Exciting Personal News
Turns out I will have two books coming out this year!
Personal Update
Hi friends. If you’ve been around for more than a week or so, you know that I have a book called De-vangelical coming out, inspired by my work here at Deconstructed Pastor.
But I also have another professional book I’ve been working on for years — one focused on storytelling and story strategy for leaders. In some ways, both of these books have been in progress for nearly two decades. And as fate would have it, they’re releasing in the same season of life.
Today I announced that my book Story Is the Strategy: Why Every Problem Is a Story Problem with a Story Solution will be released on November 9, 2026. Like De-vangelical, it’s available for preorder.
Unlike De-vangelical, I won’t be reminding you about it again after this post. :)
It’s not specifically written for this community, but I know some of you might enjoy it.
So this is simply your invitation to learn more — and preorder if you’d like.
Below is my announcement from earlier today:
Story Is the Strategy
Before this year is over, I will have delivered my three-hour storytelling workshop more than 65 times to over 1,200 executives in more than 40 cities across three countries.
Which means I’m on the road a lot. And when you’re on the road a lot, you work wherever you can — hotel lobbies, airport gates, coffee shops.
A few weeks ago, it was a Buffalo Wild Wings in suburban Atlanta. It was after 10 p.m. Just me, my laptop, and the bartender.
She asked why I was in town.
“I’m speaking at an event,” I told her.
“Oh fun,” she said. “What’s your topic?”
“Storytelling.”
Her face lit up.
“Ohhh,” she said in a high-pitched, almost sing-song voice. “You’re so lucky. I want to work with kids one day.”
I laughed.
“It’s actually for CEOs,” I said.
She stopped wiping the glass in her hand. “Really?”
“Really,” I said.
It’s not the first time something like that has happened. People hear “storytelling” and think children’s books. Or maybe marketing. Or maybe something soft — a secondary skill, a nice-to-have.
Not a primary leadership skill to master.
But here’s the thing.
Story isn’t just important.
It’s the strategy.
Every decision your customer, employee, or partner makes is based on the story they believe.
Not the spreadsheet. Not the data. Not the goals.
The story.
People don’t make decisions to purchase because of data. They buy because of how it makes them feel. Employees don’t stay because of compensation alone. They stay because of the story they believe about their future. Teams don’t disengage because of one tough season. They disengage because of the narrative they’ve constructed about why their work no longer matters.
If you don’t intentionally shape the story, people will make one up.
And it is rarely the one you would choose.
For more than twenty years, I’ve said some version of this in boardrooms and on stages around the world:
Every problem is a story problem with a story solution.
It’s finally time for me to put my thoughts down in one place.
The Book
This is why I’m writing a new book:
Story Is the Strategy: Why Every Problem Is a Story Problem with a Story Solution
This is not a marketing book. It’s not about branding tricks or polished messaging.
It’s about the human operating system beneath behavior.
Behavior follows belief. Belief follows story.
If you want someone to buy, stay, commit, refer, change, or grow, you must change the story driving that behavior.
That applies in companies.
And it applies in life.
Because you are not just managing tasks. You are living inside a narrative. And whether you realize it or not, that narrative is shaping outcomes.
This book brings together the ideas I’ve been refining for more than two decades — in workshops, in leadership rooms, and in one-on-one conversations with people trying to figure out why smart strategies sometimes fail.
Often the details of the strategy aren’t wrong.
The story underneath it is.
And that actually matters most.
Release Date
The book is scheduled for release on November 9, 2026.
Between now and then, I’ll be writing, refining, testing language, and pressure-testing the framework in real rooms with real leaders.
You can preorder the book today. Preordering this book is a huge way to support my work here. It allows me to free up my time to focus on research and writing. If you’ve been a supporter of me in the past, I really appreciate it. If you’re able to support this particular effort, it would mean a great deal to me at this time.
There are three options to preorder below. (Click to order.)
Preorder Below:
eBook— $20
Early copy of the eBook before the release
Signed Hard Copy (and eBook) — $45
Signed hard copy mailed to you
eBook included
Founding Story Partner — $300
Everything above
Name listed in a special “Founding Partners” section of the book
Invitation to a private 60-minute 1:1 Story Strategy Zoom session
The Story Partner tier is limited to 20 people. It helps support me as I write and includes a one-on-one coaching session focused on the story strategy for your personal brand and/or your organization.
I’ve been teaching this for most of my professional life. Now I’m building it into something that you can have with you 24/7. If you believe story shapes decisions — in business or in life — I’d love for you to be part of the beginning of this journey.
Because strategy shifts when the story shifts.
And once you perfect the story, everything else starts to fall into place.
A Quick Clarification
Wait — I thought you were writing another book?
If you subscribe to both Called For Adventure and Deconstructed Pastor (my other Substack), you know I’m also writing a book about my faith journey.
It’s a bit of a fluke that both of these books — ideas that have taken years to develop — are releasing in the same season of life.
That book grows out of my personal faith journey.
This one grows out of my professional work as a story strategist and story expert.
Two different lanes. Same underlying belief.
Story shapes everything.
If you want more information on De-vangelical, you can read about it here.
Congrats! Any chance there might be an audio version?
How about the first 3 letters of this work being “De-v”. Seems fitting.