It's All About The Story You are Telling

3 weeks on the road.

2 countries.

3 consulting clients.

2 keynotes.

1 executive retreat.

1 brand-new workshop (previewing now).

5 mountain summits.

And one spontaneous rock-climbing day with some locals.

Everywhere I went - in luxury, finance, homebuilding, wellness, tech - there was this unspoken theme:

Everyone wants to tell a better story. Everyone wants authentic customer connection.

But the most forward-thinking leaders are asking something deeper:

“Whose story are we not telling yet?”

“Who’s not in the room when we decide what the story is?”

“Are we “nose-blind” to experiences that no longer serve our customers?”

In advisory groups and focus rooms, it wasn’t the loudest voices that shifted strategy. It was the unexpected ones.

The customers who lay bare all the issues they never share in surveys or social media.

The service lead who catches what an UHNW client doesn’t say.

The young employee who reframes the entire client lens with one unfiltered observation.

In hallway debriefs, unexpected truths surfaced - the kind that reshape a brand’s strategy, not just its tone.

Because storytelling isn’t just about what you SAY.

It’s about what you design and how you execute.

The most exceptional experiences aren’t louder.

They’re more attuned. More unexpected. More earned.

And after three relentless, perspective-shifting weeks, I can say this with certainty: Being the best isn’t always about doing more. Or spending more money. Or playing follow the leader in your segment because its a "safe" choice.

The brands winning right now aren’t just telling “better” stories. They’re building environments where more employee and customer voices can shape them. And they’re willing to do what others won’t:

Dig deeper.

Listen wider.

Move faster.

And challenge every “premium” moment that’s become predictable and expected.

So think hard about your story and how you are telling it. Because your customers are surely listening.