Spark Series Webcast: A Masterclass with Best-Selling Author Adam Ross

The Ultimate Story Framework for Employee Engagement - What if the secret to employee engagement isn’t more content but a better story?

In this insightful conversation, achievee Engagement’s Founder Jody Ordioni sits down with Adam Ross, best-selling novelist  and editor of the Sewanee Review, to explore how a powerful storytelling lens: Me → We → World —can help us build stronger connections at work.

Me → We → World is the emotional journey that moves a person from personal relevance, to shared identity, to broader meaning and it’s the same framework that drives real engagement across culture, communication, and change. Whether you’re shaping change management, leading a culture transformation, or helping employees connect to your organization’s new business strategy, this episode will leave you thinking differently about:

• Why some messages move people and others fall flat
• How story builds trust, not just awareness
• What communicators can learn from the discipline of fiction
• The role of AI in story development—and why your prompts matter more than your tools
• How to center intentions in everything you write, say, and share

This isn’t a conversation about tactics. It’s about the structure of emotional connection and how story gives us the most powerful tool we have to engage people at work.

About Adam Ross – Author & Editor

Adam Ross is the author of Playworld (2025), a critically acclaimed novel praised for its immersive storytelling, vivid prose, and powerful exploration of coming-of-age themes. With this latest work, Ross continues to solidify his place as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary fiction.

He first gained national attention with his debut novel, Mr. Peanut, a New York Times Notable Book and one of the best books of 2010 according to The New Yorker, The New Republic, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Economist. His short story collection, Ladies and Gentlemen, features “In the Basement,” a finalist for the BBC International Story Prize.

Ross’s nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and Nashville Scene. He has held fellowships at the American Academy in Berlin and Princeton University, and currently serves as editor of The Sewanee Review, the nation’s oldest continuously published literary quarterly.