So you want to go on an journey?

Dear reader, welcome!

[!CAUTION] I note that you want landed on this book...

So I conclude that you are curious enough to take a look at this book.

Are you ready for what's next?

[!TIP] Let me tell you a story...

ok, let's go: Once unpon a time...

No, no, not like that!

Rather like this:

Imagine your workday.

You wake up, do your mroning routine, and then get to work: commute or at home.

Then your workday starts, and goes on until the end of the day.

Sometimes - in your workday - you do some isolated productivity. You work alone for some amounts of time. And that is fine, of course. Other do that as well. That's needed.

And then? And then, you also collaborate with... people!

[!NOTE] People - generally - do not bite...

You have, around you, various flavors of people.

Some people understand your work, some others don't.

Note that the same applies the other way around:

You understand some people's work, and for some others you just don't.

This is ok, I guess...

But then, it's hard to explain your work to someone who does not get it.

Also, it's difficult for them to explain what you just don't understand.

That's right: communication is quite a challenge.

So sometimes we let go, sometimes we just do not produce the effort. It is not always a question or lazyness or interest.

Either we don't explain better, or listen harder. Everyday, everywhere, this happens.

So we sometimes conclude that "people are not meant to understand each other". That maybe true.

But then what? Well, collaboration does not reach its potential. The "network" does not make all the connections. The outcome is then poorer and weaker than what we intended.

And there are many more repercussions...

So why not try? Why not? No, Let's try!

Well, it seems that since the dawn of humanity, people have told stories to each other. Right, storytelling.

We are lucky, intelligent people have decoded storytelling. But storytelling for novels, series, movies... Not for business, products, service, like in your workday with people.

Lean Storytelling is a methodlogy for people to better communicate on the workplace.

This way you can structure you stories in a way people understand it. Everyone understands stories, because they all read and watch films.

Let's use the same mechanics with people at work.

This way people will regain control on what they tell and what they listen to. People will better communicate and understand each other.

Then as a collective, or a team, or partners, we raise the bar.

Because the human potential is here, implicitly present in all of us. We just need master the craft.

And finally return home after your workday, knowing that everything is smoother.

[!IMPORTANT] Now satisfy your curiosity, and asnwer the call

Read the next pages now!

Lean Storytelling

Lean Storytelling is a structured technique for crafting clear, compelling stories—especially for business, product, and service contexts. It draws on best practices to ensure your audience understands, resonates, and remembers your message.

Why "Lean Storytelling"?

So that people communicate and listen, in a standard and proven manner, the way humans have told stories since the dawn of humanity, by giving and taking stories, living the feeling of adventure.

Who It Is Intended For

Lean Storytelling is designed for leaders and managers who want to be much more efficient in their business and tech communication style.

How This Works

Shape and structure your story, given the widely used, but implicit ingredients. Then deliver your story in any format or context.

People know how to "receive" a story, as they are used to "receiving" novels, series, movies... But people have difficulties to properly "send" stories by respecting the untold, implicit secrets, that humanity has used since forever.

Key Characteristics

A practical set of recipes and templates to shape your story
Easy to learn, but challenging to master—requiring practice and iteration
Designed for business, product, and feature development (not for screenwriting or novel writing)
Applicable from early-stage empathy and problem discovery through to delivery, testing, and communication
Helps align teams, reduce friction, and clarify the "why" behind your story
Inspired by Lean Canvas, the Monomyth (Hero’s Journey), and The Golden Circle
Rooted in Agile, Lean Startup, Design Thinking, UX research, and entrepreneurship
Intentionally simple, minimalist, and systemic in approach

Core Principles

Start with the basic story ingredients
Add details to thicken the plot
Polish with the finishing touch
Continuously test, learn, and adapt based on feedback
Refine your story to its essence
For advanced storytelling, use the Extension Pack
This method is lean and agile, tailored for business—not generic storytelling

What Lean Storytelling Is

Overview of the Playbook

Core Principles:

Start with the basic story ingredients
Add details to thicken the plot
Polish with the finishing touch
Continuously test, learn, and adapt based on feedback
Refine your story to its essence
For advanced storytelling, use the Extension Pack
This method is lean and agile, tailored for business—not generic storytelling

Transformation of a hero

They key to storytelling is the hero.

[!NOTE] They key to storytelling is the hero.

The hero is the central piece of the story.

You already know it, but the hero is here, and there is a start.

The hero feels and hears a call.

A call for an adventure.

This adventure is long, risky, dangerous.

But the hero will come back.

The hero will face antagnisms or antagonists.

The hero will undergo antagnisms like a huge tsunami, or an earthquake, or a huge meteorite.

The hero will confront antagonists like a secret villain with a masterplan to rule the world.

But then the hero will suffer, and search a way out.

The hero will find something and fight hard.

There will be lots of progress and then other issues.

But the hero makes it.

The hero somehow wins over the darkness.

There is this something.

This something that the hero finds, and works on, and finnaly masters.

The hero comes back with that something.

This something is a tool or object, or a new power or a new trick, or a learning or knowledge or wisdom.

