How Do Own An Idea or a Concept?
This episode looks at how great writing can influence and inspire, by owning phrases and concepts. The lens that we'll be looking at this question through is Naomi Klein's Hot Money - book 2 of Penguin's Green Ideas Series, as part of my reading challenge to do 20 books in 20 days. Naomi Klein is not everyone's cup of tea, but she's a great writer who challenges us to think differently about branding, capitalism and climate change. This episode contains a short book review but it is really a storytelling masterclass for anyone who wants to influence an audience with their words and ideas.
EPISODE LINKS
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Today’s episode is about someone you might have heard of but might not always agree with. And that’s a good thing. Naomi Klein is one of the most influential and provocative writers of our time. She’s the author of multiple international bestsellers, including No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, and This Changes Everything. I met her in 2019 at the book launch of On Fire. Her books that have shaped conversations around branding, capitalism, and climate for over two decades.
It's not just her activism or her politics which make her relevant - it’s her ability to communicate complex ideas with clarity, urgency, and emotional power.
As I’m on day 2 of my 20 day reading challenge, Naomi’s book Hot Money (one of Penguin’s Green Ideas books). It’s is a short, sharp meditation on the intersection of climate crisis and capitalism - particularly the role of global finance in driving environmental destruction.
One of her core ideas is that money - especially financial capital - moves fast, while the impacts it causes (like climate damage, inequality, or social unrest) move slowly and are often invisible until it’s too late.
“Capital has always moved faster than the consequences it creates.”
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Reading the book took me down a bit of a foxhole. Did you know -
“In 2015, Naomi was invited to the Vatican yes, the actual Vatican by Pope Francis to help shape the Church’s message on climate change. A secular Jewish feminist known for challenging global capitalism… advising the Pope. That’s the power of her voice. She was there because, as the Pope’s advisors said, she could say things they couldn’t. She speaks truth to power and power listens.”
Hot Money is connected to her a previous book about the climate crisis On Fire. Here’s a short clip of Naomi talking about it
[NAOMI CLIP]
Naomi’s is provocative and disruptive. She has this extraordinary ability to zoom out, spot patterns, and connect the dots between economics, politics, culture, and climate. Her work isn’t just about protest - it’s about understanding power, narrative, and the choices we make when confronted with crisis.
She writes and speaks with conviction but also with deep research, rich metaphors, and a compelling rhythm that draws you in, even when the subject matter is uncomfortable.
I think Naomi is also a great writer because she follows the friction. She doesn’t write what’s trending she writes where it hurts. She connects dots others miss, because she’s a systems thinker. She doesn’t treat problems as isolated events. Her writing is a form of investigative storytelling, showing how large, complex systems impact everyday lives.
And that’s the thing isn’t it…
Great storytelling is about pattern recognition.
If you can help people make sense of the chaos by revealing structure, context, or long-term consequences you create clarity, and with clarity comes trust.
And even when she’s tackling complex, structural issues, she blends head and heart – and doesn’t lecture - using stories to humanise data and values to sharpen strategy.
The lesson here for business leaders who want to inspire is that we must lead with values, not just metrics. In an age of reputational risk, rising expectations, and constant transformation, it’s vital to engage with perspectives that push us out of our echo chambers and into more meaningful dialogue.
People don’t follow spreadsheets - they follow stories.
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So – to Book #2.
Hot Money is a compact but powerful read. Took me about 75 minutes. Each of the three stories call you to think bigger, and leverage whatever influence you have to make a difference.
1. Hot Money: How free market fundamentalism helped overheat the planet
The first story critiques how capitalism prioritises speed, short-term profit, and the free movement of capital without accounting for long-term environmental consequences.
2. In Public and Paid For: Overcoming the ideological blocks to the next economy - Naomi argues that the path to a livable future demands bold public-sector leadership and collective action.
My takeaway was that we need new stories about the role of business in society. If you’re shaping internal or external messaging, it’s time to go beyond “public vs. private” debates and toward narratives about partnerships for the common good.
3. The Leap Years: Just Enough Time For The Impossible
This final short story is more hopeful and imaginative where she lays out a vision for a rapid transition to a more just, sustainable society. She argues that crises whether ecological, social, or economic create windows of possibility.
My key takeaway from this little book was that URGENCY + IMAGINATION is a powerful combination. As a communicator, your job is not just to explain what is—but to inspire belief in what could be. We need to give people stories that energize rather than exhaust them.
“The rules we live by are not laws of nature—they are choices. And we can choose differently.”
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It’s not like Naomi has contempt for corporations, she just wants us to ask:
· “What kind of business are we building?
· And at what cost?
· What are the ripple effects of our decisions - not just for shareholders, but for the systems we rely on to survive and thrive?”
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BIG PICTURE? Why should you care? What can WE learn?
I was just walking my dog Waffle in the woods thinking about the impact of Naomi’s thought leadership – and one thing struck me.
Naomi is good because she attaches herself to powerful concepts and makes them her own – and in some case she creates phrases and terms of her own.
The NY Times columnist Tom Friedman once told me that “If you want to own something you need to name it”.
I’ve done that throughout my career by building programs around Communications Thinking, Wild Ducks, Ten Words & Tactical Communications – which mean a lot to the folks in my world – but I reframed them – and this is what Naomi does.
In The Shock Doctrine Naomi (2007) spoke about “Disaster capitalism”. This theory describes how governments and corporations use crises - wars, natural disasters, economic collapses - as opportunities to push through unpopular policies while the public is too distracted or disoriented to resist.
In This Changes Everything (2014) Naomi spoke about “Blockadia” and grassroots environmental resistance – a term she used to describe a growing global network of activists who resist fossil fuel projects (pipelines, drilling, etc.) at the local level.
Later in that book she spoke about “Extractivism” (and phrase coined in the 1990’s but she owned it). It’s the concept of taking without giving back – an economic mindset that sees the Earth - and often people - as resources to be exploited.
Owning a phrase or a term cuts to the heart of powerful communication and makes your message memorable.
As we close here’s a couple of reasons why coining words or concepts matters deeply for any communicator who wants to influence others and inspire change:
1. Language shapes reality.
Words don’t just describe the world - they shape how we see it. When you coin a phrase or name a phenomenon, you give people a lens through which to understand their experience.
2. It creates intellectual ownership.
Unique phrases become shorthand for your worldview. They anchor your ideas in people’s minds and create a lasting association with your voice and your message. Think of Simon Sinek’s Start With Why or Brené Brown’s Vulnerability is strength. These aren’t just ideas - they’re branded truths.
3. It sparks conversation and spreads more easily.
Memorable language travels. It’s sticky. It gets repeated, quoted, challenged, and shared. These phrases become part of the cultural conversation. They make it easier for your message to go viral and your ideas to endure.
4. It positions you as a thought leader, not just a content creator.
Anyone can describe what’s happening. But leaders - and legacy builders - are the ones who define what it means. Coining your own phrases elevates your work from commentary to theory, from storytelling to strategy.
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So - if you’re a writer or business leader trying to inspire others, it’s worth asking yourself a couple of questions:
- · What’s the idea only I can name?
- · What’s the phrase that captures a truth my audience feels but hasn’t yet heard out loud?
Because once you give people the words, they can start building new worlds.
Thanks for listening. See you next time.
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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