Mack & Ria Story

Our clients can say it better than we can:

“My first words are, GET SIGNED UP! This training is not, and I stress, not your everyday leadership seminar! I have never been a part of anything like it. After 30 years in technology and two years in Concrete Construction, I have attended dozens and sent hundreds to the so-called ‘Leadership-Training.’ I can tell you that while all of the courses, classes, webinars, and seminars, had good intentions, nothing can touch what Mack and Ria Story provide. I just wish I had it 20 years ago…I could go on-and-on…100% of the team that attended said that they were ‘blown-away, they did not see that conviction and passion coming.’ Many thanks, Mack and Ria!” ~ Sam McLamb, VP/COO

“We were really glad to have had the opportunity to welcome Mack and Ria Story with Blue-Collar Leadership to the final day of our event this year. They shared some amazing concepts, told compelling and moving stories, and provided insight into some key leadership skills. It was the perfect capstone to our time in Princeton N.J. this year and really helped bring the group together in a meaningful way before our departure.” ~ Advance Pavement Group

Mack and Ria are authentic and transparent. Both are true leadership experts who speak from experience and engage their audiences with thought-provoking and often humorous stories. They never make a point without telling a story and never tell a story without making a point. Mack is a blue-collar "country boy" and proud of it. His humble and self-deprecating humor gets audiences laughing and engaged right away! Ria is a polished professional with a background in Health Care Administration with a powerful personal story which serves as her foundation for motivating and inspiring others.

Mack and Ria have an innate ability to read a room and connect with the audience in a special way that inspires and motivates. The audience doesn't just see and hear them, they can feel what they are saying. They don't just teach lessons from a book - they speak from a lives transformed by the application of what they have learned by reading leadership books every day, applying the principles to their lives, and teaching/mentoring/coaching others across various industries for many years.

Mack and Ria have a warm and engaging way of bringing the humor in their relationship to the audience too. The synergy they use to entertain an audience cannot be duplicated by a single speaker. As a husband/wife, blue-collar/white-collar, male/female team, they are twice as dynamic as most speakers.

For an additional fee, Mack & Ria are also happy to offer a customized program to fit the specific needs of your audience.

Mack Story has logged over 11,000 hours leading teams through organizational change and cultural transformation. He is the author of the extremely popular Blue-Collar Leadership Series books.

Ria Story is also an author, TEDx speaker, and expert in leadership and life skills for women. Ria has nearly 20 years of experience in leadership and management.

Mack and Ria co-founded Top Story Leadership in 2008, are certified leadership speakers and trainers, and have published 32 books on leadership development and personal growth.

Highlights for them have been:
• Helping train 20,000 Guatemalan Leaders with John Maxwell
• Speaking at Yale University's School of Management
• Offering leadership development support for the Association for Talent Development, U.S. Military, Chick-fil-A, Auburn University, Chevron, Monsanto, and many other organizations.

We like to keep it simple for our hosts, and can work with whatever is available. However, we both know the key to delivering a great speech is being able to connect with the audience. Connecting with an audience from a fixed position is a challenge for the best speakers, so Mack and Ria prefer not to be standing behind a podium.

Connecting takes energy. Energy that is best released when the speaker is mobile and free to move around the stage and connect with the audience in a variety of ways.

Mack & Ria don't typically require a projector/screen. They don't use a PowerPoint unless requested. They best connect with and engage their audience through authentic unscripted storytelling.