Megan Preston Meyer - Uncertainty, Supply Chains, and Stories that Matter

Fat Tony's Podcast

What happens when a data analytics expert trades boardrooms for bedtime stories? In this captivating conversation, Megan Preston Meyer reveals her remarkable journey from corporate number-cruncher to children's book author with a fascinating twist.
For over a decade, Megan worked in analytics and supply chain management, helping companies extract value from their data. Yet beneath this corporate exterior lay a childhood dream of becoming an author. Five years ago, she took a leap of faith, stepping away from her secure career to pursue writing full-time – and hasn't looked back since.
Her unique contribution to children's literature comes in the form of books that don't shy away from complex concepts. The "Supply Jane and FIFO Adventures" introduce young readers to operations concepts through engaging stories, while her latest release, "Max Entropy and the Avalanche," tackles uncertainty and prediction limitations through two contrasting characters. As Megan explains, "I didn't set out to write a Taleb book for kids," yet she's created exactly that – a thoughtful exploration of chaos theory and model limitations accessible to young minds.
What makes her approach so refreshing is her refusal to oversimplify. "It is not my job in 24 pages to explain the entire world of supply chain," she notes. Instead, she introduces vocabulary and awareness, laying foundations children can build upon through repeated exposure. Perhaps most surprisingly, adults frequently report learning alongside their children when reading her books.
Beyond children's literature, Megan has crafted "The Corporate Elements Mysteries," cozy mysteries set in office environments that explore workplace absurdities with humour and insight. This dual approach to storytelling allows her to process and share her corporate experiences through different lenses.
Our conversation weaves through educational philosophy, the invisible infrastructure that powers our world, and the balance between planning and resilience. Megan's work represents a brilliant example of repurposing specialized knowledge for broader impact, demonstrating how professional expertise can transform into accessible stories that resonate across generations.
Discover how stories can make complex ideas digestible and why introducing children to concepts like uncertainty might be one of the most valuable gifts we can give them in an increasingly unpredictable world.

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Chapters

1. Introducing Author Megan Preston-Meyer (00:00:00)

2. From Corporate Analyst to Children's Author (00:11:52)

3. Creating Children's Books About Complex Concepts (00:18:12)

4. Uncertainty and Max Entropy (00:26:21)

5. Navigating Corporate Absurdity (00:36:10)

6. The Hidden Logic of Our World (00:43:39)

7. Final Thoughts and Future Projects (00:52:32)