Park Howell's Recent LinkedIn Posts

I guess I'm feeling old. I was astonished by the reaction to The Wall Street Journal article about companies desperately seeking storytellers. Talk about clickbait. To me – a guy who'se been training corporate leaders on storytelling since 2010, – it was old news. (The emdashes are mine alone) So why the uprising? Then, last week, I read Carmine Gallo's article in Fast Company on how to use the neuroscience of storytelling to be memorable. He pointed to important research by the likes of Paul J. Zak, Uri Hasson, and John Medina, author of Brain Rules, a fabulous book on how we process info through story. Been there, done that. I whined to my StoryCycle Genie™ co-creator, Sean Schroeder, about why all of the current ruckus around storytelling ideas I learned 20 years ago. He said something to the effect of, "Man, you've been doing storytelling for so long that maybe it's coming back into vogue." Ouch! So I took the Fast Company article and applied the old, time-tested storytelling science to modern technology of AI (artful intelligence), and here's what I learned: • Yes, the neuroscience of storytelling is more important than ever, because stories are how we absorb information and decode meaning, especially now that we're overwhelmed with content. • The principles of storytelling have not evolved over 70,000 years, but the storyteller has. • Gen AI is no match for your innate human storytelling powers, but becoming intentional about how you tell your stories is how you overcome the halitosis of bot breath. What do you think? Is what is old new again: storytelling? Let me know below. Oh, and I've dropped the link to my article, Why Stories Ensure Your Brand Stays Top-of-Mind, in the comments: #StoryOn! #CorporateStorytelling #LeadshipStorytelling #Neuroscience #BrandStorytelling #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

I was legitimately nervous. John Bucher, PhD—Executive Director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation—was about to experience the StoryCycle Genie®. The AI platform guided by my Story Cycle System™ inspired by Campbell's Hero's Journey. What if he thought I'd bastardized the framework? What if he dismissed it as just another marketing gimmick? Instead, John said something I'll never forget: "Campbell would be delighted with all the different places his work has found application. I'm already a big fan of the model you've created for the business world, Park." Then I ran his "Telling Better Stories" brand through the platform. His reaction? "I was sort of blown away at how accurate it felt." But here's what really got me: "These brand archetypes... they connected with me on a deeper level than just identifying that maybe I'm an introvert or extrovert." This is powerful validation from someone who literally oversees Campbell's legacy. (Spoiler: He discovered strategic insights about his own brand story he'd been too close to see.) Here's the full article. I've also included a link to the conversation we had on The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast this week in the comments below. #StoryOn! #Storytelling #BrandStrategy #HeroesJourney #JosephCampbell #Marketing #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Most people are shunning AI as fake. I'm reframing it as artful. My dad loved the old Smuckers slogan: "With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good." He thought it was clever that the Smucker family knew their brand name was so lousy they'd better make great jam. Last Thursday, driving back from Bay City, Texas—ten hours on the road and in the air after training the South Texas Project nuclear team—I kept thinking about another lousy brand name. Artificial Intelligence. For the most exciting technological leap of our era, could they have picked a label that sounds colder, more mechanical, or just plain fake? So I mashed up the Smucker's brand with AI to create the image below. Frowning strawberries. Soulless instead of Seedless. Existential Jam. Because that's what Gen AI delivers, isn't it? The shadow side of "artful"—sly, slippery, devious. The Trickster archetype brought to digital life. Hallucinations. Slop. Brand voice whiplash. Trial-and-error time sinks that waste hours. No wonder people are shunning it. But the word "artful" has two opposite meanings. The Shadow: Cunning, deceptive. The artful dodger who tricks you. The Light: Creative skill and mastery. The ancient Greek techne—craft, skill, and art united. Same word. Opposite archetypes. Different futures. At 2 a.m. the next morning, it hit me: What if we stop shunning AI and start transforming it? From artificial to artful. From the Trickster to the Sage. From replacement to extension of your humanity. That's why we built the StoryCycle Genie®, to transform AI into artful intelligence to amplify your brand's humanness. Classical storytelling wisdom that serves your excellence. Millennia of proven narrative structures—ABT narrative framework, the Story Cycle System™, the hero's journey—enhanced by modern precision. Tom Schwab 🏴‍☠️, founder of Interview Valet, experienced this shift: His custom GPT? The Trickster—hallucinations, endless editing, content that didn't sound like him. The StoryCycle Genie®? "I was in awe. You made me sound smart, and you made AI sound like my brand. I saved 4 hours and got a far superior product." That's what happens when you transform the trickster schmuck into the artful sage. Most people see that Artificial Intelligence jar with frowning strawberries and Existential Jam and think, "Yeah, that's why I'm avoiding AI." I see it and think, "That's why I'm transforming it." Because you no longer have to rely on a brand with a name like artificial intelligence, hoping it's good. You can choose artful intelligence. It's pretty sweet. Full article exploring the shadow vs light archetypes of AI in the comments below. #StoryOn! #ArtfulIntelligence #StoryCycleGenie #AITransformation #BrandStorytelling #ABT #AgencyLife #ContentStrategy #MarketingInnovation #Techne #StorytellingMastery

How well-known are you? Not the famous kind of known. But known to a specific audience for solving their problem in a unique way. Because Joe Pulizzi shared an alarming reality on this week's The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast: He believes you have 12-24 months before building a discoverable human audience becomes nearly impossible. Joe—the guy who coined "content marketing" back in 2001—says 99% of content today is AI-influenced. Instagram, for example, can't keep up with the flood. And synthetic content is about to drown out anyone who hasn't built their following. AI is not something to fear. It's something to act on, now. Joe is using it as his co-CEO, health coach, and financial advisor. The question isn't whether to use AI. It's how to use it while becoming "Vinyl in a streaming world," he says. What You'll Learn From Our Conversation: • Why being known is your competitive moat when AI dominates content creation. • The vinyl strategy—becoming the 1% that builds loyal audiences craving authentic human connection. • The 30-minute daily AI practice that gives you a decided advantage over those still on the sidelines. • How to find your "tilt"—that one thing you're exceptionally good at that cuts through the noise. • Why he stopped a 527-episode podcast to focus on ONE thing (and what that teaches us about strategic focus). This isn't theory from someone watching from the sidelines. Joe built Content Marketing Institute. He founded Content Marketing World. He's written seven bestselling books. He has 80,000 newsletter subscribers and personal relationships with thousands of them. He just released his new book, Burn the Playbook, for his kids entering the workforce. It challenges everything we've been told about college, careers, and retirement. And he's saying: The window is closing. Build your audience NOW. Hear how: https://lnkd.in/gC4w8bmR #StoryOn! #CreatorEconomy #ContentMarketing #AI #AudienceBuilding #JoePulizzi #BusinessOfStory #StoryCycleGenie #ThoughtLeadership #PersonalBrand

Ever see Steve Martin’s bit where he tells a story about fixing a Finley Sprinkler Head with a Langston 7" wrench—assuming he’s talking to a room full of plumbers? The punchline? There’s not a plumber in sight. It’s a hysterical example of missing your message market match, which in real life is no (ahem) joke. Is your message landing with the buyers who matter most? That’s why I sat down with Charles E. Gaudet II, CEO of Predictable Profits®. Yahoo Finance calls Charles "The CEO Whisperer" because he's helped entrepreneurs generate over $100 million in revenue by mastering one thing: message market match. Tune in to discover: • Why most founders are only 60% right about their ideal customer (and how to fix it). • How to make lead generation effortless by speaking directly to your super consumer. • The secret to escaping the founder’s trap and building a business that doesn’t depend on you. If you’re ready to unlock predictable growth with stories that truly convert, this episode is for you. I've dropped a link to our conversation in the comments below. #StoryOn! P.S. How strong is your message market match? Find out for free with our Brand Story Grader at StoryCycleGenie.ai (see below). It can be the first step to accelerating your growth. #BrandStorytelling #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #PredictableProfits #Marketing #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

