Why 'story' is the most underrated tool in business right now

Two weeks ago, I officially branded my consulting business as English Public—marketing strategy for organizations with something real to say. My thesis: marketing strategy starts with a compelling narrative—about why an organization exists in the first place, what motivates its leaders and employees, what makes it special, and the honest value it brings to its audience.

Some replies were affirmative—“yes so many people need this!”—and others asked “isn’t this just marketing and communications with a lofty wrapper?”

Yes, but institutional storytelling is so much more—if it’s collaborative, flexible, and baked into every product, plan, and program.

In December, The Wall Street Journal reported a surge in job listings mentioning the word "storyteller"—roles at Google, Microsoft, USAA, and dozens of others that didn't exist five years ago.

That word means something specific: someone who understands narrative. Who's good at connecting dots, finding the thread, recognizing invisible patterns, and articulating the why as much as the what.

It's worth asking why this is happening now—and why it matters far beyond a hiring trend.

Information used to be the differentiator. It isn't anymore.

For most of my 16-year career in communications and marketing, the work revolved around spreading a message, sharing information, and predicting needs—optimizing internal efforts to meet audiences where they were.

Today, information is a given. We're awash in it—often too much to digest. What cuts through the noise isn't more facts. It's a story.

Storytelling is what snaps the signal into focus. Adapted to different scenarios using a narrative framework, it's what makes people love an idea, a brand, or a place. It's what powers the highest-performing salespeople. It's how donors fall in love with nonprofits.

AI makes this more urgent, not less

Here's what wasn't in those job listings: "AI expert." That'd be like, in the 1990s, putting "Internet expert" in a job requisition. We will all have to become fluent in AI—it will integrate into our workflows the way the internet did thirty years ago, becoming indispensable for speed, efficiency, and quality.

But AI is not a replacement for human discernment, judgment, taste, or emotional resonance. It may be able to mimic those things—and often convincingly—but it'll feel hollow, because we'll know it's not sourced from the real experience of a real person.

Storytelling gets right at the heart of what AI can't fake. It cuts through the safe, accepted institutional clichés and aphorisms that fill space but say very little. It injects humanity into every interaction, every process, every conversation—internal and external.

According to Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer, “to be a trusted brand today is to have purpose beyond profit and to authentically show up in culture and community.”

Interestingly, Edelman’s 2026 Trust Barometer mentions insularity as the global crisis of the moment—and that business has a role to play in rebuilding connections and collaboration across society.

Effective storytelling may be one way to do so. 

A new generation is demanding it

That trust gap is generational as much as institutional.

Recruitment has become more challenging for businesses because a new generation is demanding a purpose alongside a paycheck. Gen Z—those born between 1997 and 2012—is leading an evolution in how organizations communicate their identity and values.

They are remarkably good at detecting inauthenticity. A polished mission statement means nothing if it doesn't match the lived experience of the people inside the organization.

This is why I see storytelling as one piece of a broader shift toward greater corporate and governmental transparency and accountability. 

The brands that are winning, as one communications CEO [told the Wall Street Journal] (WSJ link), are "the most authentic and human and relatable."

What actually motivates us—and why that's the story worth telling

I've often been told I'm a great writer. I've held communications, PR, and marketing roles, and never fully fell in sync with any of them. For a long time, I couldn't figure out why. Eventually I realized: I was missing the why.

Why do we launch startups? Why do we begin new ventures or embark on major public policy changes? Why do we get up in the morning to network, fundraise, or build?

Money and opportunity, yes. Quality of life, sure. 

But ultimately, the kernel of truth about why we do what we do is that people want purpose—to help other people, to improve the lives of their friends, families, neighbors, and the wider world.

Storytelling—marketing strategy built on narrative—is the tool that makes that visible.

The words we use shape what we see

Much of our world will always rely on standardized functional capabilities—engineers, pilots, nurses. What will change is how we communicate and understand their work.

Engineers don't just build big things. They create entirely new environments. Pilots aren't only how we fly safely from city to city. They enable our wanderlust and operate highly complex machines. Nurses tend to our sick and wounded. They also soothe and reassure us.

Is this just marketing with a better name? I believe it’s marketing with a better foundation.

Storytelling isn't just about using different words. It's about getting brutally honest about what makes you different, what problems you solve, and what motivates your work—so the unique you shines through, right away.

People want to know.

So tell them your story.