I Learned How to Tell Stories That Win in This Building — Here's What Most Techies Miss

by Meredith Clause | at Minnebar20

I spent years at Best Buy headquarters learning how to make complex (often technical) strategy land with executives who had 90 seconds of attention and zero patience for jargon. That framework now drives every narrative I build for CIOs and startup founders — and it was never about slides. Even though they were good.

Most leaders try to communicate strategy by adding more detail, more data, more evidence. That's backwards. The leaders who get funded, who get buy-in, who move organizations - they do something fundamentally different. They build narratives with stakes that motivate an audience to act.

This session breaks down the communication gap that kills good ideas. Why it happens, why smart people solve it the wrong way, and three specific moves you can apply immediately to make your ideas land with any audience. I'll use real examples from building executive narratives for CIOs at companies like Estée Lauder and Bacardi, and for founders raising capital. This is a talk, not a pitch. Come ready to argue with me about what actually works.

Meredith Clause

With more than 25 years of executive leadership experience, I work alongside CIOs and technology teams to translate complexity into clarity — for boards, investors, and enterprise stakeholders.

Before founding Storycore, I served as CMO of a global fitness franchise (Anytime Fitness), VP at Regis Corporation, and held senior leadership roles at Best Buy. That operator background shapes how I approach technology narratives: strategy first, story second. ​

Today, I partner with enterprise technology leaders navigating transformation, AI acceleration, and high stakes executive scrutiny - helping them articulate strategy with precision and confidence.

​ MBA, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota IDEO-Certified in human-centered storytelling Former Fortune 500 executive

​ A little more about me, personally: Hobbyist Cyclist World-Ranked CrossFit Athlete, JV Division Unabashed Paint By Number enthusiast


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