We all
know lot of leaders around us who inspire us and I am sure all of us would have
some ideal in your life that we would be following. But have we ever thought
why they are different and what makes them the perfect leaders. It’s their
communication skills their ability to articulate and inspire others. My two
favorites are Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. And I am sure they don’t need any
introduction as the whole world knows them very well.
Let me
tell you why they are my favorite and what’s so special about them and how they
inspire others with their communication. I was going through the Steve Jobs
video when he introduced IPhone back in 2007 and was amazed by his presentation
skills. His first line was “I have been waiting for this day for two and
half years”, and this sets the right context in the audience and the
importance of what is coming ahead in the presentation. He divided his
presentation into three sections. He spoke about the iPod functions of the new
iPhone, the phone itself, and connecting to the Internet. So the content was very well organized.
Before
Jobs revealed the new phone, he reviewed the history of Apple, telling a story
that built up to the big event. He picked up two most big events from the
history one from 1984, when Apple introduced the first Macintosh and said it
didn’t just change Apple but it changed the whole computer industry. Second one
was in 2001, when they introduced the first iPod. And according to him it
didn’t just change the way we all listen to music. It changed the entire music
industry.
He did not
have any notes in the entire presentation and that shows the amount of
confidence and perfection. He was so excited about his own product and was
continuously inspiring his audience throughout his presentation.
Similarly
when I was going through the “Internal Tidal wave memo” by Bill Gates I was
really amazed by the content of the memo. Back in 1995 he was able to predict
the future of Internet. It's a great snapshot in time, and looks at the
challenges they faced in their business. He also went into minute detail about what the
Internet is and how Microsoft could exploit it. He talked about the present
situation where he said very frankly that "After 10 hours of browsing, I had not seen a single Microsoft file.
Amazingly it is easier to find information on the Web than it is to find
information on the Microsoft Corporate Network.” So he was realistic and
true about the present situation and outlined Microsoft's failure to grasp the
Internet's importance. At the same time he was so focused about the future and believed
that the Internet will become the most important promotional vehicle. He was
clear that the focus on the Internet is critical to every part of his business.
Gates spelled out where Microsoft should invest, and how it would beat the
competition. At the end of the year, with -- the Windows 95 launch behind it --
Microsoft revealed its Internet strategy to the general public.
Coming
back to Steve Jobs presentation, I really liked the way he introduced the
phone. He said that he was introducing three revolutionary products. The first,
a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile
phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device. As the
audience applauded, he said these are not three separate devices, they are one
device and we are calling it iPhone! Now that is the best way of introducing
the product I would say where you talk about different components of the
product and then you reveal that they are all in one. This audience was
overhelemed.
Shortly after showing the new phone, he
proudly proclaimed, “Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone.”
And that was the only sentence on the slide. All his slides were having only graphics
and one or two liners so it was simple visual slides.
And then
there were comparisons from competitors and what made his product different
“smart and easy to use”. And then he jumped into the features of iPhone
specially the touch screen which he thought was coolest and worked like magic. There
were many funny moments, including a crank call. Jobs while demonstrating the
maps feature called up Starbucks nearby and a woman picked up the phone and
said, “Good morning, Starbucks. How can I
help you?” Jobs said, “I’d like to
order 4,000 lattes to go, please. No, just kidding wrong number. Bye bye.”
The audience loved it and he enjoyed it too. He was well connected with the
audience always and even used people from there to call them to demonstrate the
features of the phone.
At the end
of the iPhone presentation he said, “I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I’ve been
so excited about today” and that was an absolute aha moment for me and
I am sure for the audience too.
