In an industry bullt on forecasts, financial modeling, and risk-adjusted metrics, fiction might seem like a detour. But for Nick Millican, CEO of Greycoat Real Estate, reading fiction—especially the morally intricate, deeply imaginative work of Iain M. Banks—is not only relevant, it’s essential. Fiction, in his view, cultivates the kind of thinking business leaders need most: expansive, empathetic, and unafraid of complexity.
Millican returns often to Banks’ Culture series, where advanced civilizations wrestle with the ethics of power, autonomy, and intervention. These aren’t just sci-fi dilemmas—they echo the real-world decisions business leaders face when navigating influence, stakeholder expectations, and the long arc of impact. The Culture, with its AI-led societies and carefully weighted choices, offers a model of decision-making grounded in both capability and conscience. One example of how this mindset shapes strategy is explored in this article.
For Millican, fiction develops a capacity that traditional business education often overlooks: moral imagination. It challenges readers to step into other perspectives, to live with ambiguity, and to weigh not just outcomes, but intentions. In the works of Banks, Millican sees a narrative form of strategic thinking—one where leaders must balance ideals against real-world limits, and where the right answer is often the one that took the longest to reach.
This mental training has practical value. In real estate, Millican is tasked with decisions that affect urban landscapes, local economies, and future generations. Reading fiction helps him hold longer time horizons and consider more stakeholders. It fosters patience with uncertainty and deepens his ability to listen—traits he sees as increasingly crucial in leadership. A broader view on this outlook appears in this Crunchbase profile.
He also believes fiction humanizes decision-making. In Banks’ novels, the characters—AI Minds, operatives, citizens—grapple with the emotional and philosophical weight of their choices. That grappling mirrors the often-hidden emotional labor of business leadership, where tough calls must be made with limited information and real consequences. For Millican, engaging with those stories makes him a more thoughtful leader—not less decisive, but more deliberate. This is illustrated in this Chickenshed write-up about his approach.
What fiction offers, and what Banks delivers so well, is a refusal to oversimplify. In a profession that prizes clarity, Millican finds strength in being able to navigate the complex. That ability, honed through narrative rather than instruction, is what sets resilient leaders apart.
For Nick Millican, fiction is not a luxury or a hobby. It’s a quiet engine of insight—one that pushes business beyond numbers and toward wisdom. To learn more, visit https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/greycoat-ceo-nick-millican-on-sustainability-and-evolution-in-londons-workspaces.