Turn An Insult Into A Win Like Steve Jobs Did

If one of our most common fears is public speaking, then being insulted while public speaking must take first prize.

Steve Jobs, The CEO of Apple was speaking at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in 1997, when a man put up his hand to ask a question with this insult embedded in it. “You don’t know what you’re doing...and what have you personally been doing for the last seven years?”

Job’s takes it on the chin and doesn’t react in anger, which would reduce him to the man’s level. He also turns it into a teaching moment.

Here's what he does:

1. Pauses and drinks water.

This creates some space, and takes a minute to formulate an answer, and focuses the audience on him.

2. Remains calm, accepting what the man has said, and acknowledging his right to free speech.

3. Politely responds by establishing common ground with his insulter

by saying: “people like this gentlemen are right” He continues to say he has made mistakes and he doesn’t know everything. This humbles him in the eyes of the audience.

4. He focuses on the big picture, and not the immediate or small things.

He talks about the “cohesive larger vision” of how to affect change and be able to sell 8 billion to 10 billion dollars worth of product a year. This clarifies the scope of the CEO’s job. It is not only about daily duties but running the whole show. This raises him up.

4. The he does a massive pivot and starts explaining what his value is to the organization.

He says the key is to start with the customer experience first not the technology as the man suggests. He says you have to work backwards to the technology. You can’t start with the technology first and try and figure out how you’re gonna sell it. The man is saying he doesn’t know everything about the technology, and he agrees but says the engineers know everything, and the most important component is not the technology, but the customer experience, and he focuses on that.

5. Job’s explains that the customer also doesn’t need to know all about the technology, but they only need to know that they press a button and they get what they want from the device.

"It is about what value we give to the customer and where we can take the customer", he says.

6. He tells a story about the first laser printed document in the customer's hands and connects to the audience.

7. He shows his vulnerability. He admits that open doc was a failure for Apple. And says “I’m sorry” about the failure.

He also apologizes for the “many things in life that he doesn’t have the faintest idea what he is talking about” This creates common ground with everyone at the conference because there are many things that all of us know nothing about, including the insulter.

8. Then he pivots and shows he’s a leader.

He praises his team who works so hard. He mentions their names and establishes a personal connection and gives a nod to the hundreds of other people working at Apple who are “doing their best”, and he says “some mistakes will be made.”

But “That’s good.” he says, because “at least some DECISIONS are being made along the way. We’ll find the mistakes and fix them and I think what we need to do is support that team who are doing their best.” He infers that he is also doing his best, and that’s all anyone can ask.

He concludes by focusing on his vision for the future and distancing himself from the insulter by stressing how things are so much better now, and they need support to keep working towards making it better.

By the end his response, Job’s is applauded by the audience.

Basically you never look good by making someone else look bad, you only look bad.