Story structure refers to an organized sequence of events the hero experiences on a journey of transformation. Structure is of crucial importance in storytelling for entertainment. In storytelling for business, structural elements are better thought of as story DNA.
The classic understanding of story structure was put forth by comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. Campbell examined myths from every culture – especially ones that had no communication with one another – and discovered a pattern that exists across all stories: the “monomyth.”
The monomyth has been adapted for modern screenwriting into what’s called “beat structure,” a good example of which is the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet. Snyder also created a new category of genres. Not typical audience-facing genres such as drama and comedy, but writer-facing genres such as Monster In The House, Whydunit, and Dude With A Problem. Within this context of writer-facing genres, Snyder found patterns of beats and tropes that further extend the value of his overall system. I’ve recommended his books on my resources page.
Snyder’s books on story structure are extremely popular. They are readable, fun, and formulaic… and that’s why some screenwriters disdain Snyder’s approach. To them, it seems more like a recipe, less artistic and sophisticated than the work of McKee, Egri, Truby, Yorke, etc.
However, in my opinion, the insight that writer-facing genres exist, and that story structure changes depending on those genres, is perhaps one of the greatest contributions to the world of entertainment storytelling since Campbell posited the monomyth.
You can and should think structurally when creating a business story, but you don’t need monomyth structure as much as you need to consider the best way to persuade whomever you want to persuade.