Build The Story

Founders, coaches, executives, and agencies ask me to co-create the stories they need to be heard, understood, trusted, and remembered.  I've written 850+ stories that have unlocked sales, investment, senior executive positions, and opportunities.

Whether you are selling yourself, your ideas, your business, your products, or your services, it's easier to sell with a well-designed story. I design these stories to help people understand your idea, so they can say YES.

Chief Story Designer

Firepower Concepts, LLC

Works with executives from business, non-profits, and governments to use applied creativity to unlock ideas and solve tough problems.  Blending decades of military experience with the latest academic research into creativity, neuroscience, and psychology, I help precisely define problems, develop solutions, and craft action plans to put those solutions to work.

Founder

FounderUp

I build custom, interactive learning experiences to help startup Founders develop themselves and their ventures.  Story-based, exercise-based, game-based, human-based experiences create impact.

Chief Learning Officer and Co-Founder

#HumanIntelligence

I create customized, interactive, user-focused training to teach tech-minded leaders and teams the "soft skills" they need to get to more YES!.  Workshops focus on critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.  Transforming the world by eliminating crappy pitches and presentations one person at a time.

Chief of Helping Clients Hear More YES!

United States Air Force

Leads a team of 50 to strategically implement Security Cooperation activities around the globe.

Deputy Director of Regional Affairs

Deputy Director Combined Air Operations Center

Drafted speeches and advised senior Air Force leaders on strategic communications.

Speechwriter

Chief, International Fighter Training

United States Department of Defense

Defense Attache / Senior Defense Official

A-10 Fighter Pilot

Storytelling for Underestimated Founders | Startup Founder Mentor with Techstars & gener8tor

I move ideas from your brain into someone else's using a 100K+ year-old technology.

I'm a storyteller.

Founders, executives, and coaches by the 100s have trusted me to help them be heard, understood, trusted, and remembered.

Sometimes they hire me directly to interview them & build the story myself.
Others join my Storybuilding courses to learn to do it for themselves.

Either way...they see results.

I'm not a copywriter.
I'm not a ghostwriter.
I'm a story specialist. 
I build short, impactful stories that hold attention long enough to get to YES!

It's easier and faster than you think. In a free 15-min call, we can change your business.
Doubtful?  Check out my top recommendation below.

How did I become a storyteller?

I’ve done some crazy stuff. I’ve flown fighter aircraft. I’ve negotiated hundreds of times with the Russian military to ensure we didn’t shoot at each other (unless that is what we intended to do). I’ve lived in Central Asia where making friends meant I ate more sheep brains and eyeballs and drank more vodka and fermented mare’s milk than I care to remember.

I’ve been a speechwriter for the most senior officials in the US Air Force. I also took out the trash, swept the floors, and “embraced the suck” with everyone else.

I’ve spent a lot of time studying…to get an undergraduate degree, to be a pilot, to get a Master’s degree in International Relations, and to work towards a PhD in International Development—until I realized fighting the bureaucracy was not how I wanted to spend my life.

Now, I help people move their ideas to create the impact they dream of.

Let's chat: Dan@buildthestory.com

Twice while fighting ISIS I was given illegal orders. Here's the step-by-step of how I said no:

Step 1: "I will not do that."

I was a target engagement authority, one of a handful of people who could approve strikes on ISIS targets.

My area of responsibility was far away from friendly forces, but often the strikes I approved were in civilian areas where ISIS operated.

In both cases, the orders came from honorable people genuinely trying to fulfill the mission they were given.

But, their mission-focus blurred the line between what was possible and what was legal.

Had I followed those orders, I would have been approving strikes against civilians with no expectation of gaining a military advantage.

In other words, I would have been not just following an illegal order, but issuing one myself.

I was fortunate to have leaders who supported me.
I also had solid legal advisors to help me.
I didn't have to stand alone.

And, in both cases, I was able to present options for how we could strike the enemy and achieve the effect we wanted without having to violate the laws of war.

The honorable people who issued the illegal orders listened to reason and reconsidered what they were doing.

Did some bad guys slip through because of it?
Maybe.

But, I believed we were a nation of laws that governed the use of America's military might against our enemies.

That might was not mine. 

It belongs to the American people, and I was entrusted to use it on their behalf--and in accordance with the laws our representatives passed.

I knew younger officers were watching.
How I acted would shape them as well.
I was obligated by my oath to say no.
The choice to follow them was not mine.

Yes, I refused the orders because they were illegal.
But, I didn't refuse out of fear of punishment.
The risk of being prosecuted was nil.

Instead, I refused them because I knew one day I'd be back home, and I didn't want to have to avoid all the mirrors and the face looking back at me from them.

Dan Manning

Helping Founders Tell Stories to Drive Action | Startup Mentor with Techstars & gener8tor | Millions Sold, Millions Raised, Millions Spent With Stories

I'm usually pretty good about keeping my sarcasm in check here, but yesterday a stranger pushed my buttons.

I was scrolling along on my LinkedIn feed.
Among the repetitive ads & 3W-old posts I saw it.

A person decrying websites made with vibe coding tools.
Not because they don't work.
Not because they can't generate revenue.
But because they look the same.

She's right. 
They DO look the same.
But, why is that the thing to post about?

