加载中…
苹果前员工博客记录乔布斯如何准备煽情讲演
(2006-01-09 01:26:43)
前苹果产品营销主管Mike Evangelist于2002年离职，他将在公司的经历以博客的形式记录于http://www.writersblocklive.com。他透露，乔布斯每一场讲演都需要几个星期的预先准备，上百人的协同工作。依靠精确的细节控制，在若干次秘密彩排之后一切才会呈现给Mac的狂热爱好者。
苹果CEO史蒂夫-乔布斯将奉上一场讲演。
这场引人注目的舞台秀看似轻松，Mike Evangelist向你讲述幕后的紧张筹备。Behind the magic curtain，神奇帷幕之后——
未央/编译
苹果CEO史蒂夫-乔布斯在介绍新款Mac电脑，激情四射。
保障有力
如果是吉百利史威士的CEO在会场发言，或者耐克的老板推荐他的新款运动鞋，你或许可以在专业杂志上看到这些新闻，而之后就会忘得一干二净。但是在周二，有一位CEO将要出来宣布一些事情，片刻这则消息就会扫荡网络，也将出现在股票经纪人的电脑上，当然还会有报纸。而且大家会对此事津津乐道数月。
这位CEO就是史蒂夫-乔布斯，我晓得他的讲演为何这样给人印象深刻。初看上去，他不过是一个身着黑衬衫和牛仔裤，在介绍一些科技新玩意儿的家伙。这场秀确实难以置信地整合了产品的推销和演示，全场的欢腾喝彩，还有点儿严肃主题，尺度拿捏的刚刚好。它浓缩了几个星期的劳作，数十位工作人员精准配合，他们是幕后英雄。
我知道这些——我是准备工作组的其中一员，而且一会儿就要和乔布斯一齐登台亮相啦。
平心而论，苹果公司只是一个中等规模的公司，在初级证券市场份额甚小。麦金塔计算机也很少见，大多数软件公司的产品甚至没有苹果版本。换句话说，苹果的年营业额和吉百利史威士、耐克或者马莎半斤八两。
上述这些比较试图抹煞苹果在商界的地位，但他们忽略了一个关键因素——史蒂夫-乔布斯。皮克斯制片公司也可以这样理直气壮。(新浪科技注：乔布斯也是Pixar动漫工作室总裁)
他是在商界最接近摇滚明星式的人物。
苹果发布新产品的时候，人们的关注很大程度上来自于乔布斯传递的信息。重要产品的发布，乔布斯首选的方式就是他的公开亮相，现身说法。公司内部大家都称呼这个为“主题讲演”。
乔布斯要提前数周开始为主题作准备，熟知可能涉及的所有产品技术资料。虽然开发还未结束，他仍然要使自己对产品有充分了解。比如软件，程序员可能仍在研发中，他仍要从这个未完成产品获得初步的决断。有时侯程序就在演示的节骨眼儿罢工，制造紧张。
上阵
我是在2001年1月份的Macworld大会参与主题讲演准备的，那次准备展示可烧录DVD的苹果电脑，在当时是一项很新奇的技术。乔布斯想秀一下我们的iDVD软件，本人即是公司DVD软件项目的主管，负责提供他所需的相关资料。
为了五分钟的演示片断，我们小组花了数百小时。距离大会还有几周的时候，乔布斯要我演示这个软件，并指出其中可能最吸引人的地方。他要在整个演示过程中设置一些关键点，确定介绍每个产品所花费的时间。
接下来，小组开始搜集演示所用的视频、图片和音乐资料。通常的做法是选择一些艺术片断，或者请人代做一些视频。于是公告之：乔布斯，还有我们都希望苹果的演示是最棒的，苹果公司需要这些资料。很快我们就有了充足的视频和图像，这些资料或温馨感人，或诙谐有趣儿。小组挑出其中最满意的给乔布斯看。他的信条是至臻完美，会毫不留情地砍掉其中的大部分，以至于我们要把这个过程返工数次。有时候我真觉得他有些不可理喻，但是还得承认，最终拍板定下的资料是最棒的。
演示敲定后，我需要明确软件的技术问题，或者乔布斯又在某些方面的想法有变动。这给我机会去观察进展。重大的主题讲演，需要一个包括若干小组的庞大团队来解决每个重要问题：一组要预备可容纳数千人的会场，一组要搭建自动化的舞台，落实控制灯光、音响和特效。等等。
还有就是校准艺术化的舞台系统(还得包括一套应急备份的)，一台视频转播车将泊在外面为网络直播服务。会有专人来操控主题讲演中所用的电脑，当然这也包括一套备份。
这一切都是要保密的。乔布斯的讲演总是给人意外，看起来令人迷醉，所以一旦彩排开始，安全人员会将无关人员驱逐以做到保密。有些细节是没法预料到的，比如乔布斯正准备走上舞台的时候，发现DVD播放器遥控开关失灵。这时工作小组需要甚至一套特别的转发系统以确保其正常工作。
