By Celyphos S.A.
Curated by Antonis Kaloudis, Managing Director
The Paradox of Thermopylae
When we think of “Thermopylae,” our minds go straight to Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. And yet, this was a battle of the Persian Wars that Greece lost. If history were only about outcomes, we should remember Marathon — a stunning victory — or Salamis, which decided the course of the wars. But we don’t. We remember the defeat. Why? Because the story was written by Herodotus. One of Ancient Greece’s greatest storytellers. He framed it not as a military episode but as a tale of sacrifice and freedom. In his hands, three days of resistance became a myth that outlived empires. Without Herodotus, Thermopylae might have been a footnote. With him, it became legend.
Why Stories Stick
Neuroscience explains why. The brain forgets numbers but not stories. This is called neural coupling: when we hear a story, the listener’s neurons mirror the storyteller’s; the brain responds as if it were experiencing the event itself. Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker has shown that a fact becomes up to 22 times more memorable when wrapped in a narrative. In a Stanford experiment, students gave five-minute persuasive speeches. Only 5% of listeners remembered the statistics. Sixty-three percent remembered the stories. Stories do more than inform; they give meaning.
When Companies Forget to Tell Stories
Like battles without narratives, corporate announcements risk fading into obscurity. ESG reports pile up in unread PDFs. HR policies get lost in crowded inboxes. Financial results and corporate actions disappear into the sea of information unless they’re wrapped in a story. Data without narrative has no staying power.
Video as the Medium of Storytelling
Global companies have understood this. The challenge is no longer just to “communicate,” but to tell a story. And they’re doing it through video — the format best suited for storytelling. Sight, sound, narrative: combined, they create experience. And experience is what sticks.
Research shows that people retain 95% of a message when delivered by video, compared with just 10% when reading it (Sprout Social). It’s no coincidence that nearly nine out of ten companies embed video into their communication strategy (HubSpot). Video is no longer just a channel. It’s the contemporary vessel of storytelling.
Storytelling as a Leadership Asset
Storytelling in business is not decoration; it’s infrastructure. Leaders who tell stories, lead. As Harvard Business Review has noted, storytelling can make or break leadership because it builds credibility and inspires action.
McKinsey, drawing on research with 18,000 professionals across 150 countries, recognizes storytelling as a foundational leadership skill and underscores the CEO’s role as the company’s chief storyteller. It’s no accident that 70% of corporate transformations fail, often due to poor communication. That’s why McKinsey introduces the concept of return on inspiration: when leadership and narrative align, commitment and adoption rise.
Closing: Leadership Is Storytelling
Battles may be won or lost, but stories are what history remembers. Thermopylae endured not for its outcome but for the values attached to it. The same is true for companies: what lasts is not just what you did, but how you told it.
Today, the role of a leader is not only to make decisions but to give them meaning. The CEO is, above all, the storyteller-in-chief. Through narrative, leaders give direction, inspire their people, and build legacy.
Leadership without storytelling is like a battle without memory. And in a world overflowing with noise, what endures is the story that inspires.
Bibliography:
1. Aaker, Jennifer. Harnessing the Power of Stories. VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab, Stanford University, Harnessing the Power of Stories | VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab.
2. Rush, Brianne Carlon. “Science of Storytelling: Why and How to Use It in Your Marketing.” Media & Tech Network, The Guardian, 28 Aug. 2014, Science of storytelling: why and how to use it in your marketing | Media & Tech Network | The Guardian.
3. Ahmed, Anam. “60+ Social Media Video Statistics Marketers Need to Know in 2025.” Sprout Social, 13 Feb. 2025, 60+ Social Media Video Statistics To Know | Sprout Social
4. Oboidhe, Precious. “45 Video Marketing Statistics for 2025 [New Data].” HubSpot Blog, 3 Mar. 2025, 45 Video Marketing Statistics for 2025 [New Data]
5. Gothelf, Jeff. “Storytelling Can Make or Break Your Leadership.” Harvard Business Review, 19 Oct. 2020, Storytelling Can Make or Break Your Leadership
6. “Invest in the Art of Storytelling to Raise Your Return on Inspiration.” McKinsey & Company, 7 Dec. 2020, Invest in the art of storytelling to raise your return on inspiration
7. Barton, Dominic, et al. “The CEO’s Role as Chief Storyteller.” McKinsey & Company, 1 Oct. 2015, The CEO’s role as chief storyteller | McKinsey
