In a moment marked by uncertainty, anxiety and rapid technological change, storytelling remains one of the most powerful tools humans have for making sense of the world. 

On 10 December 2025, The Beautiful Truth hosted a live stream exploring why story still matters, perhaps now more than ever. Editor-in-Chief Hannah Finch was joined by Adam Penny, CEO of The Beautiful Truth and creator of the Human Story of Business framework, and Will Storr, award-winning author of The Science of Storytelling and A Story Is a Deal. 

Together, they discussed why storytelling matters right now, how leaders and organisations can use story to navigate uncertainty, and what business storytelling really means in a world increasingly shaped by AI. 

Watch the recording of the livestream, or read an abridged version below.

Why business storytelling matters right now 

Hannah Finch: We’re living through so much uncertainty, and we’re seeing businesses turn to AI in a massive way as the answer. There is of course a place for AI. But Adam, what is unique about this moment we’re living in, and why is storytelling so important right now? 

Adam Penny: There’s a lot of anxiety and fear around at the moment. Every headline feels like crisis – geopolitical, economic, environmental, social. It all creates this sense of not really knowing where things are going. 

It’s very easy to feel like there’s an inevitability of a doomed world that we’re heading towards. What’s interesting is that the brain is this incredible storyteller. If we start perceiving that that’s what’s going to happen, it can feel inevitable. 

That’s why we need stories of imagination and possibility, stories about where it can go right, so we can lead ourselves into that future. 

Because we’re going through a time of immense change and challenge, people are asking something much more acutely of leaders and businesses: who are you really, and who are you going to be in this moment? How are you going to respond? 

If leaders harness story in the right way, they can give hope to their workforce, their customers, their investors, and show a way through change and challenge. 

Storytelling as a human technology  

Hannah Finch: Will, why does storytelling, one of the most ancient tools of leadership, still work so well, especially now? 

Will Storr: To understand why storytelling is persuasive, you need to understand that its core purpose is to persuade. 

Human beings are this crazy species of ape, part ape and part ant. Unlike other apes, we don’t solve the problems of existence as individuals. We do it in groups, in highly cooperative groups, like a superorganism. 

Storytelling is the technology that connects individual brains together. It means you’re all seeing the same goal, understanding the same obstacles, sharing the same values, and the same understanding of what a good person and a bad person are. 

That’s why storytelling is so crucial for any organisation. It’s what binds individual brains together, gives a vision of the future, and gives people meaning and motivation through difficult times. 

The superorganism and organisations   

Hannah Finch: You talk about the idea of the superorganism in A Story Is a Deal. Can you explain what that is, and how organisations can harness it?

Will Storr: A superorganism is lots of individuals connected together, each playing a role so the whole can achieve its goal. That’s why people like E.O. Wilson compared humans to ants, because ants behave as a superorganism. 

Human society is really just a bunch of superorganisms, whether it’s a football team, a political party, or a supermarket chain. But in order to do that, you need story. 

Every superorganism has a story about who we are, where we’re going, who our enemies are, and what heroic stories of the past we can draw on. Storytelling is the operating system of the superorganism. 

Adam Penny: And the thing people don’t always get is that story exists whether it’s being managed or not. There is a story of a business regardless of whether it’s been shaped or cared for. And the lower the trust, the less cohesive that story is. 

Leadership and “storybeing”    

Hannah Finch: So where does leadership fit into this? 

Will Storr: Leaders have to embody the story. Psychologists talk about prototypicality, meaning leaders should embody the values and the story of the organisation. 

I call it “storybeing”. Storytelling isn’t enough. The leader has to embody the story in how they act, not just in what they say. 

People look to leaders to answer the question: who do I have to be in this superorganism in order to thrive? 

Howard Gardner’s research on leadership found that effective leaders tell stories about who I am, who we are, and where we’re going. That’s not optional. 

Knowing what story you’re in     

Hannah Finch: Adam, you’ve developed a framework based on Christopher Booker’s Seven Basic Plots. How does this apply to organisations? 

Adam Penny: Booker looked at stories across history and found the same plots repeated again and again. When I read it, I realised these were exactly the stories we’d been telling in business for years, often without realising it.
 
Four plots kept coming up again and again. Overcoming the monster, like Beowulf or Jaws. The quest, like Lord of the Rings. Rise to greatness, the underdog story you see in start-ups. And rebirth, where organisations recognise their failings and come out changed.
 
Those stories have been told in business for decades. The problem is when organisations don’t know which one they’re in. 

Will Storr: What’s fascinating is that we’ve been telling stories about how to overcome crises and walk through wastelands again and again. It’s almost like there’s a code there for how we get through hard times and come out the other side. 

When people fall out of sync with the story     

Hannah Finch: What does it mean when leadership owns the story, but others aren’t following?
 
Adam Penny: There has to be authenticity. There has to be truth. When there’s a disconnect between the outer story and the inner story, that’s when problems happen and distrust sets in. 

Will Storr: Organisations often think the group story should be enough, that you should be proud to work here. But we’re not actually ants. We’re also part ape. 

We want to feel valued as individuals as well as part of something bigger. When people don’t feel seen, they fall out of sync with the story the organisation is telling. 

Why facts aren’t enough     

Hannah Finch: Why do misinformation and false narratives spread so easily?
 
Will Storr: The brain isn’t a logic processor. The brain is a storyteller. That’s why really smart people believe really crazy things. 

If you don’t understand story, you won’t understand why misinformation works, and you won’t know how to counter it. Facts alone don’t do it. 

Positive storytelling     

Hannah Finch: What if it doesn’t feel like there’s a positive story to tell? 

Will Storr: If you’re leading people somewhere better, there is always a positive story. But it has to be honest about struggle. 

My definition of story is the overcoming of an obstacle in pursuit of a goal. The obstacle is essential. It gives the story its emotional weight and its authenticity. 

People respond to honesty, as long as there’s a “but”. This is hard, but this is what we’re going to do about it. 

Adam Penny: One of the challenges is an efficiency-dominated mindset. When everything is about being on all the time, it undermines any story a business is trying to tell about valuing people. 

Making story land 

Hannah Finch: How can you tell when a story is actually landing? 

Will Storr: If you’re making people feel emotional, then you’re winning. 

Adam Penny: Often when a story lands, people don’t react outwardly. They recognise something about themselves in it. They start to embody it. That can be quite a quiet thing. 

Download our guide to discover the story your organisation is living in.