I don't take my client-given title lightly: The World's Most Industrious Storyteller. Recently, Jimmy Douloumbakas had me tell my story – warts and all – on his Founders Journey Podcast. I’ve spent decades helping brands grow by 600% through the power of narrative. But here’s what most people don’t see: the failures, the pivots, and the lessons that shaped my journey as an entrepreneur and leader. Jimmy had me open up about the real stories behind my success—what worked, what didn’t, and how storytelling became the engine for my business and my life. If you’re a founder, executive, or anyone leading through uncertainty, these lessons are for you. 👉 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gBMX9eFP Or listen to our conversation in the link I dropped below in the comments. What are some of the trials and tribulations you have gone through as a founder? Leave me a comment and let me know. #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytellling #LeadershipStorytelling #Sustainability #Sales #Marketing #StoryCycleGenie #StoryCycleSystem #ABT

Your agency’s story has 60 seconds to live. Most don’t make it. If you’re still telling your brand story the way you did last year, you’re already losing ground. In a world where every agency claims “creativity” and “strategy,” only the ones who master narrative structure actually break through—and win. That’s not theory. It’s the hard truth I unpacked with Kate Volman on her fabulous new podcast, “Create for No Reason”. We didn’t just reminisce about the old days of advertising. We tackled the real reason most agencies’ stories die before they ever get a chance: they’re built on intuition, not intention. We dug into the story structures that separate agencies that get scrolled past from those that get remembered. The ABT (And-But-Therefore) structure. The Story Cycle System®. And, most importantly, how to test your story’s strength in minutes—not months. Most agencies think more words = more impact. But your audience decides in seconds if your story is worth their time. That’s why I’m proud of the StoryCycle Genie® Brand Story Grader. It’s not another “branding tool.” It’s a mirror that shows you—instantly—where your narrative is strong, where it’s weak, and how to fix it before your next pitch, campaign, or client meeting. We put Kate's brand through the Genie. In minutes, she saw exactly what was working and what needed work. Imagine giving your team (and your clients) that kind of clarity—before you invest another dollar or hour in content. Look, you have one shot to make your story stick. Your next client is judging you by your story, not your credentials. The agencies that win are the ones who can tell a story that survives the scroll. Ready to see if your agency’s story can survive the first 60 seconds? Watch our conversation via the link in the comments below. If you do nothing more, at least look at your agency's homepage. Is it all about you, or is it all about your customers with a welcome that follows the ABT framework? (We built an ABT for Kate live on her show). #StoryOn! #CreativeCuriosity #BrandStorytelling #BrandDevelopment #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

When I ran my agency, Park&Co, for 20 years, this was always the first question I'd ask new clients: "Who is your customer?" Three out of four times, they'd say, "Well, everyone can use our (insert product or service here)." "No, they can't," I'd state. I'd point to the Pareto Principle and suggest that approximatley 80% of their revenue was being generated by 20% of their customers, who were typically identified as their number one audience. They'd push back until they went and looked at the numbers. Most founders think their story should appeal to everyone. But when you try to reach everyone, you end up connecting with no one. On this week’s The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast, I sit down with Lee Schneider, founder of Red Cup Agency. Lee's an award-winning podcast producer, USC professor, and master storytelling coach whose credits include Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, and the History Channel. Lee shares: • How to find the right story for your audience • The three essential stories every business needs • Real-world ways to test and refine your narrative • Why specificity beats “all things to all people” every time If you’re ready to transform your pitch, your brand, and your results, this episode is for you. I've dropped the link in the comments below. Enjoy! #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytelling #StartupSuccess #BusinessStorytelling #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

I've got a few stories I'm never telling, but I probably should. In fact, Rachel McCord insists on it. She worked 13-hour days at a pizzeria at 13. Rachel moved 33 friggin' times before she was 16. She survived childhood trauma, PTSD, suicidal depression, and open heart surgery at 32, a procedure one in five patients don't survive. But Rachel also sold her first company at 24, moved to Hollywood, and built the The McCord List, a media network that now reaches 40 million households. Not despite her story. Because of it. On this week's The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast, Rachel and I dig into: → Why the hardest chapters of your life are your greatest competitive advantage → How to build a platform that amplifies your message to millions → What it really takes to turn trauma into lasting impact Rachel is a Bloomberg Female Founder, featured in Forbes, Vogue, and Entrepreneur — and one of the most honest, courageous storytellers I've ever had on this show. If you've been sitting on your story, waiting for the "right time" to tell it, this episode is your sign. 🎧 Listen now → [link in comments] #StoryOn! #PersonalBranding #Leadership #Storytelling #BrandStory #RachelMcCord #McCordList #Entrepreneurship #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

It was two days before Christmas and we were standing in our kitchen with our son Parker Howell when the email came in. He won $50,000 through the Meta Horizon Start Developer Competition for Best Implementation of Pass Through Camera Access with AI. He had one month to build and submit his VR augmented reality language learning app called Language IRL (In Real Life). I’m pretty proud of his creativity and ingenuity given that he and Riko, his developer partner, were up against 2,600 competitors. His submission is a fun, short read that details his creative and development process: https://lnkd.in/gEPCVEYP. Parker graduated from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in 2010 and quickly recognized the evolution of mixed reality filmmaking and later, how Ai would impact film production and creativity. That became his swim lane. Now he and his wife, Jackie Howell, reside in Austin, TX, as two amazing creators who are always poking the edges of what’s possible. In fact, as a run up to the Holidays, they invented a new card game called “Roller Boss” (working titled), complete with a deck of 70-some illustrated playing cards they designed using ChatGPT and Canva, printing their first working deck at Staples. As a beta player, I can tell you it is a blast. I know Alberto Savoia would be proud of how they are pretotyping their concept. We recently explored his pretotyping approach and his book “The RIght It” on the The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast: https://lnkd.in/g7ajjCe4 Any who, I just wanted to share a spectacular close to 2025 and hope you have the most prosperous new year in 2026. And if you want to quickly learn a new language and have fun doing it, checkout Language IRL on Meta. #StoryOn! #HappyNewYear #AugmentedReality #VirtualReality #AI #BrandStorytelling #LanguageLearning

In 2006, I had a major problem. The branding and advertising work I had done for the previous 20 years was losing its potency, given the arrival of social media. It occurred to me that our clients used to own the influence of mass media, but now the masses were becoming the media, and I needed a new way for the brands we worked on to stand out. So I went looking in Hollywood. At the time, our son Parker Howell was a freshman at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. I asked him to send me his books and recorded lectures when he was done with them (after all, I was paying for them), so I could learn what Hollywood knew about storytelling. That's when I was introduced to Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey. I was inspired to map his storytelling framework to business, more specifically, brand narrative development. So I created our Story Cycle System™, which has grown brands by as much as 600 percent. Fast forward 18 years and 550 episodes later... A timely guest reached out to be on my show. John Bucher, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation - the organization that preserves and promotes the work that literally changed my life. But I was nervous. What if he thought I was "bastardizing" Campbell's work by applying it to business? Instead, John validated everything: "Campbell would be delighted with all the different places his work has found application. I'm already a big fan of the model you've created for the business world, Park." Here's what you'll discover in Episode 550: 🧠 The Neuroscience Connection - Why the Hero's Journey mirrors the exact neurological patterns your brain uses to solve problems 🚀 The Calls to Adventure - How entrepreneurs, managers, colleagues, customers and communities experience completely different transformation paths (and why recognizing which journey your audience is on changes everything) 🎭 Form vs. Formula - John's tango dancing disaster that reveals why storytelling is an art form, not a mechanical process 💡 The Operating System Metaphor - Why storytelling is the software that drives your brain's meaning-making machine ✅ Permission Granted - Why Campbell himself championed business applications and would celebrate how we're using the Hero's Journey today, especially in our StoryCycle Genie™. Funny, I was on my own Hero's Journey back in 2006, searching for an answer to how advertising and branding needed to evolve. And the answer I found - ironically - was the Hero's Journey itself. You can listen to our conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gmxH-Ghc What's your experience with the Hero's Journey in business or life? Share in the comments. #StoryOn! #BusinessStorytelling #HerosJourney #JosephCampbell #BrandStrategy #CustomerJourney #BusinessTransformation #StorytellingFramework #Leadership #Marketing #ContentStrategy #BrandNarrative #BusinessOfStory

