Branding with Powerful Stories:
The Villains, Victims, Heroes Model
There’s an old adage in Hollywood that great villains make great movies, and the same principle applies in business. Yet as Greg explains, the “scoundrels” in the commercial world need not be animate. Instead they are problems that cause pain, discomfort or extra expense for the customers, who are in effect the “victims.” The book teaches you not just how to tell stories about your products or services but what elements to include. The techniques are applicable to many audiences, including colleagues, suppliers, distributors, job interviewers and the press.
defining hybrid heroes:
The leadership Spectrum from Scoundrel to saint
Greg co-authored this book with two European professors. They redefine heroism as an ongoing series of acts, both helpful and malevolent, rather than a static state of being. Greg’s chapter profiles Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Holmes, and convicts who resurrected themselves, including a bank robber and Harvard grad turned CEO and a murderer who became a law professor.
Artful Business:
50 Lessons From Creative Geniuses
Artul Business features a dazzling collection of color masterpieces with stimulating ideas on facing pages — tools for the “thinking manager.” You can turn to any page at random for inspiration if you are struggling with strategy or messaging, You will be surprised to discover that Michelangelo and a modern marketing executive, or Botticelli and a brand manager, have a lot in common.
ARTICLES:
Greg wrote a seminal article on the irresistible power of villains in business stories in Harvard Business Review — which was the basis for his book on branding.
He has also published in the academic journal Philosophy and Literature (on the Narcissus myth) and in the magazine Philosophy Now (in an article defining art and in another about Camus).