Narrative Equity

Building, Borrowing, Sharing, and Spending the Value of Your Story

Today we look at one of the core components of building a strategic narrative for a company and or an executive. I call it Narrative Equity.

In our uncertain world, one asset remains uniquely yours: your Narrative Equity. Like financial equity, Narrative Equity is an investment you make in yourself. It is a resource that grows and compounds over time. It reflects the value of your experiences, expertise, and the meaning you bring to the table. It is an established value.

Years ago, I realized that investing in my narrative wasn’t just a concept; it was a necessity. Much like the compounding power of a financial portfolio, your personal narrative grows as you build, borrow, share, and spend it over time. In a future that demands adaptability and reinvention, your narrative equity is more critical than ever.

This concept holds true for a brand or an executive narrative. Here are two questions to consider:

Are you actively investing in your narrative, or are you letting someone else control it?

Do you have a grasp on the Narrative Equity you have built over time?

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NOW: Realization and Reflection for Today

The idea of Narrative Equity starts with a shift in mindset. Just as we’re encouraged to save for retirement, we should also invest in the story we tell about ourselves, both to the world and to ourselves.

Yet, we must also consider the Narrative Equity we have generated throughout our career and life experiences. For a brand, it is the evolution of your offerings. For the executive, it is about what you have accomplished.

Here are four ways to think about Narrative Equity:

• Build: This reflects the creations or solutions you have built. An accomplishment that you can point to.

• Borrow: This reflects the equity you have borrowed by the company you have worked for. It is the company on your business card. It opens the doors and provides access.

• Sharing: This refers to how you are using your voice through writing, speaking, or teaching to increase your equity’s value. It could also manifest in the form of mentoring, leading, or volunteering.

• Spending: Think about how you are investing your narrative capital to open doors, influence others, and create impact. This comes down to being intentional with where and how you invest your time and your influence.

Reflection:

• Are you dedicating time, energy, and resources to actively build your narrative equity?

• What percentage of your income or time are you investing in yourself to enhance your learning, growth, and storytelling capacities?

Consider setting aside a percentage of your income, just as you would with financial savings to reinvest in your personal and professional development. This is compared to how a brand funds its marketing budget, usually by allocating a percentage of sales to build its brand and presence in the marketplace.

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NEW: Learning and Experimentation for Tomorrow

Investing in your narrative isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula. It requires experimentation and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone. Finding your true voice takes investment and time.

Here are three ways to amplify your Narrative Equity:

1. Conduct a Personal Audit

I call this understanding your prevailing Narrative. Do you know what your prevailing narrative is? We have created an Assessment for this very idea. It measures what you think your prevailing narrative is and asks six of your peers to share what they believe your narrative is. The gap can be fascinating. We see widely divergent perceptions and we completely aligned agreements for what someone’s narrative is.

2. Reinvest in Learning

Dedicate a portion of your resources to personal development. This could include courses, coaching, wellness, or even tools like The Narrative Playbook. Treat it as your “personal R&D budget.” Brands have R&D budgets that are used to innovate their future states. Technology company's R&D budgets can be as high as 25% of revenue.

3. Share Your Story

Write, speak, or teach about your experiences. Sharing your narrative not only reinforces its value but also opens doors to collaboration and influence. Most importantly, it invites a dialog to occur.

Ask yourself:

• What new habits or tools can you adopt to enhance your Narrative Equity?

• Where can you share your story to amplify your impact?

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NEXT: Vision for Future Possibilities

The future belongs to those who can adapt and continuously reinvent themselves. In this context, your Narrative Equity isn’t just an asset, it’s your differentiator. It is the one thing you can control, in a sea of uncertainty and unexpected riptides. This is about building a short-term personal brand, it is about building your narrative equity for the long game.

Imagine a world where your narrative is an engine for creating opportunities, not just reflecting on past accomplishments, like what a resume would convey. Where your ability to share your story with clarity and confidence positions you as a thought leader, collaborator, or changemaker.

You are truly a mosaic of your experiences. And, that extends beyond your LinkedIn profile or your CV or your resume.

This vision requires ongoing investment:

• Future-Proofing: In a world driven by AI and constant transformation, continuously evolve your narrative to stay relevant. Your SEO blue link is now going to become “sourced material” for Perplexity, ChatGPT, and other LLMs that are going to reference you in a different context.

• Compounding Impact: The more you build, borrow, share, and spend your narrative equity, the greater its return over time. This goes back to the value of investing in college tuition. Is it for the sheepskin or the contacts and friends you make for life?

• Driving Connection: Use your narrative to create authentic relationships and meaningful impact, extending its value to others. When you invest in connection, you are creating social capital.

Ask yourself:

• What does your narrative equity look like five years from now?

• How can you align your investments today with the story you want to tell tomorrow?

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Payoff: A Compounding Return on Narrative Equity

Investing in your narrative is a long game, but the returns are exponential. Compounding Interest creates financial wealth. Compounding Narrative Equity creates narrative wealth.

In the Now, evaluate where your narrative equity stands and commit to reinvesting.

In the New, experiment with ways to share and spend your narrative equity.

In the Next, leverage your narrative to drive impact, create opportunities, and leave a mark on society.

Narrative Equity is about more than storytelling—it’s about ownership, agency, and intentionality. It’s a resource that grows with every choice you make and every experience you embrace.

So, here’s your call to action: Treat your narrative like the asset it is.

Reinvest in yourself, amplify your story, and watch as the value compounds over time.

Know your current Narrative Equity. How will you grow it starting today?

The payoff is clear: you only grow your narrative equity by investing in it, like your 401K.

"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." - Albert Einstein

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Follow me on LinkedIn. Or DM at tobin@spatialshift.com for more information.

Make 2025 the year you optimize your story. If you want to learn how to build your narrative equity, book a free consultation with me, and let's consider the possibilities.

I am a Narratologist and my craft is to help others find and design their unique form of self-expression. For companies, it is about alignment around a Narrative Northstar and the mission to achieve it. For executives over 45, it is about owning your narrative equity and actively sharing or spending it. For movements, it is about generating visible narrative equity that inspires a call to action.