The Storytelling Secret That Made Apple a Global Icon

Steve Jobs turned a product launch into a rebellion. That’s the power of storytelling.

EXPERT OPINION BY CARMINE GALLO, HARVARD INSTRUCTOR, KEYNOTE SPEAKER, AUTHOR, ‘THE BEZOS BLUEPRINT’ @CARMINEGALLO

In this April 24, 1984 file photo, Steve Jobs, left, chairman of Apple Computers, John Sculley, center, president and CEO, and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, unveil the new Apple IIc computer in San Francisco, California. Photo: AP

The small garage where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Woz) began assembling parts for the first Apple computer still draws visitors who pose for pictures. Entrepreneurs and founders often make a pilgrimage to the humble ranch house because it symbolizes how startup dreams can come true. 

It’s a story that continues to inspire people 50 years later, but the Apple story could not have been written without the combined skills of an engineer and an artist. Woz, the engineer, solved computer problems while Jobs was working on a different problem — how to get people to care. 

The skill that Jobs brought to the partnership — the one that made people believe in those two guys in a garage — is one that every entrepreneur needs to sharpen to turn their dreams into reality — storytelling. 

Why storytelling is the founder’s secret weapon 

When former Apple executive and iPod creator Tony Fadell was asked for the most valuable lessons he learned from his boss and mentor, Steve Jobs, Fadell offered three — “storytelling, storytelling, and storytelling.” 

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People don’t buy “products,” Fadell explained. They buy into the promise of what the product can do for them. They buy into a story. Wherever you’re working these days — a small garage, a spare bedroom, or a coffee shop — your ideas are only as good as your ability to persuade others that you have a good idea. For that to happen, you need to tell a story. 

Steve Jobs used storytelling to sell dreams, not products. 

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller,” Jobs once said. “The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.” 

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