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In business, drama usually means bad news. But the right kind of drama – a story with emotion, surprise and bite – is exactly what persuades customers, investors and employees. This week we’re looking at the power of story, the pace of decisions and the pitfalls of saying the wrong thing at work.

Enjoy!

The business case for drama

In his latest ‘Prof G’ post, Scott Galloway argues that storytelling, not STEM or even AI mastery, is the defining skill for the modern economy. His team’s playbook breaks down why: stories with drama and emotion stick, data only persuades when it carries a “wow factor,” and context makes complexity relatable – whether by comparing metaverse hype to Crocs searches or turning tax law into yachts. The point is simple but overlooked: investors, employees and customers follow compelling narratives more readily than spreadsheets. Entrepreneurs who master the craft gain more than attention — they earn cooperation, capital and loyalty. Read the Prof G playbook here.

The art of paying yourself

Entrepreneurs have several routes to income – salary, dividends or reinvesting profits – but the most valuable lesson may be when to pay yourself at all. A new Shopify report notes that founders often delay taking a salary to fund growth, yet neglecting personal pay can create strain and cloud judgement. The key is balance: enough income to maintain focus and resilience, while leaving room for reinvestment. For investors and teams, a founder who knows how and when to pay themselves signals discipline, not indulgence. Read the full guide here.

The newsroom’s newest problem: fake reporters

Now here’s something that is truly meta, as they say. Just as you start to worry about the future of journalism in the age of AI, along comes a fine piece of reporting – which is about AI journalism. City A.M. journalist Steve Dinneen set out to investigate a rogue AI byline and ended up exposing how machine-written content is creeping into newsrooms. The case began with an AI-generated pitch that snowballed into a tale about “hallucinating” reporters and the risks of synthetic copy blurring fact and fiction. It’s a brilliantly researched investigative piece and well worth a read. Check it out here.

Christmas creep starts now

It may be the first week of September, but Mailchimp is already unwrapping the holidays. Its new report shows that shopping behaviour is less about one big December rush than a rolling sequence of moods. Early finishers chase validation, bargain hunters wait for discounts, ‘Betwixtmas’ brings self-gifting and January pivots to self-improvement. For those looking to capture a Christmas shopping audience, festive spending is a marathon of shifting motivations, not a sprint to Christmas Eve – and those who tune into each phase will capture more than their share of it. Read the full report here.

The five traits AI can’t replace

If AI can now write code better than most humans, what skills should children – and adults – focus on? Raffi Krikorian’s Technically Optimistic Substack argues the answer lies less in syntax and more in timeless human abilities. He identifies five essentials: resilience in the face of setbacks, the curiosity to ask better questions, the willingness to adapt and try again, the capacity to see the bigger picture and the empathy to design solutions that serve people, not just data. These, he suggests, form a modern “AI trivium”: curiosity, creativity and compassion. In a world where machines handle the mechanics, those who master these traits will set the direction. Read the full essay here.

AI speeds up the sales clock

What AI can indisputably do though, is move decision-making from slow reflection to fast reflex. Where once managers gathered data and mulled over options, companies are now leaning on AI to surface instant recommendations, reassign accounts in real time or tweak media buys on the fly. Microsoft’s Daily Recommender has lifted sales productivity by 40%, while Morgan Stanley’s AI assistant now mines 100,000 documents to prep advisors in minutes. The aim isn’t to replace judgment but to compress timelines – turning decisions that once took months into weeks, days into hours and hours into seconds. Read the full HBR analysis here.

A free library of high performing ads

Scrolling through endless test campaigns to spot the rare hit is a familiar pain for marketers. Subspire’s new Ad Library takes a different tack: it curates only static ads that have already scaled profitably, from brands such as AG1, Ritual and Loop. With 300-plus examples and counting, the idea is quality over quantity – giving proven copy angles, layouts and formats rather than experiments. In a market awash with digital noise, the value lies in studying what has survived the test of spend. Explore the library here.

Calling your boss a dickhead is fine, says judge

It could be a testing week for managers everywhere. A UK tribunal has ruled that calling your boss a “dickhead” is not, on its own, gross misconduct. The case saw an employee win nearly £30,000 for unfair dismissal after a single outburst led to his sacking. The judgment highlights that process matters as much as politeness: without proper warnings and steps, one rude remark may end up costing the company more than a bruised ego. Read the full story here.

Why old favourites are losing their shine

First Claire’s Accessories, now Costa: two once-familiar names to UK consumers that show how quickly the high street can age out of relevance. Claire’s failed to turn nostalgia for glitter hairspray and ear piercings into a fresh proposition for Gen Z, while Costa is losing younger drinkers to Blank Street’s pastel matcha and Pret’s subscription model. Parent company Coca-Cola is now reported to be exploring a £2bn sale of Costa – roughly half the price it paid in 2019 – underlining the commercial cost of standing still. The broader lesson is the same: middle-of-the-road retailers that neither excite nor offer value are being squeezed from both ends, and the high street is being reshaped by those that can adapt fastest. Raconteur and the BBC have the stories.

AI prompt of the week: audit your brand consistency

Your website sounds professional, your emails sound desperate and your social sounds like it's written by three different people. This prompt audits your brand voice across every customer touchpoint and tells you exactly where you're confusing people.

Analyse this collection of our brand content [paste examples]. Identify tone inconsistencies, conflicting messages, and places where we sound like different companies. Give me a consistency score and three specific fixes to align our voice.

How to have effective work conversations

Most office friction comes not from big strategy disagreements but from small phrases that land badly. This framework shows that swapping blame for curiosity in everyday conversations doesn’t just ease tension – it builds resilience and trust.

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Drop me a line

That’s all for now. I’ll be back in your inbox next Sunday with more interest-piquing insights. Until then, send me the curiosities and curveballs that caught your eye.

Cheers!
Adam

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