Steve Jobs understood the “stuff of
drama,” and it’s one of the key reasons his
products launches were the stuff of legend.
The Macintosh launch was especially
dramatic, but Jobs introduced heroes and
villains in nearly every product launch.
Tension and struggle, heroes and villains are the
stuff of great movies. As it turns out, they are
also key to selling one’s ideas.
In the new film Steve Jobs , Oscar-winning
screenwriter Aaron Sorkin divides the film into
three acts with each act taking place backstage
prior to three momentous product launches in
Jobs’ career (the Mac in 1984, NeXT in 1988, and
the iMac in 1998). The conflicts in Jobs’ personal
life attracted Sorkin to the content. In an
interview for Wired, Sorkin said he had an idea
to “identify five or six conflicts in Steve’s life
and have those conflicts play themselves out in
these scenes backstage.” In an interview for
TIME , Director Danny Boyle described Steve
Jobs’ career as “Shakespearean extremes. You
have tremendous unbelievable ambition,
thwarted and failed, and then you have this
comeback. And that is the stuff of drama.”
Steve Jobs understood the “stuff of drama,” and
it’s one of the key reasons his products
launches were the stuff of legend.
On January 24, 1984, Steve Jobs took to the stage
at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting to
introduce the first Macintosh. Jobs’ first words
upon approaching the microphone set the
narrative and introduced the villain. The
antagonist in Jobs’ script would be played by
IBM. The narrative is brilliantly constructed.
Steve Jobs began,
Steve Jobs worked up the audience because he
crafted the product in terms of good and evil, an
irresistible combination. In the Steve Jobs
narrative, the villain is a force that is aiming its
guns at its last obstacle—the hero who is the last
entity that can protect freedom. Is this a product
launch or a script for a Star Wars-like movie?
It’s both, and that’s why a Steve Jobs
presentation was a mesmerizing experience.
Jobs intuitively understood what great
screenwriters know, what great works of
literature are made of: heroes and villains are
the fundamental building block of compelling
narrative.
The Macintosh launch was especially dramatic,
but Jobs introduced heroes and villains in nearly
every product launch. One of my favorite
examples is the 2007 introduction of the iPhone.
Before Jobs unveiled the new phone and
explained its features he spent three minutes
introducing the antagonist, the adversary. In
this case the villains included the current
category of smartphones—the “usual suspects,”
Jobs said. “The culprit,” according to Jobs, was a
bad interface. “The problem,” according to Jobs,
was that the culprits were not too smart and not
easy to use. “They’re really complicated,” Jobs
said. According to Jobs, the iPhone’s interface
wasn’t just an improvement; it represented “a
revolution.” This was classic Steve Jobs. First the
problem (villain) followed by the solution (hero).
The brain is wired for story; it doesn’t handle
abstractions well. Story is the stuff of
drama, the stuff of award-winning screenplays,
and the stuff of great presentations.
Also on Forbes:
Carmine Gallo is a keynote speaker,
communication coach and author of several
international bestsellers. His new book, The
Storyteller's Secret will be published by St.
Martin's Press.
Steve Jobs understood the “stuff of
drama,” and it’s one of the key reasons his
products launches were the stuff of legend.
The Macintosh launch was especially
dramatic, but Jobs introduced heroes and
villains in nearly every product launch.
It is 1958. IBM passes up the chance to buy a
young, fledgling company that has invented a
new technology called xerography. Two years
later Xerox is born. IBM has been kicking
themselves ever since. It is ten years later.
Digital Equipment Corporation and others
invent the mini-computer. IBM dismisses the
mini-computer as too small to do serious mini
computing and unimportant to their
business…It is now ten years later. The late
70s. In 1977 Apple, a young fledgling company
on the west coast invents the Apple II the first
personal computer as we know it today. Apple
dismisses the personal computer as too small
to do serious computing and therefore
unimportant to their business…It is now 1984
[Jobs slows down his rate of speech and adds
a dark, ominous tone to his voice]. It appears
IBM wants it all. Apple is perceived to be the
only hope to offer IBM a run for its money.
Dealers, initially welcoming IBM with open
arms now fear an IBM dominated and
controlled future. They are increasingly
turning back to Apple as the only force that
can ensure their future freedom. IBM wants it
all and is aiming its guns to its last obstacle to
industry control. Apple. Will Big Blue
dominant the entire computer industry? [the
audience shouts ‘no!’] The entire information
age? [no!] Was George Orwell right? [no!]
The Macintosh launch was especially dramatic,
but Jobs introduced heroes and villains in nearly
every product launch. One of my favorite
examples is the 2007 introduction of the iPhone.
Before Jobs unveiled the new phone and
explained its features he spent three minutes
introducing the antagonist, the adversary. In
this case the villains included the current
category of smartphones—the “usual suspects,”
Jobs said. “The culprit,” according to Jobs, was a
bad interface. “The problem,” according to Jobs,
was that the culprits were not too smart and not
easy to use. “They’re really complicated,” Jobs
said. According to Jobs, the iPhone’s interface
wasn’t just an improvement; it represented “a
revolution.” This was classic Steve Jobs. First the
problem (villain) followed by the solution (hero).
The brain is wired for story; it doesn’t handle
abstractions well. Story is the stuff of
drama, the stuff of award-winning screenplays,
and the stuff of great presentations.
No comments:
Post a Comment