Jeremy Connell-Waite

“Tell me the story of IBM in 10 minutes using only 1 slide”. 👁️🐝Ⓜ️
 
This was a challenge I accepted recently to help a couple of IBM’s leaders to tell their version of IBM’s story and what makes the company so special.
 
This video is the story of what I came up with...
 
⚠️ BUT this post is NOT for everyone. ⚠️

I try to avoid corporate posts on Linkedin because that’s not usually what you want to see, so I’ve tried to put a different spin on this one.
 
I made this VERY scrappy home-movie of the story behind the slide that I created and wove in a few stories about why I think it matters. It's based on a 10-minute presentation I made during one of my coaching classes.
 
Who knows, it might even encourage you to create a similar graphic for your own company? Not so much to brag about your awards, achievements or how many employees you have – but to tell the story of WHAT you do and WHY you do it.
 
So this is my IBM story.
 
It’s a little bit of a corporate deep-dive and was not intended to be promotional – but it’s hard not to be if I’m taking 9-minutes to act as IBM’s Chief Cheerleader… 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
So you have 3 options:
 
1️⃣ Ignore this post and I’ll see you next week when normal service will resume.
2️⃣ Watch the video. (You’ll see a side of IBM that doesn’t get shared very often).
3️⃣ Come and work with us and build your own IBM story!? (We currently have over 5,000 open jobs! Link in the comments).
 
I’m no filmmaker (and iMovie definitely has it’s limitations) but this was a fun exercise to throw together last night with a glass of wine. 😂
 
I hope you enjoy it – let me know what you #THINK!

** NEW BOOK ALERT!!! ** Just before lockdown I started to draw 'one pagers'. I drew them mostly for fun while I learned new things, but I soon discovered that they also encouraged other people to think with their pen. Over the last 15 months I've received SO MUCH positive feedback from you all (and hundreds of requests to turn them into a book) that I've gone and done it!

“I don't write things down to remember them later - I write things down to remember them now“.

So this (not so little) beauty will be available as an A3 sized coffee table book or as a hi-res digital download. Thanks again Linkedin for all the positive vibes and for enjoying whatever I ended up dumping from my brain onto a page.

“You can change the world just by sharing your story“.

The Disney Art School was founded 90 years ago today. 1932 was a time of depression, and the school was created to upskill unemployed workers who didn’t have a career. It turned out to be one of the smartest moves Walt Disney ever made. This little art school trained all the animators needed to work on Disney’s first feature-length cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the first movie to ever use storyboards). 🟨🖊
 
I drew these notes while I was studying Walt Disney Studios and trying to understand what made their Imagineers so special. (I was also reading two excellent books by Lou Prosperi).
 
“Imagineering” combines IMAGINation + enginEERING. 💡📐
 
It’s a mindset that Disney innovators use to invent new technologies, and build exciting experiences on sound stages, on studio sets, and in the theme parks.
 
“I like the impossible because there’s less competition”. Walt Disney 🖌
 
This 5-level pyramid was created as a model to help accelerate creativity and innovation. I think it’s as relevant today as it was when it was created back then.
 
💛 The 5 “Foundations” are the principles of Imagineering and creative thought.
🧡 The 4 “Wayfinding” blocks position you as the trusted guide who needs to grab the audience’s attention.
❤️ “Visual Communication” helps you tell a compelling story.
💚 “Making it Memorable” reinforces your message on a deep emotional level.
💙 At the top of the pyramid is “Plussing”. It’s Walt’s cardinal rule and it’s my favourite, because it pushes you to ask yourself, “HOW DO I MAKE THIS BETTER”?
 
So the next time you’re in a design thinking workshop, or planning out the narrative of your story for an important presentation, think of the folks 90 years ago who came before you. As their world was also being disrupted in tough economic times, they were learning how to draw and colour in, so that they could bring a little magic to people’s lives. 🎨