

Or maybe it’s just the beginning of a year and you want to be on solid ground before you run.

Here’s the thing I keep coming back to

I cannot technically claim a Story Lab Session is magic.

But I can say that it creates the conditions for transformation. That the strategy that emerges from genuine understanding doesn’t get put on the shelf. That watching the before and after never gets old.

It’s not a massive overhaul. It’s not a reinvention. It’s what you already have, finally organized into something you can actually use.

That’s not magic. But it’s close enough.

---

Okay, let’s get serious about bringing story & strategy into your organization. Below are a few ways we can partner, and, of course, you can reach out if you want to collaborate in a remixed sort of way:

+ Story Lab Sessions: Tailored strategy mapping to chart your organization’s storytelling journey, followed by a comprehensive brief with guidance to implement the findings from our session. These sessions are perfect for organizations ready to take their first steps or needing focused guidance on specific initiatives.

+ Story Hour: Real-time support, guidance, and peer learning through a suite of trainings and regular calls. These group sessions provide ongoing support and practical insights for implementing storytelling initiatives in your organization

+ Customized Collaboration: Long-term, tailored support for comprehensive organizational transformation. We’ll work closely together to integrate storytelling deeply into your existing processes. This is designed for organizations looking for in-depth support designing, implementing, and learning from storytelling initiatives.

+ Intensives & Retreats: Individually designed intensives for your staff retreats and training blocks to engage your staff in a process that centers their experiences and connections to their work through story. Great for organizations looking for a unique, connective experience for their team.

Entangled Health can be in your ears, too! Listen to the show wherever you tune into podcasts.

---