Approach & IMPACT
We turn complex strategies into compelling stories that drive real-world decisions. Our approach blends deep research with creative storytelling to make policy, defense, and innovation efforts more understandable, memorable, and impactful.
Having collaborated with organizations that range from the U.S. military and Hollywood production companies to the world’s leading tech firms, we pioneered a new methodology to envision, innovate, and communicate. Known as Useful Fiction™ or FICINT™ (Fictional Intelligence), it melds nonfiction research with the power of narrative to reach target audiences with greater effect.
HOW WE WORK
Strategic Narrative & Visualizations
We bring reports, white papers, and strategies to life through immersive storytelling—infographics, videos, and fiction-based scenarios.
Conference, Wargame & Event Storytelling
From live sketch murals to post-event sizzle reels, we help organizations capture and communicate key moments.
Leadership & Training Workshops
Hands-on sessions using future-scenario fiction to teach critical thinking, creativity, and foresight.
Mentoring & Residencies
We embed experienced writers and designers into your teams to co-create and build internal capacity.
Consulting & SME Support
We advise on narrative design, policy communication, and creative strategy across government and private sector projects.
Trusted by global security leaders, tech innovators, and governments alike.
From NATO to the White House, our work has changed how leaders think about AI, cyber conflict, space, defense strategy, and more.
case study: HOW TO PROVOKE ATTENTION AND ACTION
“…set the tone for the Commission’s report, making the stakes clear to every reader.”
— Rep. Mike Gallagher, Co-Chairman
case study: How to Set the Scene for Effective Meetings
Useful Fiction prepared attendees of the Inter Astra conference by crafting a speculative news pre-read and original artwork that aligned diverse leaders around future-focused themes before the event began.
WORKSHOP: HOW TO GAIN COMMUNICATION, STRATEGIC NARRATIVE AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Useful Fiction equips leaders with communication and change management skills through immersive workshops that pair strategic storytelling exercises with insights from top military, corporate, and creative minds.
CASE STUDY: Understanding the Future
Useful Fiction helped a game developer reimagine their creative and strategic outlook by identifying the key trends and technologies that will shape the next 20 years.
TESTIMONIALS
“Being able to tell stories that operate at both the emotional level and intellectual level is gonna be more compelling than just facts.”
Colonel Mark Jacobsen, USAF (retired), US Air War College
“Game-changing capability…Allows us to look at problems in a completely different mindset.”
General Byan Fenton, Commander of US Special Operations Command
“Fantastic and compelling.”
“…The content was thoroughly engaging, whether it was discussions with the authors themselves, engagements with Hollywood executives, or hands-on assignments meant to teach the skills of creative writing and FICINT. Highly recommend to any program seeking top notch instruction that boosts the creativity and passion of their students.”
“It was great, exactly what I was looking for. It really captured their attention and created a great energy.”
“Filled with enthralling characters and scenes, but also key real world issues and questions, which you’ll be thinking about long after you finish.“
Reid Hoffman, Founder of LinkedIn
“…Decision-makers are more likely to sit up and listen if future threats, and the methods to combat them, are presented in a gripping story rather than in a plodding report.”
The Economist
“…What inspiration, what insight, what Useful Fiction.”
Commandant, Canadian Forces College
“Useful Fiction makes facts compelling.”
Ministry of Defense, United Kingdom
01. UNDERSTANDING
Narrative packages new information within the oldest, and most effective, technology of communication. The use of story to share ideas and lessons dates back to humans’ earliest days, gathered around a fire in a cave. In contrast, Powerpoint is only 30 years old, so it is not surprising that our brains are literally wired to take in story. In fact, studies from fields extending from cognitive science and psychology to national security research find that such “synthetic experiences” are actually even more powerful influencers than even the most “canonical academic sources,” on not just public understanding but policymaker actions.
Useful Fiction is designed to allow the audience to “experience” the research, as well as “feel” its effects.
02. ACTION
Narrative engages both the left and right sides of the brain. It not just enhances understanding, but also creates emotional connection and that emotion then provokes action. We are all heroes or victims in our own life stories, and the same plays out in the connections we make to the scenes and characters in synthetic environments.
Useful Fiction narratives leverage that all-too-human inclination to drive change, be it the fear of avoiding a depicted “nightmare scenario” or the desire to make real a positive only experienced in simulation.
03. CONNECTION
Humans naturally connect through story, which makes Useful Fiction not just more likely to be read, but also more likely to be shared.
One of the biggest challenges for any project is how much else is competing for the target’s audiences time and and attention. An engaging story not only has a lower barrier to entry than a dense white paper, but also can also be read and enjoyed in times and locations that a traditional report might not be apt for, such as on the weekend or a plane flight. In turn, that target audience is then more likely to share a story with others -thus becoming part of the marketing team.
04. CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Any successful program of organizational change requires that team-members understand and connect with the reasons behind that change and support the ultimate destination.
Useful Fiction thus provides three crucial attributes to change management efforts:
1. Communicating the need for change: By envisioning how the current way of doing things is no longer sustainable, leaders can help employees understand why the change is necessary.
2. Creating a vision for the future: By providing a narrative of what the organization could look like in the future, leaders can help team-members see the benefits of the change and understand what they are working towards.
3. Encouraging action: By creating a vision of how the team-members too have a role in a winning story, leaders can inspire employees to be proactive and supportive in driving the change forward.