User stories on steroids
The shift toward an "AI-powered" organization is often discussed in abstract terms—algorithms, data infrastructure, and efficiency gains. But how do executive teams truly envision what that future feels like on the ground? How do they step outside the current reality to design a desired state that is both radical and tangible?
At Narra, we believe the key to bridging this gap lies not in spreadsheets, but in imagination through AI-powered design fiction.
We recently had the pleasure of running this exact approach (prospective storytelling) with the executive committee of a major French media group, helping them carve out a new path forward. Our method transforms strategic planning from an analytical exercise into a creative, empathetic one. The result is a powerful visioning tool that delivers "user stories on steroids."
The Narra Method: From Strategy to Story
Our approach is designed to force clarity and stimulate radical thinking by utilizing Artificial Intelligence as a tool for accelerated, empathetic storytelling. It turns vague strategic inputs into vivid, debate-ready scenarios.
The Process in 6 Steps:
Collect Strategic Inputs: Gather all relevant data points, market analyses, and foundational strategic objectives.
Define Protagonists & Pain Points: Critically define the who (customers or internal users) and the what (their current frustrations or future needs). This is the crucial human anchor.
Outsource Storytelling to AI: Frame the objectives and inputs into powerful prompts for the generative AI, asking it to weave fictional narratives around the protagonists in the new, AI-powered future.
Adjust, Iterate, and Refine: The resulting stories are raw material. Teams adjust the outputs, iterate on the prompts, and deepen the context.
Read, Enjoy, Debate, Choose, and Decide: The team consumes the stories, debates the resulting fictional world, and identifies the most desirable scenarios.
Projection Meets Vision: This cycle repeats until the fictional projection perfectly aligns with the organization's desired strategic vision.
The Four Pillars of Fictional Strategy
Why does injecting fictional narrative into a highly rational, executive process work so well? Because it addresses four fundamental challenges in traditional strategic planning:
1. User Centricity
The stories force leaders to step squarely into the shoes of the customer or internal user. When the future is materialized through the eyes of 'Sarah, the editor' or 'Marc, the subscriber,' the discussion immediately shifts. Leaders are no longer debating technology; they are debating human experience. This ensures that the envisioned future is anchored in true user needs, not just technological capability.
2. Materialization
Abstract discussions about 'scale' or 'optimization' often fail to stick. This approach provides a necessary middle ground. The fictional stories create a tangible future—a document, a scene, a dialogue—that teams can easily debate, critique, and own. It makes the future real enough to touch, simplifying complex strategic negotiations.
3. Problematization (The Real Work)
Surprisingly, this process demands more rigor, not less. We found that approximately 70% of the work was completed before the AI generated a single word. Framing the question and defining the objective is far more critical than the answer itself. Working with AI requires precision: No pain to prompt, no gain to enjoy. If the contextual depth is missing, the projections will be irrelevant. The technology forces clarity on what you are trying to achieve.
4. “Freedom from the Know”
The biggest constraint on innovation is often what we already know. Fictional stories help us detach from the present constraints and trigger radical imagination. They introduce unexpected turns and combinations that a traditional brainstorm might overlook, allowing teams to fully embrace the radical, transformative power of new technology without being held back by "how things are done today."
If your teams are ready to move beyond the buzzwords and start picturing an imagined, desirable future—one that is empathetic, tangible, and truly transformative—we invite you to try this approach.
Ready to see your future in fiction? Feel free to reach out to Narra and start your visioning journey.