Why was she calling them tasteless?
Why was she saying customers won't buy?
Most people aren't using vibe coding tools to build sites.
They build apps.

So why is this person fired-up about websites?
Then, it all made sense.
The poster designs sites using a different tool.

This is a type of LinkedIn argument that burns my biscuits.
It 💩s on people for doing their best.
Then creates a false premise...a strawman argument.
THEN, 
the arsonist-turned-firefighter, jumps in to save the day.

Building any business is HARD.
It's one of the hardest things I've done.
It's hard every day...you just get better at it.

If you are just starting...good for you!
You started.
Most people don't.
Most people will die wondering if they could've.

Use whatever tools you can use.
Experiment. Learn. Grow.

You don't need to spend a ton of money with an expert to start anymore. You just need the courage to learn.

If you haven't started, maybe today is the day.
Even if you don't have an expert's taste, you can still win.

OH....see the image in the comments for the tasteless sites of 4 companies worth a combined $4.9T.

To all the Founders who are worried you might fail.
You probably will. So, let's get started.

By far, the one fear that freezes would-be Founders.
Keeping them from taking a chance.
Keeping them locked in a career that doesn't serve them.
Limiting their dreams.
Is the fear of failure.

But, here's what most people miss.
Failure IS the path.

Whatever your idea is it probably won't work.
At least not in its current form.

The numbers don't lie: 90% of startups fail.
But...that failure isn't the end.

I've tried lots of ideas.
At least 90% of them failed.
But, I learned something in each one.

That learning becomes adaptation.
The next idea is better.
My ability to execute improves.
I learn more about people. 
I get better at choosing ideas to work on.
Then, I try something else.

But, I can't know what DOESN'T work until I DO it.
You have to DO to find out what needs to CHANGE.

The longer you delay the DOING,
The longer you delay you success."

Is the fear of being wrong holding you back?
What are you not DOING because you're afraid of failing?

------------------------------
Hi, I'm Dan.
I'm a Storyteller.
I mentor early-stage Founders to help them fail
...and learn
...and win.

OK...this is getting insane. I gave Nano Banana Pro my latest Substack article and asked for an infographic:

It did an amazing job.
It captured each of the key elements.
It created a perfect summary.
The first graphic style didn't match my brand.
But, I gave it 3 examples of designs I made, and it re-did it.

I'm reluctant to call things game-changers.
But, for people making educational content, it's a new day.

If you want to read the full article, it's here:
https://lnkd.in/erdvqAnu

Here's what people are saying about it:
• "So good! The way you break it down to explain it is beautiful."
• "We gotta get this to #1 in storytelling on Substack b/c this is miles deeper than any storytelling newsletter I’ve read (and I’ve written)."
• "All of the posts are worth at least a second read and note taking. I am passing these along to friends. Learning so much."

If you're interested in deeper takes on storytelling
...without being fed what the algorithm wants you to eat...
check me out over there.

My posts were failing because of the algorithm...not LinkedIn's, but the human one calculating ROA.

Every post here is someone vying for my attention.
Most don't get a click.
Some get clicked and immediately dismissed.
A few get read, consumed, considered.
What is the difference?

We are all constantly running an unconscious calculation I call 𝗥𝗢𝗔 — 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 

We invest attention where we predict the highest payoff.
THIS is the 'attention economy' everyone talks about.

In my new Substack piece, I break down:
• The neuroscience behind why attention is so limited,
• Why interest is more valuable than attention, and 
• How your audience actually decides what to focus on. 

I also share five practical techniques that make your stories 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸—from triggering dopamine-driven curiosity to keeping your audience in “StoryMind” instead of “FactBrain.”

If you want people to remember you, trust you, and act on your message, stop trying to hook them…and start increasing their ROA.

LinkedIn can't contain my thinking, so join me on Substack😂

I’ve said 1M times, Stories Stick, Facts Don’t. But, I haven’t explained the full reasons why. 

My latest article on Substack does.
It takes more characters to dig in than LinkedIn gives me.

You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/e38qC_yD

Or, you can get 50% of the value from this infographic.

I'm enjoying the space over there to go deeper on topics I usually just get to discuss with people in my Storytelling Apprenticeship.

Is there some question at the intersection of storytelling, psychology, and belief you've been thinking about?

Also...if like 90% of the rest of us you've given up on low-value online courses, but you still need to learn, maybe my Apprenticeship would be a good option.

While I can't make promises, I've been able to find clients or share clients for every Apprentice who did the work in the Apprenticeship.

Early Founders are excited to tell 'EVERYTHING' about their thing....and that's the core of their problem.

When I'm doing a storybuilding session with clients, I dig deep into the details.

"Who was someone you've already served?"
"What was the final straw for them?"
"What else had they tried?"
"What part of you 'pitch' resonated the most?"
"How are they doing now after working with you?"

I want them to visualize and reconnect with it.
Those specifics about a specific person MAKE the story.

Why?

Generalities speak to no one.
But,
Specifics speak to SOMEONE.
The "someone" you are best able to serve.

Here's a quick carousel with 2 specific examples. 😁

Do you speak in specifics,
or are you worried about leaving something important out?

-------------------------
Hi I'm Dan.
I'm a Storyteller.
I help Founders tell the stories they need
 to build the story they imagine.

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