Written by Paige Fowler, 10/09/2025

Every CFO and FP&A leader has faced it: the painstakingly built budget that nobody follows. It’s not that the numbers were wrong. It’s that the story was missing.

Numbers by themselves don’t inspire action. They can tell us what happened, but they rarely answer why it matters or what to do next. And if your people don’t believe in the story behind the numbers, they won’t believe in the plan that follows.

That was the central theme of our recent webinar, where Heather Cole and Michael Bernaiche shared how storytelling, backed by AI and the right technology, can transform how organizations align around strategy.

Why Numbers Alone Fall Flat

Most finance professionals can scan a spreadsheet and instantly spot an error. But the rest of the organization isn’t wired that way. When you walk into a meeting and drop a slide filled with percentages and variances, it may be accurate, but it doesn’t move people to act.

Without a clear narrative, departments don’t feel ownership of the numbers. Leaders don’t connect the figures back to strategy. And execution becomes slow, fragmented, and reactive.

The truth is simple: when people believe the story, they will follow the plan. Research from Harvard Business Review shows that storytelling engages people’s emotions and memory in a way raw data alone cannot.

Turning Budgets into Narratives

So how do you make your numbers resonate? Heather introduced two frameworks every finance leader should know.

The first is the Red Thread, outlined by Tamsen Webster in her book The Red Thread: Make Your Big Ideas Irresistible (https://a.co/d/2oFxTfp) . It’s a five-part storytelling structure that begins with the goal, identifies the problem in the way, states the undeniable truth, introduces the change required, and then outlines the action steps. It’s simple, repeatable, and designed to make people see themselves in the story.

The second is the Hero’s Journey, described by Michael Hauge in Storytelling Made Easy (https://a.co/d/aX2pJBK). This is the same framework behind most blockbuster movies, from Star Wars to The Lion King. By casting your business as the hero navigating obstacles, allies, and breakthroughs, you create a narrative that your teams want to be part of.

Both methods work, and with AI in your corner, creating them doesn’t have to take hours.

Where AI Changes the Game

Most finance leaders don’t have time to moonlight as copywriters. That’s where AI comes in. Used effectively, AI can become your storytelling coach, drafting executive-ready scripts, town hall messages, or board updates that follow proven narrative frameworks.

Heather demonstrated how simple prompts can generate powerful stories. Ask AI to “write an inspirational script using the Red Thread framework for a town hall,” and it won’t just summarize your financial results—it will create a narrative people can repeat. Add direction about tone and audience, and suddenly you’re delivering communications that feel more like a TED talk than a budget update.

The goal isn’t to let AI speak for you. It’s to get you 80% of the way there in minutes, so you can focus on refining the message in your own voice.

Technology That Keeps the Story Alive

Of course, the story is only half the equation. Once you have alignment, you need a system that allows departments to model what-if scenarios and see the impact of their decisions in real time.

That’s where Michael’s demo of IBM Planning Analytics came in. He showed how finance leaders can spin up sandbox forecasts—say, a “tariff plan”—without disturbing the baseline. Within minutes, you can model cost increases, adjust revenue assumptions, and see the effects cascade all the way through the income statement.

This is where storytelling meets execution. When department leaders can see how their choices connect to the company’s larger narrative, ownership starts to spread.

And if you or your team need a deeper dive into the functionality of Planning Analytics itself, we’re hosting a hands-on IBM Planning Analytics Workspace Admin Training on October 16 (https://lodestar-fpa.com/PAwTrainAdmin) . It’s a half-day virtual session where admins will learn how to use the latest features to modernize planning, run what-if scenarios, and manage the environment effectively. If your organization is still heavily in Excel or hasn’t fully explored PAW, this training will help you make the leap.

A New Cadence for Leadership

What Heather and Michael emphasized is that alignment doesn’t happen once a year at budget season. It’s a rhythm. Define the direction and the “why.” Tell the story in a way people can believe. Invite departments to own their part of the narrative. Model the impact of those choices. Then repeat—quarterly, even monthly—because the world is shifting too fast to rely on a single annual storyline.

On October 29th, we’re taking this conversation even further in partnership with Financial Executives International (FEI). Our next webinar, “If No One Owns the Budget, No One Owns the Outcome,” will focus on rebuilding accountability across the organization. You’ll learn practical frameworks for shifting budgets from a finance-only exercise into a true leadership cadence—where department heads own their numbers, lead with clarity, and drive results. This session is perfect for CFOs and finance leaders who are tired of budgets gathering dust after approval and want to transform planning into a culture of execution. Attendees will also earn 1.0 CPE credit.

Next Steps

If this resonates, here’s what to do:

• Watch the replay of our session: Replay › https://lodestar-fpa.com/fei-sept2025-replay
• Register for our IBM Planning Analytics Admin Training on October 16: Learn more & register › https://lodestar-fpa.com/PAwTrainAdmin
• Save your seat for our next webinar with FEI on October 29: Register › https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8217545031339/WN_tMZSDnysSvGFyoFjBDVVQQ

And if you’re ready to take this deeper, schedule a 20-minute strategy call with Mike Bernaiche. No demos, no sales pitch—just a conversation about how to get your organization believing in the story again, so they’ll follow the plan. Email Mike at mbernaiche@lodestarsolutions.com to schedule your free strategy call now.