Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (say that name fast 3 times!) was a key figure in French Louisiana's history. 
 
From founding Fort Maurepas to establishing New Orleans, Bienville's vision and leadership shaped the region's development. As governor four times, he navigated challenges and left a ...

Mark wasn’t rehearsing his speech.

He was drowning in it.

Stacks of reports.

Endless data.

A slide deck he had spent months perfecting.

And yet…

-His leadership team wasn’t bought in

-His managers were disengaged

-And one comment kept ringing in his ears...

“Where’s the inspirat...

Because I’ve been there.

I know what it’s like to:

-Feel unheard

-Struggle to communicate clearly

-Believe storytelling is something other people are good at

I know what it’s like to have:

-A great idea

-A strong product

-A valuable service

…and still watch it fall flat.

Not bec...

When I played high school football, we were terrible.
New coach came in and changed everything.

"You might not be the most skilled," he said,
"but you will be the most conditioned."

So he ran us.
Hard.
Every practice ended when someone puked.

He told us, "This sucks now, but when you're on that field, n...

 
This week in the L.A. area…

I got to do both.

 
On the work side:

🎤 Delivered two strategic storytelling workshops
→ Helping leaders communicate with more clarity, influence, and impact

 
On the recharge side:

📚 Read two books (airport + flight… yes, I’m that guy)

😎 Got a tour of Patagonia HQ in Ventura Bea...

Not barely.

Not close.

I literally stood in front of the room…
froze…
and said:

“I’ll take the F.”


But that moment didn’t start there.

It started years earlier.


In 5th grade, I moved to Bel Air, Maryland.

New school.
New environment.
No friends.


And for whatever reason…

I became an easy target.

The b...

I was living it.

I just didn’t realize it yet.


I grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania…

The son of a steelworker
…and a business-savvy entrepreneur.

Two very different worlds.

But together?

They taught me a ton.


My dad was one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever known.

He worked at Bethlehem Stee...

Not because I didn’t have opportunities…
But because I had too many.

All good things.

But I felt like I was being pulled in 10 different directions…
…and getting nothing meaningful done.

That’s when a line from Essentialism hit me hard…

“They eventually become spread so thin that getting anything done b...

...the passing of President Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865.

In the darkness of April 14th, 1865, John Wilkes Booth's bullet pierced Lincoln’s head, altering the course of our nation's history. 

The weight of the moment was intense as doctors rushed to attend to President Lincoln, but the seve...

It’s not the mic.
It’s not the host.
It’s the conversations.

And in Q1 of 2026, the conversations on Stories With Traction have been 🔥

Here are just a few highlights:

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐀𝐐 with MICHELLE B GRIFFIN

→ Breaking down how to actually apply storytelling in real business scenarios

𝐎𝐰𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧...

1 - The "start with why" mantra will actually hold you back when it comes to LI. I know too many people who spend forever figuring out their "why." This is a time suck, and your why doesn't even matter when you first start out, so just freakin' post. I started creating a lot of content in September ...

In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with marketing advisor Tim Parkin to unpack what magicians and great marketers have in common: the ability to capture attention, control focus, and follow a repeatable process to create results.

Tim shares how a childhood love of magic a...

In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun welcomes back Ricardo Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Bilingual America, to dive even deeper into culture, beliefs, values, norms, and the accelerating impact of AI on trust.

Ricardo breaks down what culture actually is (beyond the buzzwords and post...

In this powerful and personal episode, Matt Zaun sits down with executive coach, keynote speaker, and author Ken Sher to unpack career disruption, leadership integrity, and the role of trust in long-term success.

Ken shares the emotional story of being laid off after 25 years at Johnson & Johnson a...

In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with executive coach, keynoter, author, and Vistage Chair Danielle Baldwin for an honest conversation about inspiration, identity, and fear.

Danielle shares how losing titles in her life (mother, daughter, corporate leader, wife) forced ...

...and his former office/meeting space in Ann Arbor, Michigan…

…and I’m excited to say it marked my 19th presidential site. 🇺🇸

Every one of these visits teaches me something different about leadership, decision-making, timing, pressure, and legacy.

Gerald Ford is fascinating because he’s often overlo...

Then he got laid off.

25 years at Johnson & Johnson.

Two kids in college.

One in high school.

And suddenly the story he had been telling himself about the future… was gone.

What hit me hardest in our recent podcast episode wasn’t just the career loss.

It was Ken’s honesty.

He openly shared that the experie...

This time, I’m going back to the Detroit area. 

Excited to work with leaders in Novi & Dexter. 

We’ll delve into how to utilize strategic storytelling to:

-Boost sales 
-Transform company culture 
-Radially improve internal communication

This week is going to be awesome! 


P.S. if you have any restaura...

I remember standing in line with my dad at the grocery store (in high school).
 
He leaned over, pointed to the magazine rack, and said, "wanna know why muscle mags like that are still in business? Even though working out can be boring, the magazines always make it interesting." 
 
He was right.
 
These a...