Have you ever had a brilliant idea but couldn’t present it in a way that would move a group of people? A skilled marketer creates a compelling narrative, and a successful salesperson asks the right questions and can tell a great story, but there’s often a gap between the two. Find out what today’s guest says about moving people through leadership and storytelling…
Gavin McMahon is one of Fast Forward’s founding partners and the company’s chief learning and product officer. A graduate of Institute Theseus in France, he holds an MBA in Innovation, Strategy & Information Technology.
Gavin is one of the founding members of the London Business School’s i:Lab. It was there that he co-authored the case study: Netscape Communications Corporation. As one of the first digital case studies, Netscape chronicled the rise of the first Internet giant. It has been featured in MBA and executive education programs at Harvard Business School, London Business School, and INSEAD.
“I think the best way that people can get better at stories is to pay attention to the things that make them pay attention.” – Gavin McMahon.
Highlights from this discussion with Gavin include:
- His background (2:05)
- Gavin’s thoughts on issues around brand storytelling (3:54)
- The marketing-sales gap (10:00)
- A process for bridging the gap (17:32)
- Regrettable attrition (19:57)
- Productivity and taking on too much (27:24)
- Aligning strategy with storytelling (33:34)
- Gavin’s forthcoming book (38:31)
- Key takeaways (41:45)
- Gavin’s current inspirations (42:14)
Has this conversation with Gavin inspired you to practice storytelling throughout your business? What if you practiced minimal storytelling? Tell a story with minimal detail and have your audience fill in the rest. DM us over on Instagram and let us know how it works out!
