Thatchief executive is Steve Jobs, and I know why that speech makes animpact. To a casual observer it is just a guy in a black shirt andjeans talking about some new technology products. But it is in fact anincredibly complex and sophisticated blend of sales pitch, productdemonstration and corporate cheerleading, with a dash of religiousrevival thrown in for good measure. It represents weeks of work,precise orchestration and intense pressure for the scores of people whocollectively make up the "man behind the curtain". I know, because I'vebeen there, first as part of the preparation team and later on stagewith Steve.
Objectively, Apple Computer is a mid-sized companywith a tiny share of its primary market. Apple Macintoshes are onlyrarely seen in corporate environments, and most software companiesdon't even offer Apple-compatible versions of their products. To put itanother way, Apple is just bit larger than Cadbury-Schweppes and aboutthe same size as Nike or Marks and Spencer in terms of annual sales.
Suchcomparisons come up short in trying to describe Apple's place in theworld of business, because they leave out a key factor: Steve Jobs.That's something only one other company - the filmmaker Pixar - canclaim. He's the closest thing to a rock star you will find in the worldof business.
When Apple announces something new, people payattention. This is due, in large measure, to Steve and the way hedelivers Apple's messages. His preferred method of making major productannouncements is at one of his public presentations, or "keynotes" asthey are called inside the company.
Steve starts his preparationfor a keynote weeks in advance, reviewing all the products andtechnologies he might include. Although development and releaseschedules are set far in advance, he still has to satisfy himself thatthe chosen products are keynote-ready. For software, this can be hardto decide: the engineering work is usually still underway, so he willmake a preliminary determination based on seeing unfinished software.More than once this has caused some tense moments in rehearsal whenprograms haven't behaved.
Baptism of fire
My firstexperience of this preparation came in the runup to the Macworld Expokeynote of January 2001, which was to include new Macs able to burnDVDs - then an amazing capability. Steve wanted to show off the newsoftware, iDVD, that could do it. As I was the product manager forApple's DVD software, I had to organise everything that Steve wouldneed.
The team and I spent hundreds of hours preparing for asegment that lasted about five minutes. Several weeks earlier Stevesummoned me to demo the software, and highlight what I thought were itsmost interesting aspects. Of course he already knew most of this, butthe process was still useful. He used the key points from these demosto mould his overall presentation and decide how much time each productwould get.
Next, my team was given the task of locating movies,photos and music to be used when he created his sample DVD on stage.Most companies would just choose some clip art, or hire a videoproducer to make some simulated "home movies". Steve wanted materialthat looked great, yet was possible for an average person to achieve.So we called on everyone we knew at Apple to submit their best homemovies and snapshots. Before long we had an amazing collection of fun,cool and heartwarming videos and photos. My team picked the best andconfidently presented them to Steve. True to his reputation as aperfectionist, he hated most of them. We repeated that process severaltimes. At the time I thought he was being unreasonable; but I had toadmit that the material we ended up with was much better than what wehad begun with.
Then came the process of the demo itself: whatprecise steps Steve should follow, whether the program should alreadybe running on the computer, what sample movies to play, everything.
Withthe demo set, my role was to stand by in case of technical problemswith the software, or if Steve wanted to change anything. This gave methe opportunity to observe what was going on around me. The bigkeynotes require a very large crew with separate teams for each majortask. One prepares the room to seat several thousand people. Anothergroup builds the stage with its motorised pedestals, risers, trapdoors, and so forth. A third manages the stage lighting, audio andeffects.
Yet another sets up and calibrates the state-of-the-artprojection systems (complete with redundant backup systems), and a hugeremote video truck parked outside has its own crew handling video feedsfor the webcasts and playback of any video needed during the show. Thenthere are the people who set up all the computers used in the keynote,each with at least one backup that can be instantly brought online withthe flick of a switch.
And of course there's the secrecy. Theimpact of Steve's presentations depends on surprise; so once therehearsals begin, security people help keep the curious out and thesecrets secret. It was fascinating to watch. No detail was overlooked:for example, while rehearsing the iDVD demo, Steve found that the DVDplayer's remote control didn't work from where he wanted to stand onthe stage. The crew had to make a special repeater system to make itwork.
So when Steve steps out on that stage, with its starkblack-on-black colour scheme, and does his apparently simple demos, hebrings the combined energy and talent of all those people and many moreback in Cupertino, California, and channels it to the audience. Itmakes me think of a magnifying glass used to focus the power of the sunon one small spot until it bursts into flames.
Fast forward ayear; much to my surprise I was asked to do a demo in the keynote. Andthen I really learned about demos. In mid-2001 I had been promoted tomanage both the DVD products and Apple's professional video-editingsoftware, Final Cut Pro, a new version of which was to be released inearly 2002.
But Steve never does the demos of the pro software;he always relies on someone on the product team more familiar with itsfeatures and operation. The job fell to me. It turned out to be mylowest and highest point at Apple.
Steve usually rehearses on thetwo days before a keynote. On the first day he works on the segments hefeels need the most attention. The product managers and engineeringmanagers for each new product are in the room, waiting for their turn.This group also forms Steve's impromptu test audience: he'll often askfor their feedback. He spends a lot of time on his slides, personallywriting and designing much of the content, with a little help fromApple's design team.
As each segment of the show is refined,Steve and his producer edit the slides live on a PowerBook so therevised slides can be used immediately. That day Steve was verymethodical, going through every aspect of the show. He would testvariations of content and flow, looking for the combinations with themost impact. When introducing a major new product, he also liked toshow the TV commercial Apple would be using to promote it. Often thesehad been finished just minutes before rehearsals; Steve would sometimespreview alternate versions to gauge the team's reaction before decidingwhich to use.
Crunch time
On the day beforeshowtime, things get much more structured, with at least one andsometimes two complete dress rehearsals. Any non-Apple presenters inthe keynote take part on the second day (although they cannot be in theroom while the secret parts - the unveiling of hot ticket hardware suchas a new iPod or laptop - are being rehearsed.) Throughout it all Steveis extremely focused. While we were in that room, all his energy wasdirected at making this keynote the perfect embodiment of Apple'smessages. Steve doesn't give up much of his personality even inrehearsals. He is strictly business, most of the time.
I hadworked on my five-minute Final Cut Pro demo for weeks, selecting justthe right sample material and honing (I thought) my delivery to a fineedge. My boss and his boss were there for moral support. Steve, as washis custom, sat in the audience. I was very nervous, and having Steve'slaser-like attention concentrated on me didn't help. About a minuteinto the demo, Steve stopped me, saying impatiently, "you gotta getthis together or we're going to have to pull this demo from thekeynote."
I was devastated. I didn't even know how to respond, orif I should respond. Mercifully my boss and Phil Schiller (Apple's headof marketing, and a frequent keynote presenter) came to my rescue. Overthe next few hours they worked with me to polish my demo. Moreimportantly, Phil gave me some great advice: "Those 6,000 Mac fans outthere in the hall aren't against you, they're the best friends you canhave." The next day at final rehearsal, Steve watched me again. Thistime he gave it his nod of approval. It felt great; but the real workwas yet to be done.
Next morning, as I sat in the front rowwaiting for my turn on the stage, the full weight of the event hit me.There were several thousand people in the room, and approximately50,000 watching the webcast. It was the very definition of pressure.Steve started the segment that preceded mine, and my heart startedpounding. I felt those hundred thousand eyes all about to be focused onme and feared I would crumble. I had done a bit of public speakingbefore, but nothing like this.
The assistant producer came overto me to guide me to the stairs at the side of the stage. I stood inthe dark, watching Steve put up the slide that introduced me. Just thena wonderful thought hit me; in five minutes the whole thing would beover. If I could only keep going for five minutes I would be fine. Ibounced up the stairs and on to the stage, and everything was suddenlyOK. The demo worked perfectly, the audience seemed to love the product,and their applause was an incredible adrenaline rush.
When it was over I received many compliments on how well it went, including the one I prize the most, from Steve himself.
In the following months I was on stage for two more keynotes, and eachtime was incredibly grateful for the apparently harsh treatment Stevehad dished out the first time. He forced me to work harder, and in theend I did a much better job than I would have otherwise. I believe itis one of the most important aspects of Steve Jobs's impact on Apple:he has little or no patience for anything but excellence from himselfor others.
· Mike Evangelist left Apple in 2002 and iswriting a book about his time there, provisionally called Jobs I'veKnown, live on his site, www.writersblocklive.com
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