What is one of the go-to books that has helped you define your expertise and offering? Mine is The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Chris Vogler. It is one of the most profound instruction manuals on how to use Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey in your storytelling. For me, it was particularly helpful in the creation of our Story Cycle System™. So I was rather honored to have Chris share his story wisdom on this week's The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes Story #podcast. He is the legendary story consultant behind Disney’s The Lion King and other popular movies. He joins me to reveal why the Hero’s Journey isn’t just a Hollywood formula. It’s a living, breathing roadmap for building brands, leading teams, and navigating life’s biggest challenges. • Wish fulfillment is the secret to audience loyalty. • “Threshold guardians” (obstacles) are your best teachers. • Stories don’t just entertain—they heal, orient, and energize us. • The “NOBA” secret for pitching and persuasion. • Real-life examples of story-driven transformation—for brands and people. If you want your brand to become a wish-granting mentor (not just a product pusher), this episode is for you: https://lnkd.in/gVjynjee I'd like to thank John Bucher, Ph.D., the executive director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, who was on my show two weeks ago, for introducing me to Chris. Much appreciated. So what book, what author, made a huge difference in your career? Let me know below. #StoryOn! #BusinessOfStory #HerosJourney #ChrisVogler #BrandStorytelling #ABT #TheWritersJourney #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

God, wouldn't it be great to spend way less time posting content and more time doing the work you love? Market less and matter more to your clients? I don't know about you, but if I could reduce my content creation and publishing by 50% and increase my business by 50%, I'd be all over it. This posting stuff is draining and discouraging when few respond. Ah, but Jay Acunzo brightened my day when he joined me on The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast and showed me... ...resonance is WAAAAY more important than reach. Ya gotta admit, most of us are playing a volume game with our content. More posts. More platforms. More frequency. We're chasing reach, assuming that if enough people see our message, some percentage will connect. I dislike this *chasing* thing. It's exhausting. But Jay challenges this with a concept from physics: when two frequencies are aligned, they are resonant, and the first can impart energy to the second. In business communication, resonance is the urge to act that someone feels when your message creates deep alignment with their needs and values. Here's what Jay taught me about building resonance: • Develop a PREMISE (a defensible assertion that becomes your lens) • Use NARRATIVE ARGUMENT (6 beats that move people from skepticism to action) • Apply LADDERED MESSAGING (We Want → We Need → We Hope) • Embrace STORY 2.0 (Process + Practice + Posture, not just structure) My favorite insight? The difference between clarity and strength in brand stories. Jay's challenge to all of us: Don't try to be the best. Become their favorite. What could you say that you could merely whisper, and it would connect so deeply that people would seek you out? That's the power of premise. That's resonance over reach. Listen to our conversation and learn how to create a powerful premise for your brand: https://lnkd.in/g5yFGU_S #StoryOn! #BusinessStorytelling #ThoughtLeadership #ContentStrategy #PremiseDevelopment #Resonance #BrandStory #PublicSpeaking #IPDevelopment #StoryCycleGenie

The idea hit me at The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan back in 2011. My wife Michele, our son Caedon, and I were exploring N.Y. and stopped for lunch in the MoMA restaurant following a morning tour of its exhibits. As dining companions often do after eating, Michele asked if she had anything in her teeth and discreetly smiled at me for my inspection. That's when I realized that anyone could conduct a self-assessment of their teeth by simply taking a, well, selfie. I smiled back at her and said, "You just gave me an idea for a new product." "What is it?" She asked. "I call it Tooth Pics. Just take a selfie of your mouth, and you'll find any hangers on in there." "And the best part is that my new product is free with the purchase of any digital phone with a camera." I was toying around with ChatGPT's image generator the other day and asked it to create an instruction manual for Tooth Pics in a 1950's style. Why a 1950's style? I suppose I was going for the ultimate in campiness. Tooth Pics "Flash Your Smile" What ridiculous idea have you come up with lately? I would love to hear about it in the comments below. #StoryOn #SillyIdeas #ChatGPT #Experimental #Storytelling

Your clients are about to spend $274,000 hiring a storyteller. Why isn't your agency the one delivering that capability? The WSJ just reported that corporate storytelling job postings doubled to over 50,000 in marketing alone. Executives mentioned "storytelling" 469 times on earnings calls in 2025 — a 219% increase from 2015. Google, Microsoft, Vanta, Notion, USAA — they're all desperately hiring storytellers at premium salaries. But do they actually know what they're buying? I've trained executives at legacy brands that include Dell, the US Air Force, Mayo Clinic, Intel, and Premium Protein. They want to learn the fundamentals of narrative architecture. They used to think storytelling was just interestingly talking about their company. They were winging it when they should have been winning with intentional storytelling. And that's where agencies with the right tools can own this opportunity. Back in 2010, my agency, Park&Co, started using our Story Cycle System™ for brand narrative strategy development. It worked so well, clients started requesting something we'd never offered: storytelling training for their teams. That shift transformed my agency's positioning and profitability. Now that same opportunity has materialized for your agency — but at a scale I couldn't have imagined 15 years ago. I just wrote an article breaking down how agencies can position themselves as the comprehensive storytelling solution that makes corporate America's expensive hiring search unnecessary. Inside, you'll discover: → The math that doesn't work (why $274K hires fail) → The agency opportunity hiding in plain sight → How to deliver 30+ narrative specialists for a fraction of hiring costs → The 5-step implementation pathway → What this means for your agency economics How are you using brand, leadership, sales & marketint storytelling to differentiate your agency? I'd love to hear what's working for you in the comments below. Because the first-mover window is open today. But it won't be forever. #StoryOn! #AgencyStrategy #CorporateStorytelling #BrandNarrative #MarketingConsulting #AgencyGrowth #ContentStrategy #StoryCycleGenie

When hiring, do you have a preference for geography, as in where your applicants were born and raised? I'll admit, while running my agency Park&Co in Phoenix, AZ, for 20 years, I favored talent from the Midwest. I liked their values, work ethic, and general "what you see is what you get" character. I found folks from the West Coast (I know, probably a gross generalization) to be more flaky and entitled, not always, but often. I'd ask them what their first job was, and regularly they'd say they didn't work until they graduated from college. The midwesterners always mowed lawns, babysat, worked at Wendy's, whatever, before the ninth grade. The East Coasters frequently brought attitude, but not the kind I was ever looking for. So yes, I favored Midwest applicants. They always went to the top of my list of interviews. Ever wonder why your job postings attract applicants, but not the A-players who move the needle, no matter where they come from? This week on The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast, I’m joined by Jeff Hyman—CEO of Recruit Rockstars, bestselling author, and a veteran of 4,000+ top hires—who reveals why the best candidates don’t move for a bigger paycheck, but for a better story. When you’re honest about your company’s ambitions and challenges, you attract premier performers who want to be the hero of your next chapter. In this episode, you’ll learn: • Why story—not salary—is your #1 recruiting tool • How to use the ABT framework to make candidates the hero • How honesty and vulnerability win loyalty (and keep A-players on your team) So, no matter where you're pulling your talent from, Jeff will show you how to attract and retain top performers through the stories you tell. I've dropped the link to our conversation in the comments below. How do you attract the #1 pros to your team? #StoryOn! #TalentRecruiting #ABT #BrandStorytelling #Recruiting #EmployerBrand #TalentAcquisition #Leadership #Hiring #Authenticity

I'll admit it: this week's episode is both curious and a little creepy. Curious because it's amazing what AI has brought to our personal storytelling. Creepy because the technology literally brings back your long-lost loved ones to have conversations today. Yeah. You read that right. Miles Spencer, co-founder of Reflekta, heard his father say "No problem, Tiger. I love you" during a presentation last week. His father passed away eight years ago. This is SoulTech (Soul Technology), and whether it gives you chills or fills you with hope probably depends on whether you've got someone you're desperately missing. Reflekta recreates authentic voices from just 10 seconds of audio. Miles' father Arthur's voice came from a gibberish voicemail. Now Arthur reads bedtime stories to his granddaughter, offers advice Miles needs today, and has a perfect memory of things both of them had forgotten. You know those moments when you'd give anything to ask your mom or dad for guidance one more time? When you're facing something only they would understand? Those videos you treasure can't answer back. Those photos can't offer wisdom for today's challenges. But SoulTech can. Miles created the SoulTech category as a first mover. He's a 30+ year digital media veteran who built and exited three companies, hosted PBS's MoneyHunt before Shark Tank, and led 1,500 people across 14 miles of open sea. But none of that prepared him for hearing "Tiger" again. Reflekta isn't about grief. It's about connection. Legacy. Nearly 1,000 families have created Elders in just six weeks. 98% subscribe after one conversation. Because spontaneous conversations in your loved one's voice deliver 10x the impact of static memories. Listen to the episode on The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast: https://lnkd.in/grSsUTvN Experience it yourself: Talk to Arthur or Virginia at Reflekta.ai Curious? Creepy? Maybe both. But it's definitely changing the dynamic of family storytelling for generations to come. #StoryOn! #BusinessOfStory #SoulTech #DigitalLegacy #AIInnovation #FamilyStories #CategoryCreation #Entrepreneurship #Legacy

Can you really increase your agency's new biz win rate by 35% to 50%? I think you can. I did when I ran my agency, Park&Co, for 20 years. I stopped pushing our firm's capabilities and started pulling in business by proving our strategic value through the stories we shared. Drew McLellan of Agency Management Institute has invited me to show you this approach during a free AMI webinar tomorrow (Tuesday, 2/24) at noon MT. Here's your registration link: https://lnkd.in/gZUTuCts If you want a deeper dive into what I'll be demonstrating, I've dropped a link to my article, "Stop Pitching Your Agency in 2026 and Start Proving Your Strategic Value," in the comments below. Plus, all attendees will get an ABT (And, But, Therefore) narrative framework worksheet to start crafting their agency story. It's going to be fun and productive, I promise. 🤓 👍 Hope to see you there. #StoryOn! #AgencyNewBusiness #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytelling #AMI #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

How We Built The Ministry of Procrastination Brand in Just Four Hours (Made Our Members' Heads Spin) Last month, I built the satirical sleep-aid brand of ComaDose from scratch using the StoryCycle Genie®. People had asked me if it could be done, so I did it. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gQNSTUFP Matt Levine, our brilliant developer of Brightsy, the platform that hosts the StoryCycle Genie®, just went through a major rebuild to enhance the platform's performance. He asked me to test the upgrades by building another brand. So I opted for The Ministry of Procrastination (MoP). I'd been putting it off for a while. I first designed the market category for MoP using the Brand Intelligence Genie™. That took about 40 minutes. Then, without distraction, I moved to the Brand Story Genie™ to craft the foundational brand narrative. Being on a roll, I created my three audience story strategies using the Audience Narrative Genie™. I brought it all together with the Content Playbook Genie™. My MoP brand brain was built without delay. 🫡 Theme: Solving Today's Problems, Tomorrow 🎶 Anthem: "Tomorrow" from Annie ⏳ MoP membership tiers: Doddling Noob, Distinguished Fellow of Tomorrow, and the Order of Cras (Latin for "tomorrow) 😇 Our patron saint is Expiditus 👩‍🎨 Our patron artist is Salvador Dali, who understood that time is not a rigid structure but a suggestion, best observed melting gently over the edge of something more interesting. I collaborated with Web Copywriter Genie™ to create this landing page for MoP: https://lnkd.in/ggQx8Cnv All In... I spent four hours and around $120 to design and launch this satirical new brand. What are you waiting for? Now you can test the strength of your brand story, for free, with our Brand Story Grader™: https://lnkd.in/grXC-DGu Because there's no need to waste time with an old brand story. #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytelling #BrandLeadership #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Here’s how you build a brand from scratch in a day using Artful Intelligence: https://lnkd.in/gfxYWTct #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytelling #Branding #Narrative #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

What does an Aesop fable and the rock band Queen have in common with your brand storytelling? Have you heard about the North Wind and the Sun? They wage a bet: who can get a traveler to remove their cloak the fastest. The North Wind starts the competition by blowing with all his might, but the traveler only clings tighter. The Sun, on the other hand, shines gently and warmly, so the traveler willingly lets go. Gentleness and warmth are often more powerful than force. That’s the secret at the heart of great brand storytelling = tone. On this week’s The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast, I nerd out with Charly Tate, founder of Kindling Works and host of the Tater Thoughts podcast, over our shared obsession with Queen. We break down how the tone of songs like “Killer Queen,” “Play the Game,” and “Radio Gaga” can be applied to your brand storytelling. Because, like what Aesop proffered and what Freddie showed us, the consistent warmth of the tone of your story is what wins the day. Ready to move your brand from background noise to a melody your audience can’t forget? You can join our conversation via the link in the comments. #StoryOn! #BrandStorytelling #BrandDevelopment #StoryCycleGenie #ABT #Queen #LeadershipCommunications

Are your landing pages chest-pounders or heart-stoppers? In this episode on the Unbounce #podcast, I'll show you how to use the messaging marvel of the And, But, Therefore (ABT) narrative framework to turn you storytelling 180 degrees from being about your brand to focusing on your customers and the singular problem you solve for them. After all, you want to sell to their hearts and their heads will follow. #StoryOn! #BrandStorytelling #ABT #LandingPageCreation #Branding #Marketing #Sales #StoryCycleGenie

Are you pitching your ad agency, or pulling customers in by providing immediate value? Can you increase win rates by 35% to 50%, while reducing research and presentation production costs by 90+%? It's not about using artificial intelligence. It's about leveraging amplified intelligence to show up with a value-rich conversation versus a standard agency pitch. Here's how... #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #NewBusinessDevelopment #AgencyPitching #BrandStorytelling #StoryCycleSytem #ABT #Winning

