#306 Chris Hare: Strategy Starts with the Story You Believe

In Part 1 of this three-part series, Chris Hare shares how a single founder story sparked a strategy pivot inside Amazon—and why storytelling isn’t fluff, it’s infrastructure. 

As a behind-the-scenes strategist for some of tech’s biggest companies, Chris has spent decades shaping narratives that align people, purpose, and performance. But his real power lies in his Gen X sensibility: low drama, high pattern recognition, and deep alignment between what’s said and what’s done. This episode explores how narrative becomes strategy—and why the most powerful shifts often start quietly, from the edges.

>>From Ad World to Strategic Narrative

“I started in marketing, but I got tired of talking at people.”

Chris shares how his path from advertising to Amazon and Microsoft led him to discover a deeper kind of storytelling—one that doesn’t sell, but aligns and activates.

>>Stories Fuel the Narrative—But Don’t Confuse the Two

“Stories are time-bound. Narratives are ongoing.”

He breaks down the difference between stories and narratives using a flywheel model—and why most companies misuse both.

>>When a Story Shifts a Billion-Dollar Business

“One conversation in Brooklyn rewrote the future of Amazon Marketplace.”

Chris recounts how a single founder story changed the internal narrative at Amazon, sparking a strategic shift toward supporting brand owners—not just resellers.

>>Narrative Isn’t a Department—It’s the Operating System

“Everyone thinks they own the narrative. The CMO. The CEO. The team.”

He unpacks why narrative must be rooted in strategy, and why trying to split it between brand, marketing, and product only creates confusion.

>>How Change Starts with Listening

“Storytelling isn’t a hero’s journey framework. It’s a pattern recognition discipline.”

Chris explains how real narrative work starts with deep listening and curiosity—and how companies can design strategy around human insight, not hype.

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Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Chris Hare

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