The most persuasive ideas
are the simple ones.
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There is a tool that can
help you simplify your ideas.
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It’s called PCAN–
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P-C-A-N. And PCAN stands
for problem, cause, answer,
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net benefit.
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The PCAN model helps
simplify your idea
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so that it packs a punch.
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As an example,
consider this story
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about Steve Jobs from
the book Perfect Pitch.
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Advertising executive John Steel
was invited to come to Apple
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and make a pitch.
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Jobs kept Steel waiting
for almost two hours.
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When Jobs arrived, he went
right over to a whiteboard.
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Jobs started by saying the
company was in trouble.
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But, he continued,
I believe that if we
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do some simple things
very well, we can save it
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and we can grow it.
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I’ve asked you here today
because I need your help.
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Jobs drew 14 boxes representing
14 projects costing hundreds
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of millions of dollars.
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Then, he X’d out all but two.
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I’m going to bet the future
of this company on them,
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he continued, pointing to the
boxes labeled G4 and iMac.
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Now, what do I want
from you? he continued.
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Jobs said he wanted a plan
to communicate a thank-you
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to Apple’s core customers,
the people who believed
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in the company even when it
looked like it might go out
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of business.
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Then, the meeting was over.
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Steel had two thoughts
following the meeting.
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One, Jobs was a jerk for keeping
him waiting for two hours.
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Second, Jobs had made
a brilliant pitch.
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Now, let’s analyze that pitch.
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Problem– Apple was in trouble
because costs were ballooning.
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The company needed to
simplify and get back
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in touch with the source of its
past successes, the customers.
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Cause– there were too
many projects, 14 of them.
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They cost hundreds of
millions of dollars
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that the company
couldn’t afford.
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Even more important,
they pulled attention
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away from keeping customers
excited and engaged.
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Answer– Jobs was
betting that focusing
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on just two products,
the G4 and the iMac,
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could put Apple back on
its feet financially.
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And he needed to help reconnect
with his customer base
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to generate excitement
for those two products.
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Implied here was a
kind of love story.
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Customers had grown
to love a company that
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produced new products
that were delightful.
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But the company
had lost its way,
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and customers were
disillusioned.
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Now the company will
use two great products
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to win back those
customers’ love.
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Net benefits– Jobs wanted
John Steel and his team
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to come up with a
communication strategy designed
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to reconnect with customers,
to deliver a thank-you.
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This would not solve
all of Apple’s problems.
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But it would be enough to
keep the company in business
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and rekindle the love their
customers used to have for it.
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Jobs’ presentation also
illustrates several best
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practices to keep in
mind when you’re crafting
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a simple, compelling message.
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First, lead off with your point.
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Jobs got right to
his main point–
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reconnect with the customer–
and nailed it down tight.
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Attention is a precious,
scarce resource.
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If you need more than
one or two sentences
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to summarize your point and
show why it’s important,
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you may lose your audience.
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Second, support your point with
the so-called power of because.
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That is, offer a reason or
two in support of your point.
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Carefully consider what
kind of reasons you use.
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We’ll talk more about
reasons in the next lecture.
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Third, show how you
want to take action.
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Proposing an action shows
you’re serious and engages
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your listeners.
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They can literally see
what you want to do.
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Finally, discuss the pluses
and minuses or net benefits
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of your proposed action.
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Make it easy for
others to recognize
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that you have
thought realistically
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about your situation.
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Any proposal has limits.
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And you gain credibility by
acknowledging those limits.
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Steve Jobs was
able to communicate
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a clear and compelling
course of action for Apple.
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Not only was his technique
useful in getting buy-in
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from others, it was
also an effective tool
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to unify Apple’s resources
so that they could
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be used to pursue a big goal.
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