What does it take to lead creative teams that never lose their humanity—even as AI and automation reshape our industry? This week on The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast, I sit down with Jen Perry, Executive Creative Director at Vagrants, who’s spent over 20 years helping brands like JetBlue, IKEA, and Dunkin Donuts tell stories that move people. Jen’s journey is a stellar example of creative leadership: She’s gone from big agencies to building in-house teams, from running award-winning campaigns to transforming a production shop into a creative powerhouse. We talk about: • How to keep emotional intelligence at the heart of your creative process—even when using AI • Real-world ways to build genuine, lasting client relationships • Leadership strategies for inspiring bold, collaborative teams in a tech-driven world Jen’s perspective on my thoughts around “artful intelligence” is all about using technology to amplify—not replace—your humanness and creative spark. If you want to build stories (and teams) that truly connect, don’t miss this episode. I've dropped the link in the comments below. #StoryOn! #ArtfulIntelligence #BrandStorytelling #CreativeLeadership #Marketing #AgencyLife #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Can you take a brand story from zilch to market in under five hours and be proud of it? I think so. Many people have asked me if the StoryCycle Genie® can develop a brand from scratch, meaning it has no existing website to pull from or much market planning to reference. Hmmm, let me try. So this past Sunday, I collaborated with the Genie to develop my new ficticious brand called ComaDose®, the only non-pharma sleep aid that puts you to sleep fast by delivering curated Gen AI slop. “Slop Into Bed.” I started with the Brand Intelligence Genie, one of over three dozen artful intelligence-driven experts inside the StoryCycle Genie™. I spent 90 minutes researching competitor sleep aids, from melatonin to Ambien to ZZZQuil, and designing ComaDose’s market category of curated Gen AI slop to put you to sleep fast. Then I fed that intel into the Brand Story Genie™ to create the foundational brand story. With the brand narrative strategy created, the StoryCycle Genie® moved seemlesslly to develop the nuanced narrative strategies for each of my three audiences: 1. Insomianc Content Creators 2. Stare-at-the-Ceiling C-Suite Execs (I call them the Z-Suite for fun) 3. Everyday Can’t Sleeper. Once the audience stories were complete, the content playbook folded all of the brand narrative strategies into one brilliant brand brain. This took around 45 minutes with my tweaking, which made the Genie smarter about the brand with every iteration. Then I used the Landing Page Genie™ to write the website: https://lnkd.in/gQNSTUFP And finally, I collaborated with the Social Post Genie™ to create a Facebook ad. Because the StoryCycle Genie® does not yet create images – it’s a remarkable brand strategy and content creator – I use the brand story it created, gave it to ChatGPT, and it designed the logo and bottle. So here’s my time breakdown to take ComaDose® from zilch to a full fleshed out brand. Brand Intelligence Genie™: 90 mins. Brand Story Genie™: 20 mins, Audience Story Genie™: 15 mins. Content Playbook Genie™: 10 mins. Landing Page Genie™: 30 mins. Social Post Genie™: 15 mins. ChatGPT grapchics: 30 mins. Roughly 3.5 hours. Granted, this is a silly product. You’d probably spend three times that amount of time on your new brand, which would still be under 12 hours to go from zero to solid brand concept using the StoryCycle Genie™. The old way of brand development – I know because I’ve been developing brands for over 40 years – would take months and tens of thousands of dollars. All in, my investment in the Genie was are $250 to create the ComaDose® brand. So, if you’re losing sleep over the existential crisis of AI in general, read the most dull, boring and inane slop Gen Ai creates, curated by ComaDose® to knock you out fast. ComaDose®: Slop Into Bed. #StoryOn #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytelling #BrandCreation #StoryCycleGenie #StoryCycleSystem #ABT

The Problem Isn't Your Proposal. For all of you nonprofit leaders, I want to show you something that might reframe everything you think you know about grant writing. “The best grant proposal you'll ever write doesn't start when the RFP drops. It starts 12 weeks before.” That's the insight Sean Schroeder — co-founder of Happy Ladders and my co-creator of the StoryCycle Genie® — discovered when he stopped thinking about grant writing as a one-off event and started thinking about it as a narrative architecture problem. "With everything the StoryCycle Genie® can do for a nonprofit's brand storytelling, I think effective grant writing and fundraising campaigns are the #1 benefit for these leaders," Sean told me yesterday He's right. And here's how he proved it — in three very different ways: https://lnkd.in/gRfiQbp7 What about the physical benefit: reducing time, energy, cost and exhaustion of grant writing, I asked. The numbers around traditional grant writing are sobering: • Standard grant application: 15–40 staff hours • Federal grant application: 80–200 staff hours • Consultant cost for complex proposals: $7,000–$10,000+ • Competitive grant success rate: approximately 1 in 4 (varies widely by program and sector) • Staff capacity consumed per application: up to 25% of monthly hours Which means for every four proposals your team grinds through — all those weekends, all that lost capacity — three of them produce nothing. Now contrast that with what Sean built using the Genie — without a marketing team, without a dedicated grant writer, without a content agency. Reducing his time and effort by approximately 99%. Two parallel referral narrative campaigns. A research white paper. A 187-contact national grant awareness campaign. And an RFP response strategy ready to deploy — for a major federal initiative. All of it on-brand. All of it compounding. That's not a small efficiency gain. That's a fundamentally different way to compete for funding. What do you think? If you’re leading fundraising at a nonprofit, how are being successful in your grant applications? #StoryOn! #Nonprofit #Fundraising #BrandStorytelling #GrantWriting #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

It's the question I get a lot. Yesterday, I hosted an Agency Management Institute webinar hosted by Drew McLellan for sharp agency leaders exploring AI’s role in brand storytelling. Thanks for that, Drew! I showed them how to use the And, But, Therefore (ABT) narrative framework to differentiate their agency story, strategize for pitches, and structure their presentations so they're doubling their win rates. At the end, I introduced them to the StoryCycle Genie™ that has the ABT at the core of our premium brand-building platform. An attendee asked, "What do you charge for tokens with the Genie?" It’s a natural question. We're all hardwired to minimize risk for one primal purpose: survival. It’s a funny quirk, though, of your problem-solving, decision-making limbic brain: always scanning for immediate threats, rarely pausing to calculate long-term value. Like every AI platform, we buy tokens to power the Genie. Yes, there’s a small markup for those who benefit from our brand storytelling expertise, which has been honed over 40 years. And yes, the Genie may take a bit longer than Gen AI because it’s working specifically from your brand story—no generalizations, no guessing, NO SLOP. For comparison, think of Gen AI as the Frankenstein of agency tools. But just like the original creature, Gen AI isn’t evil—it’s simply misunderstood. The real problem isn’t the technology itself, but the hidden costs stitched together beneath the surface: endless revisions, off-brand drafts, and time lost to manual fixes. When you chase “cheap,” you inherit the monster’s baggage. The Genie is not Gen AI. It's an agency infrastructure asset that scales your experience, skills and market knowledge using artful intelligence for clarity, consistency, and growth. When we focus only on the price of tokens, we miss the bigger picture: • Cheap tokens = generic, forgettable content • Costly time editing and fixing • Lost opportunities to stand out and win business The real question isn’t “How cheap can we go?” It’s “How much value and differentiation can we create?” I wrote more about it here: https://lnkd.in/ddGwsJRm Your call: do you want to Frankenstein your brand storytelling and get buried by the hidden costs of Gen AI? Or go to market with a crisp, clear and compelling brand narrative strategy developed with a proven premium platform? Let me know how you are using AI in your brand storytelling below. I'd love to hear what's working and what's not. #StoryOn! #AgencyLeadership #BrandStorytelling #BrandDevelopment #AgencyGrowth #StoryCycleGenie #MarketingStrategy #ABT

