Leadership Runs On Story with Gavin McMahon

**SHOW NOTES  SPONSORED BY: Soul of Business™ Experience Find out more at https://bit.ly/SOBECommunity** **Story Is How Business Becomes Human** Story is not decoration in business - it is the operating system. Blaine and **Gavin McMahon** unpack why the companies that win are the ones that keep their original intent alive in the form of story, and why leaders who understand story shape culture, behavior, and growth far more effectively than those who rely on facts and data alone. Blaine, frames the conversation around a powerful idea: every business begins with a story blueprint, but over time focusing on operational efficiency can bury the soul that created it. Gavin, CEO and co-founder of **fassforward** (fassforward.com), and author of **Story Business,** shows how stories keep ideas, values, and leadership decisions connected to that deeper purpose.  In this episode you’ll discover: - Why story and idea are inseparable, and why every new product or initiative needs a narrative to survive - How the six genres of storytelling in *Story Business* help leaders apply story across product, culture, leadership, and brand - Why IKEA, Starbucks, and Apple are revealing case studies in protecting or recovering a company’s soul - How “world building” creates unmistakable brand experiences that shape customer behavior - Why values only matter when they become creative constraints, not wall art - What great leaders learn from comedians, coaches, and athletes about getting better through feedback Gavin also shares the parable of the first storyteller, the story of Adam Smith and the division of labor, and a memorable example of a Verizon leader whose bathroom cleaning story became a lesson in standards, humility, and leadership by example. This is a conversation about business, yes, but more than that, it’s about how meaning gets passed on, how cultures stay coherent, and how leaders use story to influence coordinated movement toward a worthy ideal.   Essential listening if you lead teams, build brands, guide change, or sense that your organization has drifted from why it exists in the first place. If you want better decisions, stronger culture, and a more human way to lead, this episode gives you the language and the lens to do it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices