Everyone has a great story to tell. Everyone. Icons like Oprah Winfrey have built their careers around telling stories – hers and those of her audience. Companies like Nike – with their legendary “how the Swoosh logo was made” story – have built their brands on it. Products like Old Spice – with its “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign – have reached new fans because of it. Even individuals — like James Frey, the drug addict who authored A Million Little Pieces — have written memoirs and garnered great fame because of them. (more…)

Wow. Sometimes in life, you are privileged to share thoughts with some very forward-thinking souls. Today, I enjoyed tapping into the minds of chief communicators while moderating the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) 2011 World Conference In-Depth Session highlighting preliminary findings from the IABC Research Foundation and Marketwire Conversations with CEOs’ Study (#id4). Nearly two dozen CEOs – from companies including Playboy Enterprise, Best Buy, and DeBeers – engaged in in-depth interviews discussing the CEO’s role in corporate communication, how it affects financial performance and business success. The final full study, along with podcasts of the individual conversations, will be shared globally in the coming months via IABC and Marketwire. (more…)