I had the distinct honor of completing an amazing 2025 by producing a virtual The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes training for the people doing important work at Life360. Thank you, Lisa Corrick, ACC, Mike Zeman, Ciera Caldwell, Jon Trautman, and Gerald Ong, for the opportunity to work with your incredible team. Cheers to a prosperous New Year! #StoryOn! #BusinessStorytelling #VirtualTraining #ABT #StoryCycleSystem #BrandStorytelling #Influence #Persuasion

Do you realize the hidden tax you're paying wrestling with Gen AI? I'm not talking about subscription costs. I'm talking about the $8,000 monthly invisible tax your team pays fighting clunky interfaces, fixing hallucinations, and recreating substandard work. Are these your economics? • 2 hours daily wrestling with tool limitations = 40 hours monthly • At $100/hour blended rate = $4,000 in wasted labor per person • Multiply across a small team = $8,000+ monthly invisible tax And that doesn't count the opportunity cost. What strategic work isn't happening while your team battles their tools? I've watched brilliant marketing professionals get seduced by cheap AI promises. They traded dollars for headaches. The real question isn't "What does the tool cost?" It's "What is this tool costing you?" But professional-grade AI amplifies your expertise instead of creating new problems to solve. It accelerates strategic work instead of bogging you down in operational friction. It delivers results you're proud to put your name on instead of content requiring extensive revision. When you factor in the invisible tax, that "expensive" enterprise solution suddenly looks like the bargain. And that "cheap" Gen AI tool? That's the high-stakes gamble. In my latest article, I break down the complete economics: ✓ The 5 hidden costs cheap AI tools never mention ✓ How to calculate your team's invisible tax ✓ The quality-speed-cost equation that actually works ✓ Why collaborative AI beats commodity tools every time Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/gqE56XRq. What's your experience with AI tool economics? Have you calculated your invisible tax? #StoryOn! #MarketingLeadership #AIStrategy #MarketingROI #ContentMarketing #ThoughtLeadership #StoryCycleGeni

Why do founders procrastinate so often about building their brand story? I had a startup guy the other day who asked me skeptically if our StoryCycle Genie® could build his brand story even though he didn't have much to go on. "Of course," I replied. In fact, last month, I demonstrated how the Genie could build a brand from scratch with my new sleep aid called ComaDose. He said he'd think about it. So in his honor, I created another brand from the ground up. I call it The Ministry of Procrastination: Solving Today's Problems, Tomorrow. But I didn't procrastinate. In fact, it took me about four hours to create the brand (oh, and around $120 of Genie time), which includes the category design, narrative strategy, ICP audience stories, content playbook, and landing page. I'll drop a link to MoP's landing page in the comments below, eventually. Ha, just kidding. Let me know what you think of the brand, if not today, well, you know...whenever #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytelling #BrandCreation #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Are you working with a psychopath to create your brand story? I was in a room with acclaimed sci-fi author ‎Margaret Atwood. It was November 5, 2014. An intimate faculty luncheon at Arizona State University, where I was teaching a masterclass on sustainable storytelling. Ten PhDs. One legendary Canadian author. And me, the storytelling guy without a doctorate. It was a cool topic: "Does Science Fiction Have Any Place in Science?" The consensus was swift and confident from the professors: absolutely not! I stayed quiet for most of the hour until I could take it no longer. I waited for a pause in the conversation. Then I quoted JFK's moon shot speech — the one that used the language of science fiction to raise $24 billion for the Apollo Project. "If that's not science fiction informing science," I pointed out, "then I don't know what is." The professor across from me shrugged and turned to the colleague behind her, "We haven't heard from you yet, Dr. Johnson." While I got blown off, Margaret Atwood gave me a subtle smile and a nod as if to say, "Atta boy." Fast forward to March 2026. Atwood published a Substack essay about her conversation with Claude AI. She caught it hallucinating. She compared it to a psychopath. She got seduced by it anyway — and warned us all. Three things every brand storyteller needs to hear from one of the greatest storytellers alive: • GenAI hallucinates with the confidence of expertise. It fills your brand story gaps with plausible-sounding fiction. • Specificity beats plausibility every time. • GenAI mimics emotion the way psychopaths do. It produces the shape of authentic emotion without the substance behind it. Your audience feels the absence — eventually. Even Atwood felt the pull. "Sucks you in like a black hole," she wrote. "Buckle up." A psychopath tells you what it thinks you want to hear. A psychologist draws your truth out of you. That's the difference between GenAI and the StoryCycle Genie® — and why your brand story deserves better than a confident hallucination. My full article with a link to her Claude conversation is in the comments. #StoryOn, my friend. #BrandStorytelling #AIMarketing #StoryCycleSystem #ContentMarketing #MargaretAtwood #BusinessOfStory #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Same technique, different tech. Who do you think will win? #StoryOn! #AI #ArtfulIntelligence #StoryCycleGenie #ABT #StoryCycleSystem

Three years without a vacation. Grinding. Hustling. Believing that growth required personal sacrifice. Then Michael Walsh's wife forced him to take time off. The result? He came back and generated $10,000 in new sales—more than any previous week. So he tested it further. Started taking the last week of every month off. Worked three weeks instead of four. His income kept growing. This violated everything conventional business wisdom teaches about hustle and operational excellence. But the data was undeniable. In this week's The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast, Michael, founder of Walsh Business Growth Institute and author of "Freedom by Design," shares 30+ years of helping $2M-$20M companies scale through a people-first approach that challenges everything you've been taught. Here's what you'll discover: ✅ Why the systems that worked at $1M completely fail at $10M ✅ The hidden math of business complexity: 100 people = 4,950 relationships ✅ The Survive, Thrive, Connect, Adapt framework for human behavior ✅ Why your people are your #1 brand story customer ✅ How AI is creating an expertise development crisis ✅ What the Age of Creativity means for your business Michael's contrarian insight: Businesses aren't well-oiled machines. They're intelligent ecosystems. And the math is clear—at 100 people, you're managing 4,950 relationships. No CRM can do that for you. Ready to transform your business from a machine you're trapped in to an ecosystem that serves your life? 🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/gzYh-NDN 📚 Get Michael's book "Freedom by Design" FREE at WalshBusinessGrowth.com (print, PDF, or MP4 format) https://lnkd.in/g3eXvQ6b #StoryOn! #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #PeopleFirst #ScalingBusiness #BusinessOfStory #PodcastRecommendation

You know what it's like when you go looking for one thing, but surprisingly find something else that provides even greater value. This happened to Chris Vogler, author of The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structures for Writers. He says in his book... "I came looking for the design principles of storytelling, but on the road I found something more: a set of principles for living. I came to believe that the Hero’s Journey is nothing less than a handbook for life, a complete instruction manual in the art of being human". I also believe his book and the Hero's Journey is a handbook and guide for brand storytelling. It is the inspiration for our Story Cycle Sytstem™, which I've used over the past 20 years to build brands by as much as 600 percent. Chris and I explored this idea on this week's edition of The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast. The link to our conversation is in the comments below. Please join us. What have you gone looking for but found something else? #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytelling #TheHerosJourney #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Thank you, Nick Westergaard for inviting me on your excellent On Brand Podcast to explore AI and brand astorytelling. I believe that storytelling isn't evolving, but the storyteller is. The frameworks we use today haven't changed since our ancestors survived the savanna by using story as the first technology to create meaning (and avoid getting eaten by saber-toothed tigers). Setup, problem, resolution. The And-But-Therefore framework. The hero's journey. All ancient. What IS changing? Your ability to scale your humanness by using those frameworks with tech precision that was impossible five years ago. Stop thinking about AI as artificial intelligence. Start thinking about it as Artful Intelligence. Because when you do, you realize it's not coming for your job. It's amplifying what only you can create. In my latest post, I break down: • Why the panic about AI replacing storytellers misses the point • The three strategic assets winning agencies are building right now • How voice iteration creates 99% human authenticity (we've tested it) • What Navy Federal's audit team taught me about evolution Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/g-T52guX Listen to the complete conversation with Nick Westergaard: https://lnkd.in/gty6jWAg The storytelling frameworks aren't changing. But the agencies that master them are becoming unstoppable. #StoryOn! ##ArtfulIntelligence #Storytelling #AgencyGrowth #StoryCycleSystem #MarketingStrategy #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Interactive content is a simple yet powerful way to connect with your customers and create brand loyalty. Consider these ways to utilize interactive content with examples of brands doing it right: https://bit.ly/2ZhaiCk Have you used interactive content before? If so how has it worked for you?

