Useful Fiction

An exciting Day 1 at our workshop on psychological operations at Ft. Liberty with United States Army Special Operations Command and USSOCOM, one week ago today. Quick hit themes from the day: 1. Information = ammunition 2. Distill your narrative down to a single theme, and build it into every page 3. Know what meeting your audience went to last 4. Start from the truth. Build from there A few points from our Day 1 speakers that really stuck with us: General Austin "Scott" Miller—When you’re pitching ideas to senior leaders, remember to acknowledge the risks of your proposal. “Everything you propose is a difficult concept.” Keep moving, and know your audience—whether they are SECDEF or a Taliban commander. (And use writing instead of PowerPoint presentations!) Brad Shelton—“Facts are meaningless unless tied to emotion.” Make the audience a part of your story—make them the hero. Identify a theme and weave it into every element of your narrative. The theme of the Wizard of Oz isn’t “There’s no place like home;” it’s: “You are enough.” Amanda Johnson-Zetterström—When writing characters, start with 3-5 details. Where are they coming from? Where are they going? What did they eat for breakfast? Start to hear their voice in your head—you don’t need to write 2 pages of background. Be specific, the rest will flow. Joshua Baughman—For the PLA, cognitive warfare is its own domain. In CW, “the human mind is the battlespace. We’re attacking the will to fight… The ultimate high ground is the cognitive domain.” #PSYOP #PsychologicalOperations #Cognitivewarfare #FICINT #FictionalIntelligence #UsefulFiction 

Thanks to Peter Singer and August Cole and the Useful Fiction team for allowing me to speak on Creating Compelling Narratives for Command and Senior Leaders. Was a great event at Ft. Moore, GA with the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence.

“Put yourself in the position of your intended audience. Just because you are comfortable with something doesn't mean that's the way you communicate it. You are not the audience!” Great advice on communicating more effectively in briefings and memos from Major General Colin Tuley , at our event on strategic narrative at MCOE

“Don’t be afraid to be creative, to challenge the orthodoxy. The sacred cows in organizations should be on the chopping block….Creative initiatives are a valuable means to that.” Great line from Mick Ryan, AM at our MCOE event

“Mess is where the stories are.” Great writing tip from Hope Hodge Seck (on how to find the most interesting stories by looking for the complex topics) during our MCOE event

“Facts inform us; stories make us act.” Great line from Joe Byerly at our recent MCOE event.

I was honoured to take part in this awesome Useful Fiction event on strategic narratives. Thank you Peter and August for inviting me to contribute.

Thanks to Peter Singer and August Cole and the Useful Fiction team for allowing me to speak on Creating Compelling Narratives for Command and Senior Leaders. Was a great event at Ft. Moore, GA with the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence.

A massive thank you to all the speakers and attendees for last week's 2-day workshop on narrative futures & change management. We partnered with the Maneuver Center of Excellence to talk about the power of narrative & the future of large-scale combat operations. Ft. Moore Commander Major General Colin Tuley kicked things off with an overview of the role of narrative in war & leadership. Peter W. Singer talked about the role of story in driving change in the real world LTC Joe Byerly, founder of From The Green Notebook, talked about the power of narrative in strategy and career development. Sam Hargrave, director of movies like Extraction & stunt coordinator for the Marvel MCU, talked about building narratives that audiences will embrace. COL Matt Yocum, former lead CENTCOM speechwriter & current Marvel Comics writer, explored how to communicate ideas up the ladder to command and senior leaders. August Cole laid out the keys to building a successful narrative General Mick Ryan, AM, author & former commander of the Australian Defence College, walked us through both the role of story in leadership and lessons learned about the future of warfare through the lens of Gaza and Ukraine. Hope Hodge Seck, editorial director at the West Point Irregular Warfare Initiative, helped us understand the key points of communicating military topics to civilian audiences. Finally, Joshua Baughman explained what the PRC's "Cognitive Warfare" concept means for the future.

Some great images from our Useful Fiction event on strategic narrative and leading change, for the US Army Maneuver Center of Excellence. Speakers included Major General Colin Tuley Joe Byerly Hope Hodge Seck Matt Yocum Joshua Baughman Mick Ryan, AM August Cole Peter W. Singer and Sam Hargrave Thank you for hosting us!