“Here’s an example of the power of Unified
Communications in manufacturing.
The team can enter the meeting via a Cisco IP
touch-screen phone or via the telephony user
interface on their cell phone.
The meeting can easily move from a simple audio
conference to a web conference if documents
need to be shared, and also to a video conference
if video content (such as a real-time view of the
machinery on the line) needs to be reviewed to
solve the problem.”
112 Resonate
Case Study: Cisco Systems
Hop to It
ORIGINAL SLIDE
ORIGINAL SCRIPT
Technology is meaningless until you understand how
humans use it and benefit from it. This is often the
conundrum in presenting technology. The emphasis
is placed on the object and its features rather than on
how it will help the user.
Consider the original slide to the right and the original
script that accompanied the slide. Though it initially
seems to describe the human component, it’s really
nothing more than a laundry list of capabilities.
This description is accurate, succinct, and completely
devoid of charm or character. It answers the questions
“what” and “how” while completely ignoring the “why.”
In other words, technology is capable of many things—
but audiences need to be given a reason to care.
That reason to care starts with the story. Paint a
picture; provide a human element to which the audi-
ence can relate; tell them “why.” Once you have them
hooked, you can pull back the curtain and show them
how the technology really works. You will lose an
audience if you jump into how a magic trick works
without first performing the jaw-dropping trick itself.
The story on the following pages transforms the origi-
nal presentation by capturing how Cisco’s technology
helped a small-business man become more agile and
smart in managing his business.
When your company’s tagline is “the human net-
work,” telling how humans benefit from this network
is important. Weaving it into a story with a real char-
acter is even better.
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Create Meaningful Content 113
Dave is president of a large microbrewery.
He’s won more regional beer competitions
than anyone else, and he’s hungry for his
next one, confident that his award-winning
recipe will land him another victory.
Unfortunately, while gearing up to brew
a batch of his new beer for the competi-
tion, he discovers his secret ingredient,
his prize hops, hasn’t arrived.
Just then, Dave’s supply-chain manager
receives a notification—the shipment
of hops has been delayed in customs.
The network detected the message and
routed it to Dave’s brewing company,
where a text message alerts Dave’s
supply-chain manager.
Introduce your hero early—and give
your audience a reason to root for
him or her.
Set up the conflict clearly, but don’t
reveal how the hero will overcome
it—that’s part of the mystery.
Provide the audience more infor-
mation about the nature of the
challenge; often this comes from
unexpected sources or new
characters.
“HOP TO IT” STORY
STORY STRUCTURE
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114 Resonate
Now Dave has big problems. His hops
haven’t arrived, and there’s no telling
how long they’ll be held up in customs.
He needs to launch his new brew at the
competition because he’s depending on
the press coverage to make it a top seller
this year. And he’s shut down a big part
of his operation in anticipation of the
event, so he’ll lose revenue if he can’t
make his deadline.
But there may be a solution: On the other
side of the country, another hop supplier
growing the same variety has had a
bumper year and needs to unload his
product before it goes bad. What will
happen to Dave? Will he be able to
defend his title? Will the competition
organizers be able to draw the crowds
they need? Will the alternate hop
supplier find his customer? Find out
in the exciting conclusion…
When last we left our heroes, all was not
well. Fortunately, when the shipment was
stopped at customs, Dave and his team
were notified immediately.
Develop a complication. There’s
nothing like raising the stakes.
When picking up the story, recall the
original premise to refresh the audi-
ence’s memory.
STORY STRUCTURE
Reveal a solution, but make sure it’s
not an easy one. This secondary chal-
lenge raises the stakes for the hero
and keeps the audience on edge.
Bring the story to a head, laying out
all the stakes for all the characters.
Cliffhanger: It’s at this point in the story you can break to explain how the tech-
nology works. The audience will be left in a state of suspense, wondering what
becomes of the characters, while you provide background on the solution. This
serves two purposes: You privilege your audience with information the charac-
ters don’t have, and you provide the hard data you must share.
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Create Meaningful Content 115
The production manager determines
the exact shortage based on the new
recipe, then checks potential sources at
other key suppliers through his secure
network connection.
He identifies the alternate hop supplier,
indicates the needed quantity, verifies
the variety, and places an order.
The grower’s sales rep receives the
order, finds the available production
supervisor, and clicks to connect to
him—via multiple devices—confirming
that he can ship the hops right away.
The domestic supplier confirms the ship
date with Dave, who is able to confirm
his participation in the competition…
…which, of course, he wins again.
For stories with multiple characters
or crises, a step-by-step approach
makes the ultimate solution simple
and believable.
Build to the resolution. Show the
incremental steps in overcoming
the challenge.
Create a climax wherein all the
story threads are resolved except
for one—the original challenge.
Let that resolution be the final
movement, the scene that lifts the
hero from one state to another.
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Hans Rosling
Professor of International Health
Hans Rosling’s 2006 TED talk was the epitome of turning
data into meaning. www On one axis he has female fertil-
ity rates, and the other has life expectancy. By animating
the information over time, new insights emerged. The
clusters of bubbles moved from the lower-right corner in
1962, where people had short lives and large families, to
a completely new world in 2003, where long lives and
small families are the norm.
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