Stories Mean Business - Nick Warren

I've spent today trying to name the ’story field’ that sits between us and reality. It's not gone well. Which is a shame, because names matter. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/805:-Nailing-the-Name

You may feel that "boring" and "predictable" are negative sounding words, but when it comes to building a business (or a reputation) they can be very powerful. In this case, they apply to my steady aggregation of content at StoriesMeanBusiness.com . Because I'm neither seduced or shackled by the "get rich quick" bollocks, I'm free to pursue a longer term vision of making the site a destination for...

Golf is not a game I'm any kind of expert at, but it is filled with lessons that apply to business. Here's 2 or 3 I was reminded of yesterday. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/803:-Dont-Move-Your-Head

This week I've bought some stuff I didn't need or want. Why was that? Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/802:-Why-We-Buy

Last week I was in a meeting where the phrase content-heavy was repeated two or three times. I admit it, I bristled ... because I'd written the content. But also ... and this is worse, it feels a little like my new career is paying for the sins of the old. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/801-Content-Heavy-Irony

Most weeks I get emails from publicists saying something like ..."I really love your podcast, and I have the perfect guest for you." In the old days, when I was young and naive, I used to answer them ... but not I send them to trash and smile as I do it. My podcast has no guests. And yet, in 200 days time, for episode 1,000, I'll be breaking my own rule and interviewing a Total Bloody Rockstar (in...

Yesterday, I set one of my clients some homework. He has me on a retainer, which gives me the opportunity (and the obligation) to challenge him and his thinking. And do you know what ... he wants to be pushed. The best clients always do. The alternative – alas – is the client who hires a copywriter but rewrites the work, or engages a design firm but disregards their insight. Which audience we focu...

Yesterday, after a 10 year absence, I took a few golf clubs to the driving range. It was carnage ... but it gives me a chance to talk about learning and reinforcement schedules in today's podcast. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/798:-Behaviourist-Golf

In a few days time, I'll be playing my first round of golf in a decade. That means getting the clubs out of storage, cleaning them up, and trying to remember which end to hold them. I'm headed to the driving range to see how bad things have gotten, but I'm reminded that golf is a great game, but a terrible metaphor for success. We all dream of the big swing, but for all but the most talented, smal...

In The Overstory by Richard Powers , tree tower over the narrative in every sense. I'm just back from my holiday, and I've been savoring this remarkable novel. The story is based, in part, on the extraordinary work of Prof. Suzanne Simard, who demonstrated that trees communicate with each other and share resources. I say this because, up until July this year , I had the idea that trees compete for...

It may be, but it's probably much closer than you think! Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/795:-Stupidity-Is-Everywhere!

Wrong. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/794:-You-MUST-Be-On-Social-Media

I love the story and mythology of craftsmanship... but many (including myself) have taken it too far. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/793:-How-You-Do-Everything

I can tell you from experience that ’just-getting-people-on-your-list" does not lead to riches. This is a business myth that common sense should strangle at birth, but rarely does. (Part of the 2021 Throwing Stones Series) Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/792:-Just-Get-Them-On-Your-List

The incessant pressure to make big changes stops us making any change at all. (Part of the 2021 Throwing Stones Series) Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/791-Take-A-BIG-Swing

Man ... I wish this was true. It's not ... but maybe there is a more grown-up way of thinking about this... (Part of the 2021 Throwing Stones series.) Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/790:-Do-What-You-Love

We're beset by people trying to sell us THE ONE TRUE SOLUTION to our problems ... but that's never true. Part of the 2021 Throwing Stones series. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/789:-The-One-True-Truth

Yesterday, I was chatting with a mate who works in a company I love. They do their marketing the old-fashioned way, through quality, word of mouth and building long-term relationships. But this was his question – can relationship marketing scale if we want to significantly grow the business. I think yes ... but you need the foundations in place. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcas...

One of the most fascinating things about the birth of behavioural economics is that the leaders weren't in some complex lab ... they were testing and noticing what happened in their own brains. Here's a couple of things that I've noticed about my brain. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/787:-Noticing-Things

Yesterday, I mentioned Daniel Kahneman's book, Thinking, Fast and Slow. This is an accessible but serious look at the science of attention, effort, judgement under uncertainty and other aspects of Behavioural Economics. But, what I find equally fascinating is the way that Kahneman explicitly accepts and leverages the power of story to communicate his scientific work. Episode home: https://StoriesM...

Some thoughts on The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis ... and the use of Anchoring by mattress salesman. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/785:-The-Undoing-Project

If you listened to episode 781, I'm about to eat some humble pie. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/784:-Bollocks

In Succession , the HBO series, the characters are self-centred, mean, greedy, petty and uncaring. And yet, the quality of the writing and acting keeps me (and millions of others) glued to the screen. Here's why. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/783:-Succession

Somewhere around 10 years ago, we gave a client a bag of coffee... because not all stories need to be blockbusters. Episode home: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/782:-Small-Stories-and-Coffee

Sometimes it’s hard to be calm.