The commencement speech given by Steve Job at Stanford has made an impact not only on the Stanford graduates, but on all people, who had a chance to listen to it. It was posted almost immediately on a variety of online channels, such as Youtube, where it attracted millions of viewers all over the world. The secret of such popularity was not onlythe content, but also the ability of the speaker to connect to the audience and to convey his message in an easy and a comprehensive way. This effect was achieved by the use of storytelling that helped Jobs to share his experiences and to communicate complex philosophical thoughts in a way that the audience could easily follow them.
The speech by Steve Jobs clearly demonstrates the benefits of storytelling and the power of its use in public speaking. Firstly, the clear division into three distinct stories with related subtitles helps the audience to follow the flow of the speech and to understand the main message of the upcoming story. Secondly, the stories were connected to Jobs’ experiences that the young Stanford graduates could relate to. This made the speech more personal and relevant for the target audience. Thirdly, storytelling helped to engage people and to make the speech more interesting. Throughout the speech the audience did not have to make complex inferences, but to follow the flow from the easy factsto the profound learnings that Jobs wanted to bring across. This ensured that every listener, despite of the background, ageoreducation, could relate to the story, understand it and be genuinely moved by it.
For me storytelling has always been a powerful tool to bond with people and to communicate more effectively. Although not intentionally, I often use stories about my experiences in order to make a point. In some cases this technique helps to demonstrate situations, which resulted in learnings that could be relevant in new contexts. Storytelling also helps to illustrate common experiences and background that help to relate to the audience. Finally, telling a story for me is also a self-reflection. I look at my own life through the perspective of the listeners and often see some aspects in a new light.
1. Although in economic terms the goal of any company is to maximize wealth, this objective is often insufficient to motivate employees to strive for higher results. People usually need a more idealistic purpose for their work that would inspire them and give a deeper meaning to the existence of their organization. It is especially important in the long-term, as a noble purpose helps to create a clear vision of the future and to retain employee commitment over time. A noble purpose is often also a way to address external stakeholders, such as customers, partners and the general public. It helps to enhance the perception of the company and to differentiate its products or services. The combination of higher employee motivation and a better external company image can help the organization to gain a competitive advantage over rivals and to ensure long-term success. That is why effective leaders often use a noble purpose as a means to achieve success.
Noble purposes used by organizations are usually classified into four categories: discovery, excellence, altruism and heroism (Daft). While some leaders take one purpose type to guide their organization, others develop a vision that incorporates the characteristics of all purpose types. For example the Bayer Group, a German health care and high-tech enterprise, pursues several noble purposes. Firstly, it is an innovation company, where scientific discovery is the core of the business and employees are constantly encouraged to create something new and to contribute to the scientific progress. Secondly, the organization sets high quality standards both for own products and for those of their suppliers, as quality is an essential success element in the industry Bayer operates in. The organization also sets an altruistic goal “of improving the lives of many millions of people”. Finally, the enterprise aims to gain a leadership position in every market, thus demonstrating its result orientation. All these noble purposes are reflected in the organization’s mission and vision statements in order to make these aspirations more transparent both for internal and external stakeholders, to appeal to their emotions and thus to ensure company success in the long-run.
2. The reasons behind providing subprime mortgages varied for different stakeholders; however, the noble purpose of providing poor people with a home was perhaps the least important one. On the one hand, subprime mortgagers did open access to housing for people with bad credit rating and insufficient money for a down payment, who could not afford buying a home otherwise. On the other hand, however, subprime lending created vast opportunities for fraud and risky profit creation. Both new home owners and lenders intended to benefit from the rising home prices in the U.S., which promised sure gains already in the near future. Most of the home owners did not purchase their houses in order to get a “roof over their head”, but as an opportunity to refinance or even to take a second mortgages on their real estate. Most of this money was later spent to finance the growing consumption, while the level of savings in the U.S. continued to remain very low. Mortgage company lenders could not have been unaware about the purpose of the majority of the subprime mortgages. Furthermore, they surely understood the basic law of demand and supply and the inflating effect that the artificially increased demand for homes had on the price. Yet the benefit of the high property prices and the increasing desire for profits made mortgage company lenders forget about the risks associated with such deals. At this point the noble purpose of giving poor people a chance to participate in the American dream of home ownership helped the lenders to gain public support of their activities and to cover the associated dangers for the economy. This explanation was even more needed after the subprime mortgage crisis began to unfold and the whole economy was shattered by the collapse of the housing market. However, remembering that behind the noble purpose of providing homes lies the constant desire for profit maximization and realizing that only a small part of the subprime mortgages targeted the poor, makes it hard to accept and to justify the actions of mortgage lenders that ultimately led to one of the deepest recessions that the global economy ever experienced.
References
Daft, R. L. The Leadership Experience. 4th. Mason, Oh: Thomson South-Western Publishing, 2008. Print.
"Our mission “Bayer: Science For A Better Life“." . Bayer AG, n.d. Web. 8 Jul 2013.
