HBR On LeadershipWhy Storytelling Matters When Changing Company Culture
Mar 4, 2026 · 31 min
Jay Barney, a professor at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, studied leaders who successfully led culture change and found one thing in common: they created and spread authentic and memorable stories. The new stories then emanated throughout the workforce and rewrote the old narrative. Barney explains the six rules leaders need to follow to drive cultural change with storyt…