Dean Davison spoke to KC IABC about the transformation of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.

By Roy Harryman

“Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” – Ecclesiastes 12:12

That’s what Solomon wrote in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. And it summarizes how many of us probably feel about history. Especially presidential history.

I grew up in Lee’s Summit, was dragged to the library as a child and have walked past the Truman home in Independence. I think it was hot and I was thirsty. By adulthood, Truman had become background blah, blah, blah.

At our September event, communications consultant Dean Davison turned that sentiment on its head. As he demonstrated, a skilled storyteller can captivate, no matter the subject.

Story is central
The power of story has fueled the library and museum’s $30 million transformation. The project began in earnest in 2019, only to be hobbled by the pandemic and related supply chain issues. But now it’s 2022 and the doors are flung wide open to the public. Davison and library Director Kurt Graham told our KC IABC audience how storytelling is central to the new Truman.

Davison illustrated how stories could be told with the sparest of elements. An exhibit on the bombing of Japan featured two visual icons:

The safety plug (essentially the trigger) of a bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
An origami make by a Japanese woman who died from nuclear fallout complications.

That duality speaks a million words.

The commitment to story even lives in the words the Truman team uses to describe the “new and improved” facility. It’s not a remodel. Not a renovation. It’s a transformation. Words matter.

Davison & Co. knew they had to answer the question, “Why should I care about the Truman Library?”

Here are a couple of reasons:

Destiny led a scrappy farmer from Missouri to have a hand in redrawing the lines on the world map.
A visiting South Korean dignitary tearfully saluted Truman’s grave. Why the emotion? If not for Truman’s military intervention, the official would have grown up in the early version of today’s oppressive North Korea.

Making the most of a bad hand, the the team used the stop-start routine of the pandemic to crystalize these and other messages.

What has he learned looking back? Davison shared four key communication lessons of the Truman transformation:

Recognize reality.
Build goodwill.
Make it easy.
Have a great story.

He peppered his talk with some of Truman’s best-known sayings. And of course they were relevant to the presentation. Maybe they’ll inspire you as well:

“Make no little plans. Make the biggest one you can think of, and spend the rest of your life carrying it out.”
“Being a president is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed.”
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
“Do your best and history will do the rest.”
“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.”
“Fame is a vapor, popularity is an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow and only one thing endures – character.”

Roy Harryman is the principal of Roy Harryman Marketing Communications and is a longtime board member of KC IABC.