Narrative by Numbers

2Keep it Simple

Don’t make it too hard for people to discern your narrative. Communicate a clear and consistent story, and offer data points over time that demonstrate progress towards your vision.

Steve Girsky, Chairman of General Motors, Harvard Business Review (August 2014)

More is Very Rarely More

Rhetoric is defined as “the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing”, echoing Dan Pink’s contention that we’re all in the “moving business”. In Classical Greek and Roman times, as well as in Georgian and Victorian England, rhetoric was taught to prospective politicians and leaders. The focus of instruction for these elites often focused on form over content, and the use of compositional techniques including figures of speech, from ...