当乔布斯走到舞台，主题背景将变为黑色，演示开始。他聚合了所有工作人员的能量与天分——他们大部分来自加州库珀蒂诺。这让人联想起凸透镜聚焦太阳光，一点光斑引燃火种。
当我被确定要为主题讲演做一个演示时，多少有些出乎意料。自那以后我开始认真学习如何做演示。2001年年中，我被擢升为DVD产品和苹果专业级视频编辑软件(Final Cut Pro)的主管，该软件的一个新版本要在2002年初推出。
但乔布斯从不做此类软件的演示，他通常指定项目组更熟悉产品特点和操作的人来做。于是这个差事落到了我头上。
乔布斯通常在主题讲演之日前两天彩排。第一天，他会选择出最吸引眼球的片断。产品主管和研发主管齐集会场，等待介绍他们的产品。这些人也是乔布斯的即兴观众，向他反馈意见。乔布斯还为幻灯花费大量的精力，亲自撰写并制作大量内容，只从苹果的设计团队那里接受有限帮助。
每段演示都要精确无误，乔布斯和制作人在苹果笔记本上修订着资料。他很有条理，演示的每个环节都烂记于心，寻找影响最佳的契合处。每当介绍完一个新品，他都会表达苹果在不懈改进其产品。
关键时刻
大会开幕前夕，我们已进行了至少一次的完整排练，万事俱备。尽管苹果用户不能在场见证彩排时iPod和苹果笔记本这些热辣硬件的揭幕，他们可以在次日就来参观了。从始至终，乔布斯都是会场焦点，即使排练的时候他也不掩饰自己的个性，确实很到位。
我得在5分钟的Final Cut Pro演示上折腾几个星期，挑选合适的素材。乔布斯按照他的习惯，坐下充当一名观众。我很紧张，他的犀利目光让我手足无措。进入彩排没多久，他就叫停，“你必须把这个理顺，要么我们就把它从主题讲演中撤掉”。
我懵了，不知如何作答。还好有我的上司、公司市场主管菲尔-席勒出来圆场，大家一起推敲我的演示。席勒给予我宝贵的建议：“会场6000个苹果迷是你最好的支持者！”最后的彩排，乔布斯再次观看，他颔首赞许。这让我感觉不错，然而真正的考验终于来临了。
次日，会场之上。
我坐在前排，该我出场了。场内将有数千名观众注视着我，有超过50000人通过网络在收看转播——这是巨大的压力，我听到了自己的心跳。虽然之前我做过很多演讲，但那种感觉不一样……乔布斯开始播放幻灯了。
工作人员引领我走上舞台楼梯，我站在暗处，看着乔布斯介绍着屏幕上的我。我被一种奇妙的感觉笼罩着，信步走上楼梯来到舞台，“5分钟后，一切平安无事”，我默念着。……演示非常成功，观众看来喜欢这个产品，他们鼓掌喝彩。
会后，我的演示受到了广泛的赞扬，这其中也包括来自乔布斯的祝贺。
接下来的几个月，我开始策划另外两个主题，每回的初次彩排都会受到乔布斯的痛责。他迫使我更玩命工作，我相信这是乔布斯对苹果最重要的影响：除非他自己和大家做得堪称卓越，否则便不可接受。
Behind the magic curtain
Next week Steve Jobs of Apple will grab media attention with another simple-looking stage show. Mike Evangelist tells the insider secrets of his gruelling preparation
Thursday January 5, 2006
The Guardian
If the chief executive of Cadbury-Schweppes speaks at a conference, or Nike's boss introduces a new kind of trainer, you might expect to see it covered in specialist magazines, then quickly forgotten. But on Tuesday a chief executive will stand up and announce something, and within minutes it will be scrutinised across the web and on stockbrokers' computers. It will be in newspapers. They'll talk about it for months.
That chief executive is Steve Jobs, and I know why that speech makes an impact. To a casual observer it is just a guy in a black shirt and jeans talking about some new technology products. But it is in fact an incredibly complex and sophisticated blend of sales pitch, product demonstration and corporate cheerleading, with a dash of religious revival thrown in for good measure. It represents weeks of work, precise orchestration and intense pressure for the scores of people who collectively make up the "man behind the curtain". I know, because I've been there, first as part of the preparation team and later on stage with Steve.
Objectively, Apple Computer is a mid-sized company with a tiny share of its primary market. Apple Macintoshes are only rarely seen in corporate environments, and most software companies don't even offer Apple-compatible versions of their products. To put it another way, Apple is just bit larger than Cadbury-Schweppes and about the same size as Nike or Marks and Spencer in terms of annual sales.
Such comparisons come up short in trying to describe Apple's place in the world of business, because they leave out a key factor: Steve Jobs. That's something only one other company - the filmmaker Pixar - can claim. He's the closest thing to a rock star you will find in the world of business.
When Apple announces something new, people pay attention. This is due, in large measure, to Steve and the way he delivers Apple's messages. His preferred method of making major product announcements is at one of his public presentations, or "keynotes" as they are called inside the company.
Steve starts his preparation for a keynote weeks in advance, reviewing all the products and technologies he might include. Although development and release schedules are set far in advance, he still has to satisfy himself that the chosen products are keynote-ready. For software, this can be hard to decide: the engineering work is usually still underway, so he will make a preliminary determination based on seeing unfinished software. More than once this has caused some tense moments in rehearsal when programs haven't behaved.
Baptism of fire
My first experience of this preparation came in the runup to the Macworld Expo keynote of January 2001, which was to include new Macs able to burn DVDs - then an amazing capability. Steve wanted to show off the new software, iDVD, that could do it. As I was the product manager for Apple's DVD software, I had to organise everything that Steve would need.
The team and I spent hundreds of hours preparing for a segment that lasted about five minutes. Several weeks earlier Steve summoned me to demo the software, and highlight what I thought were its most interesting aspects. Of course he already knew most of this, but the process was still useful. He used the key points from these demos to mould his overall presentation and decide how much time each product would 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 video producer to make some simulated "home movies". Steve wanted material that looked great, yet was possible for an average person to achieve. So we called on everyone we knew at Apple to submit their best home movies and snapshots. Before long we had an amazing collection of fun, cool and heartwarming videos and photos. My team picked the best and confidently presented them to Steve. True to his reputation as a perfectionist, he hated most of them. We repeated that process several times. At the time I thought he was being unreasonable; but I had to admit that the material we ended up with was much better than what we had begun with.
Then came the process of the demo itself: what precise steps Steve should follow, whether the program should already be running on the computer, what sample movies to play, everything.
With the demo set, my role was to stand by in case of technical problems with the software, or if Steve wanted to change anything. This gave me the opportunity to observe what was going on around me. The big keynotes require a very large crew with separate teams for each major task. One prepares the room to seat several thousand people. Another group builds the stage with its motorised pedestals, risers, trap doors, and so forth. A third manages the stage lighting, audio and effects.
Yet another sets up and calibrates the state-of-the-art projection systems (complete with redundant backup systems), and a huge remote video truck parked outside has its own crew handling video feeds for the webcasts and playback of any video needed during the show. Then there 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 with the flick of a switch.
And of course there's the secrecy. The impact of Steve's presentations depends on surprise; so once the rehearsals begin, security people help keep the curious out and the secrets secret. It was fascinating to watch. No detail was overlooked: for example, while rehearsing the iDVD demo, Steve found that the DVD player's remote control didn't work from where he wanted to stand on the stage. The crew had to make a special repeater system to make it work.
So when Steve steps out on that stage, with its stark black-on-black colour scheme, and does his apparently simple demos, he brings the combined energy and talent of all those people and many more back in Cupertino, California, and channels it to the audience. It makes me think of a magnifying glass used to focus the power of the sun on one small spot until it bursts into flames.
Fast forward a year; much to my surprise I was asked to do a demo in the keynote. And then I really learned about demos. In mid-2001 I had been promoted to manage both the DVD products and Apple's professional video-editing software, Final Cut Pro, a new version of which was to be released in early 2002.
But Steve never does the demos of the pro software; he always relies on someone on the product team more familiar with its features and operation. The job fell to me. It turned out to be my lowest and highest point at Apple.
Steve usually rehearses on the two days before a keynote. On the first day he works on the segments he feels need the most attention. The product managers and engineering managers for each new product are in the room, waiting for their turn. This group also forms Steve's impromptu test audience: he'll often ask for their feedback. He spends a lot of time on his slides, personally writing and designing much of the content, with a little help from Apple's design team.
As each segment of the show is refined, Steve and his producer edit the slides live on a PowerBook so the revised slides can be used immediately. That day Steve was very methodical, going through every aspect of the show. He would test variations of content and flow, looking for the combinations with the most impact. When introducing a major new product, he also liked to show the TV commercial Apple would be using to promote it. Often these had been finished just minutes before rehearsals; Steve would sometimes preview alternate versions to gauge the team's reaction before deciding which to use.
Crunch time
On the day before showtime, things get much more structured, with at least one and sometimes two complete dress rehearsals. Any non-Apple presenters in the keynote take part on the second day (although they cannot be in the room while the secret parts - the unveiling of hot ticket hardware such as a new iPod or laptop - are being rehearsed.) Throughout it all Steve is extremely focused. While we were in that room, all his energy was directed at making this keynote the perfect embodiment of Apple's messages. Steve doesn't give up much of his personality even in rehearsals. He is strictly business, most of the time.
I had worked on my five-minute Final Cut Pro demo for weeks, selecting just the right sample material and honing (I thought) my delivery to a fine edge. My boss and his boss were there for moral support. Steve, as was his custom, sat in the audience. I was very nervous, and having Steve's laser-like attention concentrated on me didn't help. About a minute into the demo, Steve stopped me, saying impatiently, "you gotta get this together or we're going to have to pull this demo from the keynote."
I was devastated. I didn't even know how to respond, or if I should respond. Mercifully my boss and Phil Schiller (Apple's head of marketing, and a frequent keynote presenter) came to my rescue. Over the next few hours they worked with me to polish my demo. More importantly, Phil gave me some great advice: "Those 6,000 Mac fans out there in the hall aren't against you, they're the best friends you can have." The next day at final rehearsal, Steve watched me again. This time he gave it his nod of approval. It felt great; but the real work was yet to be done.
Next morning, as I sat in the front row waiting for my turn on the stage, the full weight of the event hit me. There were several thousand people in the room, and approximately 50,000 watching the webcast. It was the very definition of pressure. Steve started the segment that preceded mine, and my heart started pounding. I felt those hundred thousand eyes all about to be focused on me and feared I would crumble. I had done a bit of public speaking before, but nothing like this.
The assistant producer came over to me to guide me to the stairs at the side of the stage. I stood in the dark, watching Steve put up the slide that introduced me. Just then a wonderful thought hit me; in five minutes the whole thing would be over. If I could only keep going for five minutes I would be fine. I bounced up the stairs and on to the stage, and everything was suddenly OK. 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 each time was incredibly grateful for the apparently harsh treatment Steve had dished out the first time. He forced me to work harder, and in the end I did a much better job than I would have otherwise. I believe it is one of the most important aspects of Steve Jobs's impact on Apple: he has little or no patience for anything but excellence from himself or others.
· Mike Evangelist left Apple in 2002 and is writing a book about his time there, provisionally called Jobs I've Known, live on his site, [url]www.writersblocklive.com[/url]
· If you'd like to comment on any aspect of Technology Guardian, send your emails to tech@guardian.co.uk
苹果CEO史蒂夫-乔布斯将奉上一场讲演。
这场引人注目的舞台秀看似轻松，Mike Evangelist向你讲述幕后的紧张筹备。Behind the magic curtain，神奇帷幕之后——
未央/编译
苹果CEO史蒂夫-乔布斯在介绍新款Mac电脑，激情四射。
保障有力
如果是吉百利史威士的CEO在会场发言，或者耐克的老板推荐他的新款运动鞋，你或许可以在专业杂志上看到这些新闻，而之后就会忘得一干二净。但是在周二，有一位CEO将要出来宣布一些事情，片刻这则消息就会扫荡网络，也将出现在股票经纪人的电脑上，当然还会有报纸。而且大家会对此事津津乐道数月。
这位CEO就是史蒂夫-乔布斯，我晓得他的讲演为何这样给人印象深刻。初看上去，他不过是一个身着黑衬衫和牛仔裤，在介绍一些科技新玩意儿的家伙。这场秀确实难以置信地整合了产品的推销和演示，全场的欢腾喝彩，还有点儿严肃主题，尺度拿捏的刚刚好。它浓缩了几个星期的劳作，数十位工作人员精准配合，他们是幕后英雄。
我知道这些——我是准备工作组的其中一员，而且一会儿就要和乔布斯一齐登台亮相啦。
平心而论，苹果公司只是一个中等规模的公司，在初级证券市场份额甚小。麦金塔计算机也很少见，大多数软件公司的产品甚至没有苹果版本。换句话说，苹果的年营业额和吉百利史威士、耐克或者马莎半斤八两。
上述这些比较试图抹煞苹果在商界的地位，但他们忽略了一个关键因素——史蒂夫-乔布斯。皮克斯制片公司也可以这样理直气壮。(新浪科技注：乔布斯也是Pixar动漫工作室总裁)
他是在商界最接近摇滚明星式的人物。
苹果发布新产品的时候，人们的关注很大程度上来自于乔布斯传递的信息。重要产品的发布，乔布斯首选的方式就是他的公开亮相，现身说法。公司内部大家都称呼这个为“主题讲演”。
乔布斯要提前数周开始为主题作准备，熟知可能涉及的所有产品技术资料。虽然开发还未结束，他仍然要使自己对产品有充分了解。比如软件，程序员可能仍在研发中，他仍要从这个未完成产品获得初步的决断。有时侯程序就在演示的节骨眼儿罢工，制造紧张。
上阵
我是在2001年1月份的Macworld大会参与主题讲演准备的，那次准备展示可烧录DVD的苹果电脑，在当时是一项很新奇的技术。乔布斯想秀一下我们的iDVD软件，本人即是公司DVD软件项目的主管，负责提供他所需的相关资料。
为了五分钟的演示片断，我们小组花了数百小时。距离大会还有几周的时候，乔布斯要我演示这个软件，并指出其中可能最吸引人的地方。他要在整个演示过程中设置一些关键点，确定介绍每个产品所花费的时间。
接下来，小组开始搜集演示所用的视频、图片和音乐资料。通常的做法是选择一些艺术片断，或者请人代做一些视频。于是公告之：乔布斯，还有我们都希望苹果的演示是最棒的，苹果公司需要这些资料。很快我们就有了充足的视频和图像，这些资料或温馨感人，或诙谐有趣儿。小组挑出其中最满意的给乔布斯看。他的信条是至臻完美，会毫不留情地砍掉其中的大部分，以至于我们要把这个过程返工数次。有时候我真觉得他有些不可理喻，但是还得承认，最终拍板定下的资料是最棒的。
演示敲定后，我需要明确软件的技术问题，或者乔布斯又在某些方面的想法有变动。这给我机会去观察进展。重大的主题讲演，需要一个包括若干小组的庞大团队来解决每个重要问题：一组要预备可容纳数千人的会场，一组要搭建自动化的舞台，落实控制灯光、音响和特效。等等。
还有就是校准艺术化的舞台系统(还得包括一套应急备份的)，一台视频转播车将泊在外面为网络直播服务。会有专人来操控主题讲演中所用的电脑，当然这也包括一套备份。
这一切都是要保密的。乔布斯的讲演总是给人意外，看起来令人迷醉，所以一旦彩排开始，安全人员会将无关人员驱逐以做到保密。有些细节是没法预料到的，比如乔布斯正准备走上舞台的时候，发现DVD播放器遥控开关失灵。这时工作小组需要甚至一套特别的转发系统以确保其正常工作。
当乔布斯走到舞台，主题背景将变为黑色，演示开始。他聚合了所有工作人员的能量与天分——他们大部分来自加州库珀蒂诺。这让人联想起凸透镜聚焦太阳光，一点光斑引燃火种。
当我被确定要为主题讲演做一个演示时，多少有些出乎意料。自那以后我开始认真学习如何做演示。2001年年中，我被擢升为DVD产品和苹果专业级视频编辑软件(Final Cut Pro)的主管，该软件的一个新版本要在2002年初推出。
但乔布斯从不做此类软件的演示，他通常指定项目组更熟悉产品特点和操作的人来做。于是这个差事落到了我头上。
乔布斯通常在主题讲演之日前两天彩排。第一天，他会选择出最吸引眼球的片断。产品主管和研发主管齐集会场，等待介绍他们的产品。这些人也是乔布斯的即兴观众，向他反馈意见。乔布斯还为幻灯花费大量的精力，亲自撰写并制作大量内容，只从苹果的设计团队那里接受有限帮助。
每段演示都要精确无误，乔布斯和制作人在苹果笔记本上修订着资料。他很有条理，演示的每个环节都烂记于心，寻找影响最佳的契合处。每当介绍完一个新品，他都会表达苹果在不懈改进其产品。
关键时刻
大会开幕前夕，我们已进行了至少一次的完整排练，万事俱备。尽管苹果用户不能在场见证彩排时iPod和苹果笔记本这些热辣硬件的揭幕，他们可以在次日就来参观了。从始至终，乔布斯都是会场焦点，即使排练的时候他也不掩饰自己的个性，确实很到位。
我得在5分钟的Final Cut Pro演示上折腾几个星期，挑选合适的素材。乔布斯按照他的习惯，坐下充当一名观众。我很紧张，他的犀利目光让我手足无措。进入彩排没多久，他就叫停，“你必须把这个理顺，要么我们就把它从主题讲演中撤掉”。
我懵了，不知如何作答。还好有我的上司、公司市场主管菲尔-席勒出来圆场，大家一起推敲我的演示。席勒给予我宝贵的建议：“会场6000个苹果迷是你最好的支持者！”最后的彩排，乔布斯再次观看，他颔首赞许。这让我感觉不错，然而真正的考验终于来临了。
次日，会场之上。
我坐在前排，该我出场了。场内将有数千名观众注视着我，有超过50000人通过网络在收看转播——这是巨大的压力，我听到了自己的心跳。虽然之前我做过很多演讲，但那种感觉不一样……乔布斯开始播放幻灯了。
工作人员引领我走上舞台楼梯，我站在暗处，看着乔布斯介绍着屏幕上的我。我被一种奇妙的感觉笼罩着，信步走上楼梯来到舞台，“5分钟后，一切平安无事”，我默念着。……演示非常成功，观众看来喜欢这个产品，他们鼓掌喝彩。
会后，我的演示受到了广泛的赞扬，这其中也包括来自乔布斯的祝贺。
接下来的几个月，我开始策划另外两个主题，每回的初次彩排都会受到乔布斯的痛责。他迫使我更玩命工作，我相信这是乔布斯对苹果最重要的影响：除非他自己和大家做得堪称卓越，否则便不可接受。
Behind the magic curtain
Next week Steve Jobs of Apple will grab media attention with another simple-looking stage show. Mike Evangelist tells the insider secrets of his gruelling preparation
Thursday January 5, 2006
The Guardian
If the chief executive of Cadbury-Schweppes speaks at a conference, or Nike's boss introduces a new kind of trainer, you might expect to see it covered in specialist magazines, then quickly forgotten. But on Tuesday a chief executive will stand up and announce something, and within minutes it will be scrutinised across the web and on stockbrokers' computers. It will be in newspapers. They'll talk about it for months.
