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Story Business: Why Stories Rule the World and How They Can Reinvent Your Business
Stories move people—and people move business.In Story Business, Gavin McMahon takes you on a journey from ancient cave paintings to billion-dollar tech unicorns, revealing how storytelling is a powerful—and undervalued—tool for driving business success. Drawing on vivid examples of the rise and fall of real-world companies, McMahon exposes a timeless It’s not the best ideas that win, but the best-packaged ideas.
From shaping strategy and launching products to leading teams and building culture, McMahon shows that storytelling isn’t just a marketing tool or a way to dress up facts—it’s a force that transforms ideas into catalysts people can see, feel, and rally behind.
In this book, you’ll explore six essential genres of business storytelling—value, product, brand, sales, leadership, and culture—each with practical tools to help you connect, persuade, and inspire. You’ll learn how to shape a compelling hook, turn numbers into narratives, and rally teams around a shared vision.
If you’ve ever tried to spark change or rally a team—only to be met with blank stares—this book is for you. It’s about breaking through using the same skill humans have relied on for tens of thousands of telling a better story.
With his signature straight talk, Gavin McMahon cuts through corporate jargon to reveal the fundamental truths of storytelling. Page by page, Story Business will teach you how to captivate, persuade, and lead—all by telling stories that stick.
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“Informing… inspiring… an absolute delight to read.”
—Ken Blanchard, The One Minute Manager
“Story Business is both blueprint and battle cry for leaders ready to wield humanity’s oldest and most powerful technology.”
—Jimmy Soni, bestselling author of The Founders
From shaping strategy and launching products to leading teams and building culture, McMahon shows that storytelling isn’t just a marketing tool or a way to dress up facts—it’s a force that transforms ideas into catalysts people can see, feel, and rally behind.
In this book, you’ll explore six essential genres of business storytelling—value, product, brand, sales, leadership, and culture—each with practical tools to help you connect, persuade, and inspire. You’ll learn how to shape a compelling hook, turn numbers into narratives, and rally teams around a shared vision.
If you’ve ever tried to spark change or rally a team—only to be met with blank stares—this book is for you. It’s about breaking through using the same skill humans have relied on for tens of thousands of telling a better story.
With his signature straight talk, Gavin McMahon cuts through corporate jargon to reveal the fundamental truths of storytelling. Page by page, Story Business will teach you how to captivate, persuade, and lead—all by telling stories that stick.
--
“Informing… inspiring… an absolute delight to read.”
—Ken Blanchard, The One Minute Manager
“Story Business is both blueprint and battle cry for leaders ready to wield humanity’s oldest and most powerful technology.”
—Jimmy Soni, bestselling author of The Founders
352 pages, Paperback
Published September 18, 2025
6 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Gavin McMahon
1 book3 followersGavin McMahon builds things. Once, it was submarines, sports cars, and steel plants—big, complex systems built on logic and precise plans. But plans have a funny way of falling apart when people get involved.
As Gavin tried to figure out why, one truth became clear: People don’t move without a story. Business is more than just strategy and execution—it is persuasion and inspiration too. So he switched gears, traded engineering for business, and earned an MBA in Innovation, Strategy & Information Technology from the Institute Theseus in France.
Today, as CEO and co-founder of fassforward, he helps companies shape strategy, leadership, and culture through storytelling. Over the years, he’s worked with some of the world’s biggest brands and learned that even the best ideas will go nowhere if they aren’t told well.
Now, he’s written a book about it.
As Gavin tried to figure out why, one truth became clear: People don’t move without a story. Business is more than just strategy and execution—it is persuasion and inspiration too. So he switched gears, traded engineering for business, and earned an MBA in Innovation, Strategy & Information Technology from the Institute Theseus in France.
Today, as CEO and co-founder of fassforward, he helps companies shape strategy, leadership, and culture through storytelling. Over the years, he’s worked with some of the world’s biggest brands and learned that even the best ideas will go nowhere if they aren’t told well.
Now, he’s written a book about it.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 30, 2025
This book teaches us how to do one of the most important things: telling better stories.
No matter the situation, the book shows us better ways to tell stories and how to connect with the audience we want to connect with.
There are rules and templates to help us tell our best stories and real world examples of this in action.
Gavin says that "the best packaged ideas win" and he shows us how to do it.
No matter the situation, the book shows us better ways to tell stories and how to connect with the audience we want to connect with.
There are rules and templates to help us tell our best stories and real world examples of this in action.
Gavin says that "the best packaged ideas win" and he shows us how to do it.
October 16, 2025
Grab this new book and learn "why" how you communicate through stories can engage others in new ways. The book frames the importance of making your messages intentional with the goal of achieving the highest business results. Bring others together, connect the dots, and bring your vision and goals to life via effective story telling.
September 30, 2025
If you’ve ever had writer’s block before a meeting (guilty), this book is a lifesaver. It shows you how to stop stressing about what to say and start thinking about what your audience cares about. Honestly, it makes getting started so much easier. Recommended for anyone at any stage of their career.
October 22, 2025
I wrote it. so my story is it's good, and I am sticking to that.
October 7, 2025
A very useful book that is easy to read! I love the quote: "The truth is the story we tell ourselves."
Great stuff!
Great stuff!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews