Present Beyond Measure

Prologue

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.”

—Robert McAfee Brown

On January 9, 2007, the CEO of a well-known electronics manufacturer stepped onto the stage of his annual customer conference. Per tradition, he broke the news of products his company was releasing that year. This was always a frantically exciting moment for their customer fan base.

But this year was different.

He announced three new products that he predicted would change the way the world communicates forever. It was a bold statement, which this man was no stranger to making.

He hinted that these three new products were an MP3 player, a touchscreen phone, and a breakthrough communications device. These were all products his company had released before, so nothing was new or notable there.

Then, he delivered the punchline.

He began repeating the three new products in an accelerating sequence that seemed odd at first. But after several repetitions, one could hear the flash of awareness dawning upon the audience. In his famous words:

“These are not three separate devices. They are one device.”

The audience broke out into thunderous applause as this god of technology unveiled his magical new toy in blazing color on the giant screen. His masterful storytelling was complete, and history was made in announcing a product that would go on to enrapture millions, disrupt and make entire industries obsolete, and, as promised, forever change the way we communicate.

By now, you may ...