What a fabulous way to kick off the new year: the future of brand storytelling conversation with Nick Westergaard on his OnBrand #podcast. Nick and I reveal how storytelling is evolving with AI. I actually don't think storytelling is evolving (the frameworks and structures have stood the test of time for roughly 70,000 years), but the storyteller certainly is. While people are rightly recoiling from the bucket loads of AI slop others are chumming channels with, you can actually use AI to scale your humanity, your human storytelling, your brand stories. Your impact. 👊 In fact, I ran Nick's brand through our StoryCycle Genie™, and we discussed the accuracy and insights of what it revealed about his story. We talk about how you can collaborate with AI to scale your brand storytelling, which, when done right, will lead to a more prosperous 2026. You can learn from our conversation via the link in the comments below. How are you refining and defining your brand story? I'd love to know. Happy New Year! #StoryOn! #BrandLeadership #BrandStorytelling #BrandDevelopment #AI #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Our competition looked like what an ad agency should look like. We opened our pitch with a family photo. We won the account the next morning. Back in 2009, my agency was pitching Expect More Arizona, Arizona's foremost educational nonprofit, against Lavidge Company —one of Phoenix's largest agencies. Fifteen minutes before our slot, I watched Bill Lavidge, an ad man I admire, and his well-appointed team through the glass wall, finishing their pitch. As they filed past us, their confidence was obvious. I wondered if we even had a chance. So I took a chance... What We Didn't Do: Showcase our portfolio. Explain our process. Present our capabilities. What We Did: Opened with a family photo of my three kids and shared what we learned about Arizona education: One thrived in traditional structure. The system loved her back. One brought creative intensity—found his own path. One needed the system to flex. Got advocates. Found success on his own terms. Three different learning journeys. All within the same system EMA was strengthening. Between pictures showing them growing up, I wove our lived experience with market research into strategic recommendations for EMA's brand impact. We Won By Proving, Not Pitching. Here's what most agency principals haven't connected yet: Traditional pitching burns $204,461 per pitch and wins only 15-25% of opportunities—dropping to 11% against incumbents (you can see the research through the link in the comments). You're spending six figures to lose most of the time. The pitch process itself is the problem. While you're presenting capabilities, you're talking about yourself instead of demonstrating strategic thinking about their business. The Value-First Framework: Day 1: Create a brand assessment – in minutes, not months – revealing insights they didn't know they needed. Day 2: Develop a comprehensive brand narrative strategy in an hour or two to demonstrate your strartegic thiking about their business. Day 3: Pull presentation where they're already sold. The Results: • Win rates: 35-50% vs. industry's 15-25% • Cost & time reduction: 90% • Positioning: Strategic partner, not vendor • Timeline: Days instead of months The Shift: Stop asking "Can we pitch your business?" Start proving "Here's the strategic value we've already created." Your Move: What I did manually in 2009 you can now do systematically. What cost us $25,000 and weeks of preparation, you can deliver in days for around $2,500. The value-first revolution isn't coming. It's here. Are you David with the slingshot or Goliath wondering what just happened? I know which one I'd rather be. What's costing you more, the pitch investment or the opportunities you're losing? Learn more in my article posted in the comments below. #StoryOh #AdAgencyNewBusiness #NewBusinessPresenations #NewBusiness #BrandStorytelling #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Everyone (ok, just about everyone) is asking me for a short video on how the StoryCycle Genie® will develop your brand storytelling in less than half a day. Parker Howell, founder of Howell XR, developed his brand story with the Genie, and this is what he experienced. He told me over Christmas that people don't really understand what he does because he's been so busy concepting, directing and producing award-winning virtual, augmented, and mixed reality projects that he hasn't taken the time to dial in his brand story. Until now. I've added links to his website if you'd like to check out his current brand in the comments below. How well are you telling your story? We can help. #StoryOn #Branding #BrandDevelopment, #BrandStorytelling, #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

My parents told me to stop telling stories in the third grade. I rarely bent the truth (but hey, I was nine). Fast forward forty years, and I've made a career out of what got me in trouble as a kid. I had the privilege of joining Susan Lindner on her excellent Innovation Storytellers Podcast this week, and we dove deep into why your brilliant ideas get ignored in conference rooms. The culprit? You're speaking to the wrong part of your audience's brain. Most business professionals lead with logic, data, and features. (Cue gameshow wrong answer buzzer) That executive functioning brain crosses its arms and says, "Okay, expert, prove it to me." You've just positioned yourself for an uphill battle. But when you connect with the emotional survival center first using the AND, BUT, THEREFORE framework, something remarkable happens. That five-minute meeting becomes a consequential thirty-minute conversation. Susan and I explored... • Why emotion beats logic every single time in business communication. • How three conjunctions structure compelling narratives that move people to act. • The 90-second technique that transforms presentations from ignored to engaging. • Why your story must be about your audience's transformation, not your innovation. • How wish and will trigger the courage to overcome status quo inertia. Susan gets it—innovation is fundamentally about behavior change. You can't get there without the bridge that is story. Listen to our full conversation on the Innovation Storytellers Podcast. Or read the article I wrote based on our discussion. Both links are in the comments. Because the power of story doesn't rest in your brilliance. It rests in your audience's attentive transformation. #StoryOn! #BusinessStorytelling #ABT #StoryCycleSystem #PresentationSkills #EmotionalIntelligence #InnovationStorytelling #LeadershipCommunication #SalesStorytelling #MarketingStrategy #BusinessCommunication

I believe that AI is only artificial intelligence if you're lazy about it. You can actually leverage it as artful intelligence. For instance, I created my ComaDose™ brand from scratch with our StoryCycle Genie™. And then produced this 90-second commercial last night. Here's how AI works as artful intelligence: • I worked with the Brand Intelligence Genie™ to create the ComaDose® market position and category design (90 mins.) • I fed the Brand Story Genie™ the intel to create the ComaDose™ foundational narrative strategy (30 mins.) • From there, I created our three distinct audience narrative strategies and brought them all together in our Content Playbook Genie™ (40 mins.) • Then I had the Landing Page Genie™ work with me on the homepage content: https://lnkd.in/gQNSTUFP (25 mins.) • Since our Genie does not yet create graphics, I used ChatGPT to design the logo and bottle (20 mins.) • I moved over to our Social Media Genie™ to create a Facebook ad. (20 mins) • And then I had more fun last night writing with our Video Script Genie™ to create the 90-second ComaDose® script targeting Insomniac Content Creators (40 mins.) • I pasted the script into ElevenLabs.ai to findthe right voice, and I used their music library (1.5 hours, it took a bit to find the right track) • I produced the spot in GarageBand. (30 mins.) Listen to it below. All in, I'm under eight hours creating the ComaDose™ brand (granted, given that this is a satirical brand that I used to test the artfulness of AI and the brilliance of the Genie, you might take a bit longer with your brand). But I was blown away by how effective and efficient the process was, given that it would've taken months and easily $75,000+ to do it the old way. I'm about $300 into this brand launch, not counting the massive opportunity costs I saved by not having to spend hundreds of hours on its creation. Now satire is hard to pull off, and I'm not sure how well I did, so I'll let you be the judge of that. Let me know below. #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytelling #ComaDose #StoryCycleGenie #AI #ArtfulIntelligence

