When Bruce moved to LA from NY – where he started his advertising career – he immediately felt the pull of screenwriting. He was a movie lover since childhood, and as that’s the art form LA is most famous for, he decided to give it a whirl!

After all, here he was in Tinsel town! He was ready for his close-up!

And so, full of NY fuggedaboutit, he arrogantly and ignorantly starting writing the worst screenplays ever written.  And when those screenplays went out to producers, they said “Fuggedaboutit! This stinks!”

So he got wise, and started a learning quest on the art of story telling and the craft of screenwriting.  He studied with the masters, took the classes and wrote and wrote and got better and better. He started winning contests and getting noticed by producers looking for properties and he got more of his screenplays optioned. (Currently, three of his screenplays are making the rounds. Hey, no matter how good you are, it’s a tough business!)

But he and Tom Lazaroff had a revelation: That businesses could use the same chops he had developed to tell their own stories. Why can’t a business be as exciting as The Bourne Identity?  If the founders or CEO’s or CMO’s knew the formula for successful storytelling, the bumps to avoid along the way, and could create interesting and inspiring stories about their business, they would achieve greater success. Thus was born the discipline inherent in their Fundamental Story Process. And to date, the response has been terrific. We’re finding businesses are ready for their close-up!

My first insight into the power of story came in 9^th grade.  For some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to learn Latin.  I had never taken a foreign language, and thought Latin would be helpful.  I walked into my first Latin class, and there our teacher, a tall, older man welcomed us.  After taking roll, he said, “I’d like to tell you a story.” And he immediately began to recount a Russian tale.  He had a dramatic flair, and soon most of us were completely enthralled.  He took a full 15 minutes of our 40 minute class to tell us this story.  When he finished, he said, “In a few years, you probably won’t remember much, if anything about Latin.  But you’ll remember the stories I tell you.”  I was astonished – I remember wondering why the hell I was taking this class if I was going to forget it all.  But as it turned out, he was right.  His stories taught life lessons that I will never forget.  (and I remember nothing about conjugating Latin verbs!)

From that day on , I knew stories had a power to captivate, inspire and endure, and I’ve gravitated to telling them for most of my career.  This included being one of the original producers of E! Entertainment TV, working with Disney Consumer Products, introducing movies like Toy Story to licensees and retailers, and collaborating with Bruce Dundore for the last 17 years telling brand stories.  I’m looking forward to helping you discover the power of story.