In The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google (Portfolio/Penguin Random House, October 2017), Scott Galloway suggests that Amazon’s core competence in storytelling. How so?

“Through storytelling, outlining a huge vision, Amazon has reshaped the relationship between company and shareholder. The story is told via media outlets, especially those covering business and tech. Many of them have decided to teach tech CEOs are the new celebrities, and they give Amazon the spotlight, center stage, and star billing anytime. Until now, the contract companies have with shareholders is: Give us a few years and tens of millions of dollars…and then we’ll begin returning capital in the form of profits. Amazon has exploded this tradition, replacing profits with [begin] vision [end] and [begin] growth [end], via storytelling. The story is compelling and simple – the power couple of messaging.”

The Story: “Earth’s Biggest Store.”

The Strategy: “Huge investments in consumer benefits that stand the test of time — lower cost, greater selection, and faster delivery.”

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Scott Galloway is a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and the founder of Firebrand Partners, a Hedge Fund that joined forces with the hedge fund Harbinger Capital in order to force change on the New York Times Co. in 2008. He is also part of a think tank called L2 and an expert on branding, luxury businesses, digital strategy, and the emergence of Asia as a consumer base.