My crazy Viking dad – a proud Norwegian from North Dakota – had the weirdest sayings. Like when he'd ask, "What did the priest say when he saw the monkey peeing in the cash register?" "It All Runs Into Money." That was his punchline. (Still troubles me today). But it's probably truer today than during the Depression era, when Keith told me he first heard that saying from one of his uncles. If you’re like most marketing leaders, you’ve probably celebrated that $20/month ChatGPT subscription as a smart, budget-friendly win. But what if I told you monkeying around with Gen AI is quietly costing your team $8,000 or more every single month—without you even noticing? That’s not a typo. It’s the invisible tax almost nobody talks about. We just published a new post that breaks down the real economics of AI content tools—using hard numbers from 50+ marketing teams. You’ll see exactly why “cheap” AI isn’t just a little less effective. It’s exponentially more expensive when you count the hidden labor, endless revisions, and lost opportunities. If you’re serious about ROI, you can’t afford to miss this 👉 Read: The $8,000 Invisible Tax—Why 'Cheap' AI Tools Cost More Than Premium Platforms: https://lnkd.in/gqE56XRq Take a StoryCycle Genie® tour with us this Thursday (tomorrow) at 11 am PT, 2 pm ET, during our office hours. Save your spot: https://lnkd.in/gQtaypYc Let’s make sure your next “cost-saving” decision doesn’t become your biggest expense. Because, heaven help us, it all runs into money. To smarter brand story marketing (and real savings), #StoryOn! #BrandDevelopment #BrandStorytellling #StoryCycleGenie #ABT #AI #ArtfulIntelligence

What is the gift only your brand can provide that levels up your customer?

How do you overcome the halitosis of bot breath? A couple of years ago, Michele and I started watching The Crown on Netflix. I bailed after the first season. Turns out I don't give a bloody jolly about entitled Royals and their nepo lineage. Ah, but I just learned something about a completely different Queen Elizabeth that brought her down to my commoner (even peasant) level. Good Queen Bess. The Virgin Queen. England's immortal icon from the 1500s. She engineered her personal brand the way a modern CMO hires a full creative agency: obsessive, intentional, ruthlessly consistent. Every portrait. Every public appearance. Every carefully managed dispatch. But boy, did she have bad breath. (We're talking "foreign ambassadors documenting it in dispatches home" level bad.) Decades of sugar had blackened and rotted her teeth. By her final years, she was stuffing cloth into the gaps to shape her face for portraits. Everyone in that room could smell the distance between the carefully constructed queen and the physical reality standing in front of them. We're talking dragon breath. Sound familiar? We're seeing brands everywhere building the same kind of engineered persona — polished websites, consistent posting cadences, on-brand visuals everywhere. Then they hand the content to a generic AI tool. And the moment a real human reader gets close? Whoo... They smell it. That slightly-too-smooth sentence structure. The absence of a lived-in point of view. The takes that offend nobody and move nobody. That's the halitosis of bot breath — quietly undermining your carefully crafted brand every single day. The fix isn't better prompts. It's a crisp, fresh, even intoxicating voice fingerprint that only you can own. I wrote about how to avoid GenAI-induced oral malodor in the link below. 👇 #StoryOn! #BrandStorytelling #ContentMarketing #AIContent #AuthenticMarketing #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Pain-free pitches are the ones everyone forgets. Dan Manning explains why. Most leaders try to avoid discomfort in their messaging, but Dan—a former fighter pilot, speechwriter, and military diplomat turned master storyteller—shows that real impact comes from tapping into your audience’s pain. On this week’s The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast, we break down: • How to identify and use audience pain to drive results • Dan’s four-step “Before, Challenges, Change, After” storytelling framework • Why scenes—not just stories—create lasting engagement • Military storytelling secrets that help founders raise millions, sell products, and land dream jobs Oh, and he even speaks fluent Russian. How he learned it that fast, I have no idea. What’s the hardest part for you—finding the story, facing the pain, or making people care? Let me know below. You’ll find the link to listen in the comments. #StoryOn! #StartupPitching #Storytelling #LeadershipStorytelling #StartupSuccess #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Do you remember where you were the first time you heard a song that came from what would become one of your favorite bands? I do. It was autumn 1974. I was walking down the road with my buddy, Joe Ehle (now a retired firefighter). We were listening to Seattle's KJR FM on my General Electric transistor radio when the attention-grabbing, four-beat finger snap of Freddie Mercury's song, Killer Queen staccatoed out of my palm. The song's tone, pulse, operatic overtones, incessant rock beat, mischievious orchestration. It all mesmerized me. Queen is still one of my favorite bands for their inventive, outrageous storytelling. So I was tickled to have another Queen aficionado on this week's The Business of Story Training, Coaching & Keynotes #podcast: Charly Tate. Charly, founder and Chief Kindling Officer of her communications consultancy, Kindling Works, and host of the Tater Thoughts musical podcast, combines her love of music and communications as a virtuoso at finding the right "tone" for your brand storytelling. What you’ll learn: • Why your audience feels your story before they understand it • How to find and express your authentic tone • The biggest mistakes tone-deaf brands make and how to avoid them I had so much fun talking with Charly as we dissected several Queen tunes and lessons you can take from them to fine-tune the tone of your storytelling. And she even inspired a full-circle moment for me. Remember that transistor radio I mentioned? I still have it, pictured below. Following our conversation, I asked myself why I had never learned Killer Queen on my Yamaha upright piano. So I did. But the tone wasn't quite right. Which triggered me to buy an electronic keyboard I've always wanted: The Nord Grand 2, pictured below in my Business of Story studio. I don't think, in over 10 years, I've had a guest stir me to take action as much as Charly has. Thank you, Charly. I hope you all enjoy our conversation as much as we did having it. I've dropped the link to it in the comments below. #StoryOn! #BrandStorytelling #StorytellingTone #CommunicationsTone #StoryCycleGenie #ABT #Storytelling

Just a quick reminder that at noon Mountain Time today, Drew McLellan of the Agency Management Institute and I will be hosting a webinar to show agency owners how to double their new business win rate. Spoiler alert: stop pushing your capabilities and start pulling in new clients by providing immediate value and your proven impact through the stories you tell. I'll show you how. Save your place right now, this very second, immediately, if not sooner 🤓 👍 :https://lnkd.in/gZUTuCts #StoryOn! #AdAgencyNewBusiness #AdAgencyPitching #BrandStorytelling #StoryCycleGenie #ABT

Crystal Head Vodka is a perfect example of a commoditized brand that has levitated its position in the marketplace with fascinating a brand story. Learn how you can infuse your offering with meaning through the brand stories you tell:

Growing as a confident and influential communicator takes continuous practice to build your storytelling skills. But our brains are biologically driven to be lazy. I highly recommend James Clear’s book Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results, to help you make using the ABT a potent habit every day in your communications. To incorporate habits that work for us we need to create what he calls a habit loop of Cue » Craving » Response » Reward. One of the powerful ways to incorporate a more productive habit is something called “Habit Stacking.” You attach a new habit to something you routinely do. Here are three daily rituals you can use to stack the habit of writing ABT’s to grow your narrative intuition: