STORY BUSINESS

Why Stories Rule The World And How They Can Reinvent Your Business

“Gavin McMahon shows you the power of storytelling in a book that is not only informative and inspiring but also an absolute delight to read! Don’t miss it.”

—Ken Blanchard, New York Times bestselling author of The One Minute Manager

Pre-order on Amazon

Story Business

Gavin McMahon has written something rare and necessary: a book that reveals how the most fundamental human art—storytelling—drives every meaningful business decision. With the precision of an engineer and the soul of a poet, McMahon traces an elegant line from the first cave paintings to today's boardrooms, showing us that while spreadsheets may capture what happened, stories determine what happens next. He reminds us that in a world drowning in data, the companies that thrive are those that remember an ancient truth: we are not rational creatures who occasionally tell stories, but storytelling creatures who occasionally act rationally. 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

6 things Story Business teaches you:

It’s not the best idea that wins—it’s the best-packaged one.

Story isn’t fluff—it’s the fuel behind every business decision.

People don’t think in facts—they think in stories.

Stories sneak into the fortified citadel of the human mind.

Every great story is made from the same DNA.

If you master one skill for the future, make it storytelling.

Belongs on every leader’s desk.

—Larry Seaquist, retired U.S. Navy Captain and commander of three warships

Immensely readable, jargon-free guide.

—Elise Hu, TED Talks Daily host and award-winning author

Incredibly well-researched.

—Scott McGee, 12X Emmy-winning former journalist and news anchor

Compelling and thought-provoking.

—Michael Erard, Author, Bye Bye I Love You

Beautiful and incredibly practical.

—Nick Jefferson, CEO, Wylde Market

“Gavin McMahon shows you the power of storytelling in a book that is not only informative and inspiring but also an absolute delight to read! Don’t miss it.”

— Ken Blanchard, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The One Minute Manager and The Simple Truths of Leadership

“By employing Gavin’s guidelines, I have learned to become a much more effective presenter and have learned to convey my ideas to my clients in a way that not only resonates with them in the moment, but nests in their minds”

— Bryce Hoffman
author, American Icon

“ Gavin shows how to turn dry facts into decisions and passive listeners into active believers. If you’re leading a team, launching an idea, or trying to move people to action, read this book.”

— Kevin Hartman
author, Digital Marketing Analytics

“Readers will come away with the ability to harness the power of story and make change happen—in their work and their world.”

— Rob Biesenbach
author, Unleash The Power of Storytelling

“Packed from start to finish with entertaining tales and whimsical illustrations that bring his concepts to life, Story Business is a must-read for any business professional who aspires to turn their storytelling skills into a superpower.”

— Todd Cherches
author, VisuaLeadership

Pre-order on Amazon now!

Subscribe to Forward Thinking

Get smart, bite-sized insights on leadership, strategy, and storytelling. Gavin McMahon’s Forward Thinking is a cheat code that helps you lead better, think clearer, and make work... actually work.

Subscribe on LinkedIn

About the author

Gavin 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.

Story 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 corporations, McMahon exposes a timeless truth: It’s not the best ideas that win, but the best-packaged ideas.

Most people think storytelling is just for marketing. It’s not. It’s for leading teams, refining strategies, launching products—everything. McMahon shows why businesses that obsess over data alone stumble while those that add compelling narratives race ahead. Beyond its examination of storytelling all around us, Story Business delivers practical tools—like how to shape a hook that grabs, how to make sense of the numbers by turning them into a story worth sharing, and how to galvanize a team that’s scattered in a hundred directions.

This book is for anyone who’s tried to change minds or shift a culture—only to be met with blank stares. It’s about how to fix that, using the same skill humans have relied on for tens of thousands of years: 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.