From Vitamin to Cure: Why Your Great Work Needs a Better Story

Last year, Experience Institute partnered with two remarkable leaders at a Fortune 500 company. Let's call them Maya and James. Maya has a rare gift for sparking creative energy even in the most analytical rooms. James turns those sparks into something tangible: comprehensive communication plans, clear timelines, budgets, and measurable outcomes.

With them, we launched a transformative leadership development program. The first cohort was buzzing with energy. Participants were taking on stretch assignments they'd never considered before, cross-functional collaboration was flourishing, and 100 percent of participants said that they'd recommend the program to their colleagues.

Then came the moment of truth: scaling beyond that first cohort. Despite having proof of impact in hand, their proposals to do so kept sliding down the priority list. To the powers that be, other initiatives always seemed more urgent.

The Program Wasn't the Problem

Maya and James had, with the help of our team, created something that addressed their organization's most pressing leadership challenges. They had the data. They had the stories. They shared both generously.

But they were communicating about the program like it was a nice to have, not a must have.

Their conversations probably went something like this: "The Leaps program exceeded expectations. We achieved 100 percent recommendation scores. People are stepping up with new confidence and collaborating across departments in ways we haven't seen before. We'd love to expand this opportunity to more teams."

The Shift from Vitamin to Cure

There's a fundamental difference between vitamins and cures. Vitamins support long-term health. They’re useful, but not urgent. Cures address pain that demands attention now.

And right now, that distinction matters a lot. With all the ambiguity we’re dealing with, organizations are scrutinizing every investment—and rightly so. The initiatives that move forward aren't just beneficial; they're solving problems the business can't afford to ignore.

If you're in HR, people operations, or talent development, you might be fundamentally changing how people experience work. You're likely improving retention, building critical capabilities, creating the culture that attracts exceptional talent. But if that impact isn't communicated as essential to the business, it risks being seen as expendable.

Consider how Maya and James could have reframed their success:

"You know our leadership pipeline challenge: 40 percent of our directors retiring within three years, with only 30 percent of mid-level managers ready to step up. In this first Leaps cohort, every participant took on stretch assignments. We promoted three people who weren't even on our succession radar. Without scaling this now, we'll be forced into external hires at 40 percent higher cost, not to mention the cultural disruption."

Your Story Matters More Than Ever

Whether you're advocating for program expansion, platform investment, or new employee initiatives, the principle remains: exceptional work requires exceptional storytelling.

This is precisely why Erin Murphy and I are heading to Houston for ATD's OrgDev Conference next month. We'll be facilitating From Vitamin to Cure: Communicating the Value of Your Work, a hands-on session using our Mosaic Model to help people-focused leaders articulate why their work isn't just valuable but vital.

Here's what I believe: When every initiative faces scrutiny, excellence alone isn't enough. You need to articulate why that excellence matters to the business, right now.

Because what you're doing does matter. The story deserves to be told well.

Get after it!

Editor's note: This article originally published on the Experience Institute website; https://expinstitute.com/blog/from-vitamin-to-cure.