No Mercy / No Malice: Resist

Storytelling is more than just a communication skill; it is a “superpower” that allows entrepreneurs to capture capital and imaginations to pull the future forward. While many associate storytelling with public speaking or video, the real engine of a great narrative is writing. Writing serves as a cognitive workout—engaging both hemispheres of the brain—that allows a person to discover what they actually think and refine their logic before presenting it to the world.

For Scott Galloway, his newsletter No Mercy No Malice functions as an intellectual laboratory and a “bunker buster” for emotions. By committing to a regular writing practice, he uses the medium to incubate ideas that eventually scale into books or podcasts. He emphasizes that the written word creates a deeper, more parasocial intimacy with an audience than video ever could, moving beyond “bro openers” and surface-level engagement to touch on profound topics like grief, fatherhood, and mortality.

Beyond personal growth, high-level writing provides a massive competitive advantage in business. From Jeff Bezos banning PowerPoints at Amazon in favor of six-page memos to the U.S. military’s insistence on “bottom line up front” (BLUF) communication, the most efficient organizations prioritize narrative clarity over decorative slides. By stripping storytelling down to first principles, leaders can expose flaws in logic and force a level of deep thinking that a visual presentation often hides.

Surprising Insights

• The “Bunker Buster” Effect: While videos and podcasts build broad recognition, written content is uniquely capable of reaching deeply buried emotions and fostering the most intimate connections with an audience.
• Design as a Differentiator: A key driver in the high valuation of L2 wasn’t just data, but a commitment to “creative differentiation,” such as hiring an animator before a salesperson to ensure reports felt like magazines rather than dry white papers.
• The Logic of Memos: PowerPoint decks often act as sales tools that hide logical gaps, whereas long-form memos force the writer to expose weak arguments and compel absolute clarity.
• Writing as Immortality: Beyond business, the ultimate “mission” of a writing practice is to leave a permanent, authentic record of one’s thoughts and love for future generations.

Practical Takeaways

• Establish a Writing Routine: Don’t wait for inspiration. Commit to a specific amount of time on a regular basis and create a deadline or accountability system to ensure you produce “reps.”
• Use Writing to Think: Use a newsletter or journal as an incubator. Write to find out what you think; if an idea resonates in a low-stakes environment, scale it up into a larger project.
• Prioritize Narrative over Decks: When presenting complex ideas, try writing a narrative memo instead of a slide deck to ensure your logic is sound and your point is clear.
• Lead with the Point: Adopt the military “BLUF” (Bottom Line Up Front) or the journalistic “inverted pyramid” style—put the most important information at the top to avoid burying the lead.