How To Build A Cult | Lulu Cheng Meservey

The Knowledge Project

Shane Parrish

Business, Society & Culture, Technology, Education, Self-improvement, Investing, Entrepreneurship

4.7 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2025

⏱️ 108 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Lulu Cheng Meservey is one of the sharpest minds in communications and strategy. She has helped some of the best leaders through their hardest moments. We talk about why trust and conviction are contagious, how to win attention in a noisy world, and how to handle attacks without losing ground. ----- About Lulu: Having been CCO and EVP of Corporate Affairs at Activision Blizzard and VP of Comms at Substack, she is now the creator of Rostra, the only advisory firm focused on founder-led comms. ----- Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (08:34) The Importance Of The Hook (14:35) Why Do Governments And Large Corporations Communicate So Poorly? (21:50) How To Build A Cult (27:56) How Trust And Likeability Affect Your Messages (39:19) How To Respond To A Public Relations Attack (42:57) One Death Is A Tragedy, A Thousand Are A Statistic (47:34) The Importance Of Being First (55:22) Overcoming Being The Underdog (1:00:03) How To Play Offence In PR (1:05:36) 3 Things To Make A Difference In Your Comms / Storytelling (1:21:07) The Halo Effect (1:25:52) Practical Comms Advice For Everyday Work Interactions (1:46:17) What Is Success For You? ----- Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: Basecamp: Stop struggling, start making progress. Get somewhere with Basecamp. Sign up free at http://basecamp.com/knowledgeproject reMarkable: Get your paper tablet at https://www.reMarkable.com today .tech domains: Nothing says tech like being on .tech https://get.tech/ ----- Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcripts and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------Follow Shane ParrishX ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ShaneAParrish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Insta ⁠@farnamstreet⁠ LinkedIn ⁠Shane Parrish Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The surface area of the opportunity we have to latch on is getting more and more fine,
0:07.6	which means that the hook that we need to use has to get more and more sharp.
0:11.6	Lulu Cheng Maservi is one of the sharpest minds in communications today.
0:16.0	Having been CCO and EVP of Corporate Affairs at Activision Blizzard and VP of Coms at Substack,
0:22.8	she is now the creator of Rostra, the only advisory firm focused on founder-led comms.
0:29.1	Lulu is known as the go-to strategist for CEOs, founders, and policymakers navigating high-stakes moments.
0:36.4	In this episode, she explains how to grab attention in a noisy world filled with AI slop,
0:42.4	appeal to human psychology, and build trust instead of farming engagement.
0:47.8	If someone is fighting you with stories, you have to fight with stories.
0:51.6	Under the statistics are more powerful stories.
0:55.1	If you're trying to relieve pressure, you don't get to change how much force is coming at you, but you can change
1:00.4	the service area. You're not just attacking me. You're attacking all of us. The loss in trust,
1:05.0	the loss in future prospects, customers, employees who defect that recruit that doesn't accept
1:10.2	the job offer, it could add up to billions.
1:12.9	The three things for actually making a difference with your story are one, two, what are the right?
1:19.8	And then lastly, Lulu, welcome to the podcast.
1:30.1	Thank you. Thanks for having me.
1:31.6	In a world that is so noisy, it's full of AI-generated content, there's people trying to get your attention.
1:40.9	How do we get people to pay attention to us?
1:43.5	I think about this a lot because the flood of just sheer content is completely
1:50.0	unrelenting.
1:51.1	And the people are doing things all the time now, too.
	...

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