The Risk of Novelty: Where Have All the Original Stories Gone?

Of course not. And luckily, if you look around online—across social media and streaming platforms—you’ll still find many creatives who take the risk of offering something original and, above all, meaningful.

Novelty is always a risk, especially when it’s presented without gimmicks, special effects, or recognizable names. But if it’s infused with genuine passion, high-quality storytelling, and above all honesty, it will always find its space. Hemingway believed this deeply: one of his most famous quotes highlights imagination and truth as the essential qualities of a writer. We’ve always told stories—language, in all its forms, is what defines us as human beings. That capacity to synthesize reality and imagination has always been the driving force behind our evolution. From there, the simplest inventions were born—right up to the ones that changed civilization. Often, though, the present moment seems to go against this truth, raising a misleading question: in a world where everything has been said and shown, is there really anything left to discover?

And for us, this is where our own experience has made all the difference. Simply by paying attention, we’ve discovered that our everyday reality had something interesting and constantly new to say. The day-to-day life of our work leaves a mark on each of us, through discoveries and small achievements. The “risk”—if we can call it that—that we’ve chosen to take is to share what we’ve come to see as extraordinary, even with those outside our field. From generational transition to technological challenges, from an international outlook to our deep love for the local area. What has always been right in front of our eyes has become new again through sharing, through the relationships between the men and women of Teddy Group.

We’ve chosen various ways to tell our story, knowing that every act of storytelling involves a small risk: The stories published on Belong, where we share who we are through different voices and tales that inspire us and in which we somehow feel a sense of belonging; Our attempts at thoughtful reflection and commentary in the Together newsletter, helping us pause and consider what we experience each day; The voices of our colleagues, who share personal glimpses of their lives on social media, making visible the parts that often remain behind the scenes.

All these stories arise from a desire: to share what we’ve encountered, what excites us, what sparks our curiosity. A natural urge not to keep everything to ourselves, but to turn individual experience into something that speaks to others too.

And as we looked around, we realized how much the act of valuing one’s own reality—of telling and sharing experiences—has become a growing desire across many different sectors and communities. Podcasts, now essential tools for many of us, have given rise to in-depth discussions and storytelling about life in the workplace. They’ve even led to new forms of entertainment, where content creators across Italy share and offer their skills and experiences to the public.

The same can be seen in newsletters focused on the stories of entrepreneurs or of those who have discovered new ways of navigating contemporary challenges, and in TV series like The Bear or Severance, which shine a spotlight on professional life constantly shaken by change. Everywhere, risk lurks—especially the now-familiar risk of public judgment: in the form of likes, comments, and reviews.

So the question becomes: why is it worth taking the risk? Because risk is the only way to avoid freezing even the most obvious beauty. Because only by taking risks can we spark the kind of virtuous change that gives rise to a truly original story—one that never folds in on itself. We’ve chosen to rediscover ourselves every day, not to stay the same as we were before. We’ve chosen the truth of reality over the perfection of an idealized image. We’ve chosen to be protagonists of our own lives, making our story a living comparison for anyone who meets us.