Maybe the hero returns with all of that.

That's a story, that is the structure of a story.

And the hero starts somewhere ordinary, and comes back with something more.

The hero transforms.

Look up in this text, I started with:

[!NOTE] They key to storytelling is the hero.

Let's change that and adapt it better.

[!TIP] They key to storytelling is the transformation of the hero.

Cycles, movements, and waves

So the hero is central to the story, so is the transformation that the hero eundgoes.

[!IMPORTANT] Hero - Transformation

The hero transforms, because of the fight, the many failures, and the final resolution of the antagonism.

The hero learns.

But look at how a story is "written" and told.

The story is about a hero who has a problem and resolves it.

But during this whole story, there are many little hurdles.

The same way the hero has one big problem in the story, the has smaller problems during the story.

So there are stories inside a story.

The hero will prevent the meteorite from destroying the earth:

But the hero needs a rocket which is not ready yet
And the hero needs to assemble a team, but some mates are just not good
Also the hero has not enough fuel, and the missiles are not powerful or precise enough

Each of these are insider stories.

But there is a bigger epic, and the story is part of it.

Look as this story:

Let's destroy the Empire! But first let's learn the Force and destroy the Death Star Then, master the Force and save your friends. Finally, destroy and the second Death Star along with the Emperor...

So there are stories, and stories inside stories, and groups of coherent stories.

Build Your Story

Story Building

1. Basic Story

Setup the mandatory bricks.

Foundational Elements:

Target: The user or buyer—the hero of your story, the one who experiences transformation.
Problem: The challenge or antagonism your target faces.
Solution: Your offering (keep it concise; avoid over-explaining).

2. Detailed Story

Enrich with necessary information.

Enhanced Elements:

Target
- Empathy: What the target sees, feels, hears, and says.
Problem
- Consequences: How the problem impacts the target’s daily life, the pain that is felt.
Solution
- Benefits: The tangible advantages your solution provides.

3. Full Story

Finish your structure with valuable content.

Contextualized Elements:

Context: The environment in which the target operates.
Target (Empathy)
Problem (Consequences)
Solution (Benefits)
Why: The core motivation or guiding principle behind your story.

Basic Story

Setup the mandatory bricks.

Foundational Elements:

Target: The user or buyer—the hero of your story, the one who experiences transformation.
Problem: The challenge or antagonism your target faces.
Solution: Your offering (keep it concise; avoid over-explaining).

Target

Problem

Solution

Detailed Story

So you have your Basic Story

Foundational Elements:

Target: The user or buyer—the hero of your story, the one who experiences transformation.
Problem: The challenge or antagonism your target faces.
Solution: Your offering (keep it concise; avoid over-explaining).

Now let's enrich with necessary information.

Enhanced Elements:

Target
- Empathy: What the target sees, feels, hears, and says.
Problem
- Consequences: How the problem impacts the target’s daily life, the pain that is felt.
Solution
- Benefits: The tangible advantages your solution provides.

Empathy (with the Target)

Consequences (of the Problem)

Benefits (of the Solution)

Full Story

Now you have something close to a finished story...

Target
Empathy: What the target sees, feels, hears, and says.
Problem
Consequences: How the problem impacts the target’s daily life, the pain that is felt.
Solution
Benefits: The tangible advantages your solution provides.

Finish your structure with valuable content.

Contextualized Elements:

Context: The environment in which the target operates.
Target (Empathy)
Problem (Consequences)
Solution (Benefits)
Why: The core motivation or guiding principle behind your story.

Context (of the Story)

Why? (the outcome)

Assemble

Extend Your Story

Extension Pack

Extend Your Story

In case an option is absolutely needed, and you can't live without:

Optional Additions (use as needed):

Challenge: Pose an open question to engage your audience.
Quote: Validate the problem or benefits with a relevant quote.
Alternatives: Highlight unsatisfactory solutions the hero has tried.
Competition: Acknowledge competitors, but emphasize why your solution is superior.
Unfair Advantage: What makes your solution uniquely effective, and difficult to imitate.
Warnings: Potential pitfalls or risks.
Self-Benefits: How you also benefit from the solution.
Stages in AARRR: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue.
Call to Action: What you want your audience to do next.
Failure: Share a past failure or setback to build credibility and context.

Complex Story

Use with extreme care:

In one story:
- Use extension pack.
- Target multiple personas.
- Address multiple problems.
Blend story arcs:
- Merge stories with multiple common elements.
- Cross-over stories in the same timeline/universe.

Addons

In case an option is absolutely needed, and you can't live without:

Optional Additions (use as needed):

Challenge: Pose an open question to engage your audience.
Quote: Validate the problem or benefits with a relevant quote.
Alternatives: Highlight unsatisfactory solutions the hero has tried.
Competition: Acknowledge competitors, but emphasize why your solution is superior.
Unfair Advantage: What makes your solution uniquely effective, and difficult to imitate.
Warnings: Potential pitfalls or risks.
Self-Benefits: How you also benefit from the solution.
Stages in AARRR: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue.
Call to Action: What you want your audience to do next.
Failure: Share a past failure or setback to build credibility and context.

