"There's a difference between avoidance and stewardship of our own attention." - Ken Woodward
"You were the most interested person in the room, and you're gonna get love." - Maury Rogow
Maury Rogow is all about storytelling. He is the CEO of the Rip Media Group and creator of the Story2Sales methodology that's generated over $150 million in trackable revenue for clients. I appreciate the tag line, "Your brand will thrive or die, based on the story you tell."
Maury's unique journey spans high-tech success and Hollywood storytelling. He built his business career at companies like Avaya, Lucent Technologies, and GeoTel—a startup that sold to Cisco Systems for over $1 billion. He then pivoted to Hollywood, serving as executive producer for feature films like "Bedrooms" and "Enter The Dangerous Mind," and working with industry legends including the creator of the Batman franchise.
Today, Maury combines business acumen with cinematic storytelling to help Fortune 1000 companies like Comcast, Kaiser Permanente, and Ben & Jerry's create compelling brand narratives. His approach recognizes that in our noise-filled marketplace, every company must master storytelling to survive and thrive.
Maury has proven that great stories don't just entertain—they sell. He's written several books, with his latest on the horizon being "Your Story Can Be Your Superpower - Selling in an AI world." He has been featured in Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur magazines.
In this episode of Curated Questions, host Ken Woodward engages with Maury Rogow, CEO of RipMedia Group, to explore the transformative power of questions in both personal and professional contexts. Maury shares pivotal moments in his career, from telecommunications to Hollywood, emphasizing how a single question can change a transactional relationship into a meaningful connection.
The discussion covers the importance of storytelling, the benefits of embracing unique traits, the impact of framing on emotional responses, and effective strategies for leveraging questions in sales and daily life. Maury also offers practical advice on finding balance in business, the role of AI in asking the right questions, and shares key resources and techniques for developing better questioning skills. Listeners are encouraged to take on an audience challenge to spend a day asking only questions and to reflect on the impact it has on their interactions.
This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.
Keep questioning!
Episode Notes
00:00 Introduction: Growing Up in the Bubble
01:48 When the Bubble Bursts: The Flood of Nuance
03:30 Why We Ask Questions: Locating Ourselves
05:14 The Dance of Critical Thinking
07:22 The Mountain Goat Method: Questions Without Answers
08:44 Two Kinds of People: Knowers and Searchers
11:07 The Mortar and Pestle: Fragrance of an Intentional Life
12:02 Life in the Bubble vs. Life in the Pestle
12:54 Discerning Your Questions: What to Pick Up and Set Down
14:38 The Fragrance You're Becoming: Closing Reflections