STRATEGIC NARRATIVE INSIGHTS
” It Didn’t Exist. So, I Created it.”
In the 80s, computers didn't have photo-editing features. So, the Knoll brothers created Photoshop. Fascinated by technology and art, they decided to develop software that eventually caught the attention of Adobe. Photoshop 1.0 was put on the market in February 1990. That changed the narrative about creativity.
In the 90s, all you could do with a phone was talk. So, British software architect Neil Papworth thought it would be cool also to be able to send text messages. So, in 1992, he successfully sent the first text message to Richard Jarvis, a director at Vodafone. That first text sent on the 3rd of December 1992 said, "Merry Christmas." That changed the narrative about communication.
In the 2000s, we couldn't enjoy movies from the comfort of our homes and on our own schedules. So, Reed Hastings thought that like Gyms let you exercise as much as you want for $40 a month, you should be able to watch as many DVDs as you want for a small monthly fee. That strategy changed the narrative about entertainment. By the way, as of August 2022, that service is still available.
Did these creators know for sure that their idea would be so popular? Probably not.
Change starts with a simple story arc: "It didn't exist. So, I created it."
- A story arc about possibilities
- A story arc about courage and persistence
- A story arc about humility and compassion: no idea is too small to start with
- A story arc about personal experience
- A story arc about selling: if you want to make people excited about an idea, they need to know why you were excited about it in the first place.
- A story arc that is free and available to all of us
All of us notice when something doesn't exist.
But few of us do something about it.
However, when you do, you lead, even if someone has already tried to do something about it.