That chief executive is Steve Jobs, and I know why that speech makes an impact. To a casual observer it is just a guy in a black shirt and jeans talking about some new technology products. But it is in fact an incredibly complex and sophisticated blend of sales pitch, product demonstration and corporate cheerleading, with a dash of religious revival thrown in for good measure. It represents weeks of work, precise orchestration and intense pressure for the scores of people who collectively make up the "man behind the curtain". I know, because I've been there, first as part of the preparation team and later on stage with Steve.
Objectively, Apple Computer is a mid-sized company with a tiny share of its primary market. Apple Macintoshes are only rarely seen in corporate environments, and most software companies don't even offer Apple-compatible versions of their products. To put it another way, Apple is just bit larger than Cadbury-Schweppes and about the same size as Nike or Marks and Spencer in terms of annual sales.
Such comparisons come up short in trying to describe Apple's place in the world of business, because they leave out a key factor: Steve Jobs. That's something only one other company - the filmmaker Pixar - can claim. He's the closest thing to a rock star you will find in the world of business.
When Apple announces something new, people pay attention. This is due, in large measure, to Steve and the way he delivers Apple's messages. His preferred method of making major product announcements is at one of his public presentations, or "keynotes" as they are called inside the company.
Steve starts his preparation for a keynote weeks in advance, reviewing all the products and technologies he might include. Although development and release schedules are set far in advance, he still has to satisfy himself that the chosen products are keynote-ready. For software, this can be hard to decide: the engineering work is usually still underway, so he will make a preliminary determination based on seeing unfinished software. More than once this has caused some tense moments in rehearsal when programs haven't behaved.
Baptism of fire
My first experience of this preparation came in the runup to the Macworld Expo keynote of January 2001, which was to include new Macs able to burn DVDs - then an amazing capability. Steve wanted to show off the new software, iDVD, that could do it. As I was the product manager for Apple's DVD software, I had to organise everything that Steve would need.
The team and I spent hundreds of hours preparing for a segment that lasted about five minutes. Several weeks earlier Steve summoned me to demo the software, and highlight what I thought were its most interesting aspects. Of course he already knew most of this, but the process was still useful. He used the key points from these demos to mould his overall presentation and decide how much time each product would 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 video producer to make some simulated "home movies". Steve wanted material that looked great, yet was possible for an average person to achieve. So we called on everyone we knew at Apple to submit their best home movies and snapshots. Before long we had an amazing collection of fun, cool and heartwarming videos and photos. My team picked the best and confidently presented them to Steve. True to his reputation as a perfectionist, he hated most of them. We repeated that process several times. At the time I thought he was being unreasonable; but I had to admit that the material we ended up with was much better than what we had begun with.
Then came the process of the demo itself: what precise steps Steve should follow, whether the program should already be running on the computer, what sample movies to play, everything.
With the demo set, my role was to stand by in case of technical problems with the software, or if Steve wanted to change anything. This gave me the opportunity to observe what was going on around me. The big keynotes require a very large crew with separate teams for each major task. One prepares the room to seat several thousand people. Another group builds the stage with its motorised pedestals, risers, trap doors, and so forth. A third manages the stage lighting, audio and effects.
Yet another sets up and calibrates the state-of-the-art projection systems (complete with redundant backup systems), and a huge remote video truck parked outside has its own crew handling video feeds for the webcasts and playback of any video needed during the show. Then there 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 with the flick of a switch.
And of course there's the secrecy. The impact of Steve's presentations depends on surprise; so once the rehearsals begin, security people help keep the curious out and the secrets secret. It was fascinating to watch. No detail was overlooked: for example, while rehearsing the iDVD demo, Steve found that the DVD player's remote control didn't work from where he wanted to stand on the stage. The crew had to make a special repeater system to make it work.
So when Steve steps out on that stage, with its stark black-on-black colour scheme, and does his apparently simple demos, he brings the combined energy and talent of all those people and many more back in Cupertino, California, and channels it to the audience. It makes me think of a magnifying glass used to focus the power of the sun on one small spot until it bursts into flames.
Fast forward a year; much to my surprise I was asked to do a demo in the keynote. And then I really learned about demos. In mid-2001 I had been promoted to manage both the DVD products and Apple's professional video-editing software, Final Cut Pro, a new version of which was to be released in early 2002.
But Steve never does the demos of the pro software; he always relies on someone on the product team more familiar with its features and operation. The job fell to me. It turned out to be my lowest and highest point at Apple.
Steve usually rehearses on the two days before a keynote. On the first day he works on the segments he feels need the most attention. The product managers and engineering managers for each new product are in the room, waiting for their turn. This group also forms Steve's impromptu test audience: he'll often ask for their feedback. He spends a lot of time on his slides, personally writing and designing much of the content, with a little help from Apple's design team.
As each segment of the show is refined, Steve and his producer edit the slides live on a PowerBook so the revised slides can be used immediately. That day Steve was very methodical, going through every aspect of the show. He would test variations of content and flow, looking for the combinations with the most impact. When introducing a major new product, he also liked to show the TV commercial Apple would be using to promote it. Often these had been finished just minutes before rehearsals; Steve would sometimes preview alternate versions to gauge the team's reaction before deciding which to use.
Crunch time
On the day before showtime, things get much more structured, with at least one and sometimes two complete dress rehearsals. Any non-Apple presenters in the keynote take part on the second day (although they cannot be in the room while the secret parts - the unveiling of hot ticket hardware such as a new iPod or laptop - are being rehearsed.) Throughout it all Steve is extremely focused. While we were in that room, all his energy was directed at making this keynote the perfect embodiment of Apple's messages. Steve doesn't give up much of his personality even in rehearsals. He is strictly business, most of the time.
I had worked on my five-minute Final Cut Pro demo for weeks, selecting just the right sample material and honing (I thought) my delivery to a fine edge. My boss and his boss were there for moral support. Steve, as was his custom, sat in the audience. I was very nervous, and having Steve's laser-like attention concentrated on me didn't help. About a minute into the demo, Steve stopped me, saying impatiently, "you gotta get this together or we're going to have to pull this demo from the keynote."
I was devastated. I didn't even know how to respond, or if I should respond. Mercifully my boss and Phil Schiller (Apple's head of marketing, and a frequent keynote presenter) came to my rescue. Over the next few hours they worked with me to polish my demo. More importantly, Phil gave me some great advice: "Those 6,000 Mac fans out there in the hall aren't against you, they're the best friends you can have." The next day at final rehearsal, Steve watched me again. This time he gave it his nod of approval. It felt great; but the real work was yet to be done.
Next morning, as I sat in the front row waiting for my turn on the stage, the full weight of the event hit me. There were several thousand people in the room, and approximately 50,000 watching the webcast. It was the very definition of pressure. Steve started the segment that preceded mine, and my heart started pounding. I felt those hundred thousand eyes all about to be focused on me and feared I would crumble. I had done a bit of public speaking before, but nothing like this.
The assistant producer came over to me to guide me to the stairs at the side of the stage. I stood in the dark, watching Steve put up the slide that introduced me. Just then a wonderful thought hit me; in five minutes the whole thing would be over. If I could only keep going for five minutes I would be fine. I bounced up the stairs and on to the stage, and everything was suddenly OK. 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 each time was incredibly grateful for the apparently harsh treatment Steve had dished out the first time. He forced me to work harder, and in the end I did a much better job than I would have otherwise. I believe it is one of the most important aspects of Steve Jobs's impact on Apple: he has little or no patience for anything but excellence from himself or others.
· Mike Evangelist left Apple in 2002 and is writing a book about his time there, provisionally called Jobs I've Known, live on his site, [url]www.writersblocklive.com[/url]
· If you'd like to comment on any aspect of Technology Guardian, send your emails to tech@guardian.co.uk
文章引用自：http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2006-01-09/0110813794.shtml
喜欢
0
赠金笔