Complex

Use with extreme care:

In one story:
- Use extension pack.
- Target multiple personas.
- Address multiple problems.
Blend story arcs:
- Merge stories with multiple common elements.
- Cross-over stories in the same timeline/universe.

Polish

Deliver Your Story

Story Delivery

After you have finished structuring your story...

Story Sequencing

Deliver it in this specific order:

flowchart TD
    Context{{Context}}-->Target["`**Target**`"]
    Target-->Empathy([Empathy])
    Empathy-->Problem["`**Problem**`"]
    Problem-->Consequences([Consequences])
    Consequences-->Solution["`**Solution**`"]
    Solution-->Benefits([Benefits])
    Benefits-->Why{{Why}}

    classDef default fill:#f8f9fa,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8;

Formats

Adapt your stories to various constraints:

Text: ASCII, PDF, ODF
Images: PNG, JPEG
Videos
Hybrid: slidedecks, illustrated texts

Audiences

Specialise story to:

Stakeholders
Buyers
Investors

Audience

Audiences

Specialise story to:

Stakeholders
Buyers
Investors

Format

Formats

Adapt your stories to various constraints:

Text: ASCII, PDF, ODF
Images: PNG, JPEG
Videos
Hybrid: slidedecks, illustrated texts

Go Beyond Your Story

Beyond Storytelling: Test Your Assumptions

Beyond only telling stories, Lean Storytelling is a powerful tool that helps you refine your assumptions and hypothesis, your unique or key value proposition, and/or unique selling point, by iterating on what is convincing with feedback loops.

How is it used? From A to Z? What is it for? What's the goal?

Applications:

Describe Backlog, Epics, User Stories in Agile teams (Scrum/Kanban), helping to visualize expected outcomes
Test and get quick feedback on solutions or value propositions in customer interviews, supporting Lean Startup and Design Thinking
Sell products, features, services or solutions
Set the messaging, so you reach properly your target, and it's a win
Do clean and lean developer advocacy, by sending the signals the right way
Describe the experience you offer, with clear benefits

Benefit: Proper Storytelling synchronizes and aligns people.

How can I deliver the story?

A well-crafted story can be delivered in various formats:

Spoken: Podcasts, ads, videoconferences, videos, meetups, speeches, public speaking
Written: Blog posts, slide decks, tickets, social media, specs
Visual: Images, videos, schemas, drawings, infographics

What does "TopSol Playbook" stand for?

This is the old name for Lean Storytelling.

Playbook: Emphasizes practicality and avoids the term "framework"; it’s not an advanced storytelling technique.
TopSol: An acronym for the core elements:
- To: Target (the people or personas you’re addressing)
- P: Problem (the challenge they face)
- Sol: Solution (what you offer)

Where does it come from?

Lean Storytelling builds on established methodologies:

Lean Canvas by Ash Maurya (free online course)
Monomyth (Hero’s Journey) (Wikipedia)
The Golden Circle ("Why How What") by Simon Sinek (TED Talk)

What can I do to help?

Star this repository
Share within your networks
Ask questions or suggest improvements via issues
Submit patches or merge requests
Share your knowledge and experience
Test the alpha app and send feedback

Yes! Lean Storytelling is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). You are free to:

Share: Copy and redistribute in any medium or format
Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercially

Can you organize a workshop or a keynote?

Yes.

Workshop:

For up to 10 people
Duration 1.5 hours
Hands-on, practice hard, straight to the point, learn by doing, peer review

Keynote: 20 min or 40 min

Roots of humanity storytelling
Reverse-engineer Hollywood-style storytelling
Master the craft and art of business storytelling

Contact me via: LinkedIn

Can I get the Canvas?

Copy this file in your own drive: "Lean Storytelling Canvas TEMPLATE (please copy, do not edit)"

Ask me for the PDF, ODF, Docx versions

Ask me for Mural, Miro, Notion, etc.

Can an app help me write my own stories?

Yes, this is being coded under AGPLv3 license

Invent

Write stories, practice, test, validate.

Also help, pair, review, suggest.

Try new business ideas.

Test a new Epic on you agile program.

Use the mechanics of storytelling for your positionning and messaging.

Explore

Write stories, practice, test, validate.

Also help, pair, review, suggest.

Go outside the scope of only business, products and service.

Respect strictly the Lean Storytelling method... or NOT!

Change, blur, re-order, add an remove stuff...

Around the firecamp

So you have read the whole Lean Storytelling book.

Or only parts of it.

[!IMPORTANT] I have questions

How have you experienced it?

What have you learnt?

How has it inspired you?

[!NOTE] I am goign to tell you the truth now.

You, dear reader, you were the Hero of this Lean Storytelling book.

You were the center of the story I wanted to tell.

You felt the call of the adventure.

You invested time to read the book, try and fail, learn...

And come back with some more knowledge and know-how and somehow some wisdom.

In other terms, I have been user-centric ;-)

Now, I want, I need your feedback, your insigts, your thoughts.

More than that, other humans need you to understand and learn from you.

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Lean Storytelling