We’ve put a little thought into this.
(Okay, a lot of thought.)

When you introspect, align your values, and live authentically, you put yourself in the position to build stronger, more loyal, more authentic relationships with those around you. You put yourself on the path to becoming the best version of yourself.

That sounds like life advice, right? Well, maybe it is. But It’s not just true of people—it’s true of brands, too. When your brand acts in accordance with its values, inside and out, it can build and tell an authentic story that makes it easier to better reach and serve its audience.

Marble draws from two seemingly different, yet perfectly complementary bodies of thought to forge our philosophy, which shapes our worldview and our work, and constitutes the framework of our services.

Those two disciplines are classical storytelling and Stoic philosophy. By steeping in and drawing on the very best of these bodies of time-tested knowledge, we offer our clients a time-tested transformational methodology that is deeply rooted in some of the most powerful and enduring ideas that the world has ever known.

The tenets of Classical Storytelling

From academic theorists to visionary screenwriters, countless great storytellers have observed that the most compelling stories often share similar traits—if not outright identical ones. These traits, which many have attempted to codify and catalog over the centuries, constitute the elements of classical storytelling. They are the fundamental ingredients of every great story.

And while there are many of them, Marble’s philosophy zeros in on three in particular.

  • Every great story is centered around a great character. In our work, the central characters are typically our clients and their audiences. We design stories that end with those characters connecting and bonding over shared values.

  • In Screenwriting, “Unity” means “theme.” But for us, it means “values.” Stories are values-delivery-systems; they powerful tools for getting a strong central message across to an audience. We identify themes and values that unite brands and their audiences, then build supercharged messaging strategies around them.

  • Timeless. Enduring. Perfect. If stories are values-delivery-systems, the Three Act Structure is what gives them their…well, structure. We take full advantage of the psychologically-proven Rule of Threes to develop and deliver perfectly crafted stories for our clients.

The principles of Stoic wisdom.

Many of the world’s most powerful ideas date back to antiquity. At Marble, we draw predominantly from the ideas of ancient Stoic philosophy.

The Stoics were particularly interested in personal development. Their ideas interrogate how human beings should go about taking responsibility for their lives and becoming the most effective, most authentic version of themselves.

At Marble, we believe that sustainable change comes from inside, out. We extract the ideas of the Stoics and apply them to our clients’ brands, so that they may become as authentic and as effective as they possibly can.

Our incorporation of Stoic philosophy is rooted in the importance of alignment in our philosophy and proprietary methodology. Much of what the Stoics taught deals in aligning one’s values and discarding that which does not contribute to one’s journey toward betterment.

The journey toward improvement is not necessarily always about building—it’s about clearing away, uncovering, and fine-tuning. Stoic philosophy shows us the path to better alignment of our values, so that the stories we tell are more authentic, and more likely to connect with our audience.

  • This is where we begin. The mob is motivated by convenience and pleasure—whatever is easy and immediately enjoyable. Those who decide to become extraordinary must break free from the mob, reject this temptation to convenience, and embrace the difficult work of introspection. We must do the work of aligning our values, and living by them.

  • In some ways, this is just a fancier take on Oprah’s famous observation that “you teach people how to treat you.” Whichever phrasing you prefer, you must first come to understand who you are, then live accordingly, so that others—namely, your audience, but also your allies, and your competitors—know how to regard the authentic you. Your authenticity is your power. In our work, we help our clients come to understand and own their authenticity, then live in accordance with it for maximum impact.

  • What are your words worth to your audience? Most organizations’ words are worth very little—they speak only to a small sliver of their audience, and rarely motivate them to act. In our work, we strive to make your words priceless, so that when you communicate with your audience, they listen and take action. This can only happen when your values are in alignment, both internally and with your audiences’, and when your story has been carefully calibrated to connect with theirs.

  • This is what’s on the table. These are the stakes. In our work, we help brands embrace ongoing introspection and self-examination, so that they may evolve with their values. Only once this has been accomplished can we act in accordance with our values and become our most authentic, most effective selves. This is where the rubber meets the road. It’s where your values-driven strategic brand story has the capacity to galvanize and inspire your audience more than ever before.

  • This quote can also be understood as, “How long are you going to wait before you demand the best of yourself?” In our view and in our work, demanding the best for yourself and of yourself are synonymous; the work we do internally to introspect and bring our values into alignment calls forth the best of ourselves and inspires the best of the people we serve. This is the end, and also the beginning—of new relationships, new opportunities, and a new era of effectiveness and authenticity.

You probably noticed that we care a lot about values.
Here are ours.

  • “Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it.” Epictetus

    What we think, say, do, and—as a result—feel are in alignment. Our values and philosophy aren’t slogans. They’re the indispensable ingredients that make us who we are, and since we are only interested in doing our best work, we bring them to bear in everything we do.

    We act with intention, lead with our values, and refuse to shortchange the things that make us, us. We work and live with integrity, and our integrity is irrevocably rooted in our authenticity. Our authenticity is our power, and we thrive helping our clients find and own theirs.

  • "I will keep constant watch over myself and—most usefully—will put each day up for review.” Marcus Aurelius

    All meaningful growth begins with intensive—yet compassionate—self-reflection. We always encourage ourselves and our clients to go deeper; to examine our value systems more closely, and to always strive to bring them into better alignment. This is a lifelong process of refinement and growth, rooted in a deep desire to maximize our impact and change our world for the better.

  • “Your task is to stand straight, not to be held straight.” Marcus Aurelius

    Our ongoing introspection puts us on a journey toward the most authentic, most effective version of ourselves. Through our philosophy and proprietary methodology, we pursue that for our clients, too. We are not interested in quick fixes. We’re interested in transformation—transformation that brings us closer toward our best self.

  • “Ego is the enemy.” Ryan Holiday

    We are grateful for our opportunities to do the work we love for the organizations we support. We strive to do the strongest, deepest, highest-impact work we possibly can—not for personal glory, which is a mirage, but because we are thankful for the chance to use our talents and time to change the world for the better.

  • “How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?” Epictetus

    Time is our scarcest, most valuable resource, and so we are exceptionally deliberate about how we choose to spend it. We are not interested in doing many things well—we are interested in doing a few things better than anyone else in the world; we want As in two or three things, not Bs in five or six.

    We are a high-impact operation that provides a world-class service. When we impose discipline on how we spend our time, we free our future selves to say yes to doing better, deeper, more transformational work.

Welcome to to the world of Values-Driven Storytelling.

The principles of classical storytelling and Stoic philosophy that shape our proprietary methodology are time-tested, enduring, and transformational.

In synthesizing them, we have pioneered an approach that can help any leader or organization of any size become the most authentic, most effective version of themselves.

If it’s made by Marble, it’s built to last.