Uncategorized – Gary Goldhammer — Strategic storytelling for brands, organizations and executives

Breaking the Story Code 2.0: The Hero’s Journey in the Age of AI

In 2014, I wrote a blog post called “Breaking the Story Code: The Brand Storytelling Hero’s Journey.” That post was a part of a series, which became a short book, which became presentations and client workshops and applying the methodology with brands like Ford and Bank of America. I was an anomaly then (and nowContinue reading “Breaking the Story Code 2.0: The Hero’s Journey in the Age of AI”

In the Space Between

FERRIS BUELLER WAS RIGHT. Life moved fast so I did too. I focused on what was ahead of me and missed what was right in front of me. Because I was building a business while she was learning to read. Because I climbed the corporate ladder and spent most of my time in New YorkContinue reading “In the Space Between”

The Good Fight

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WILL HAVE NEW MEANING THIS JULY 4. We will celebrate our independence as a nation while we declare our independence from reality. We will attend backyard barbecues as we codify our independence from compassion and rationalize our retreat from common sense. We will light up the sky with fireworks as weContinue reading “The Good Fight”

Some Things Today are Just Not Okay

Just so I got this straight:

Living an Unfinished Life

“IT’S FUN GETTING OLD.” He was joking, in that adorable old man manner of sarcastic whimsy — the kind that elicits a polite laugh the first and fifteenth time you hear it. I chuckled and nodded, and then we both continued our respective ritual morning walks in opposite directions. I didn’t mind the comment. AfterContinue reading “Living an Unfinished Life”

“We’re Landing in 20 Minutes”

THERE’S A TIME AND A PLACE. The time was 8:47 pm. The place was the Potomac, on approach to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. A U.S. Army helicopter collided with an American Eagle flight, killing all 64 passengers and three military personnel. The river was on fire as politicians and pundits cried havoc. BodiesContinue reading ““We’re Landing in 20 Minutes””

Goodbye SEO, Hello AEO — Agentic Engine Optimization

The better part of my career was spent on SEO – working to get clients “above the fold” on Google by gaming a system that kept changing the rules. Keywords were the gold nuggets of content marketing; “storytelling” became a euphemism for flooding the zone with mindless copy. SEO today isn’t dead, but it’s dying.Continue reading “Goodbye SEO, Hello AEO — Agentic Engine Optimization”

Newspapers at the Tipping Point

THIS ISN’T POLITICAL. I don’t talk about politics online. If you know me then you already know where I stand — and if you don’t know me, then you really shouldn’t give a shit what I think. Hell, I barely give a shit what I think. But like I said, this isn’t political, so IContinue reading “Newspapers at the Tipping Point”

Finding your Fixed Point

The best advice I ever got was on the golf course. Even by the most liberal standards my game was terrible – I had all the sports acumen of an awkward Jewish kid from the Valley whose mom made him play catcher because at least he’d have to wear a mask. Still broke my glassesContinue reading “Finding your Fixed Point”

We are Always Just Beginning

ABSENCE AND PRESENCE. We see them as being different. Absence cannot be presence, so therefore presence cannot be absence. It’s immutable fact. Not exactly. You can be there and also not there. Present while absent. I know this to be true because I’ve seen it. In fact I saw it recently, on a sun-drenched hillContinue reading “We are Always Just Beginning”