Corporate Stories and Leadership Profiles

Just as every person has a great story to tell, so does every public or private company and institution.

 

Every venerable company was once a vulnerable startup. Every innovative service and product was once just an idea. Every success has depended the vision of corporate leaders and contributions of loyal employees . Every company has evolved amid economic and social trends of its era or eras, and every company has a narrative arc waiting to be put into words and onto the page. That narrative may well highlight the profile of the company’s founder – what need in the marketplace was identified that led the founder to create the company in the first place.

Write Wisdom knows that companies are more than just products, services and logos. They are stories — of success, failure, people, and ideas — that underlie what a company does and will do. The corporate histories that Write Wisdom writes stand, first and foremost, as crucial documents that chart their subjects’ trajectories and memorialize the contributions of their founders and employees.

Corporate histories build morale among employees, giving them insight into and a richer understanding of the endeavors to which the contribute. These stories can also play a crucial role in marketing and brand-building. A book that chronicles a company’s development up to the present day can set the tone for the next era of growth, innovation, and collegiality.

A corporate biography can serve as a powerful business card. It is an important "give away" when a company’s representative or CEO is asked to make a speech in front of industry peers, shareholders, and potential customers.

A well-known public relations executive advises her corporate clients to write a book to bring an audience to the “front of the room.” It’s a great take away, reinforcing the major points of a speech, and something that can motivate a meaningful follow up for future business.

Just a few examples of successful corporate/CEO books that pack huge lessons for the reader are:

Jack: Straight From the Gut, by former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch

Only the Paranoid Survive, by former founder and CEO of Intel, Andy Grove

A Big Life in Advertising by Mary Wells Lawrence, a pioneer in the world of advertising

Rework co-authored by Jason Fried, the co-founder and CEO of BaseCamp

Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, by its founder, Howard Schultz.

Pick up any one of these books that resonate with you, and envision what your book might have to say.