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THE 9 FUNDAMENTAL RULES OF HIGH TECH STRATEGY
profitable or critically-acclaimed movies (they don’t always fall on the same lists) and you will see simple stories and simple themes. The Star Wars series probably grossed in excess of $20 billion dollars in box office, DVD, games, toys and other revenues66. The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is headed in the same direction. According to Time Warner, the worldwide box office take has been $2.9 billion and the consumer spending on home entertainment and merchandise was $3 billion.67 What do these films have in common? Despite the heavy special-effects, they’re all based on simple, enduring, and universal mythologies that Joseph Campbell wrote about decades ago in books like Hero with a Thousand Faces. They tell basic, archetypal stories. Matt Damon, actor, producer, and writer said once that “the bigger the story, the simpler the characters.” Mr. Damon co-wrote the screenplay for Good Will Hunting and acted as Private Ryan in Academy-Award Winner Saving Private Ryan as well as many other successful films such as The Bourne Identity and Ocean’s Eleven. Hollywood uses story-making skills not just to make movies but also to sell them. They know how to craft simple messages, create relationships between stars and customers, create word of mouth, and position their products. But Hollywood does something else that is essential for high tech strategy. Silicon Valley did not create the concept of venture capital or fundraising for a new venture. Hollywood has been doing it for far longer. Entrepreneurs (writers, directors or producers) first develop a new idea for a movie. They then write a treatment and/or a screenplay, and a “business plan” that they use to attract studios, investors, producers, actors, and directors. Sound familiar? This is what a technology entrepreneur does. Only instead of studio investors they seek venture capital investors. Instead of directors, they look for an executive staff. Instead of actors, they look for engineers. Like studios they look for outstanding marketing managers. Here’s an exercise–explain the following movies in ten words (or ten seconds) or less: – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (starring Michelle Yeow and Yun-Fat Chow) – The Last Samurai (starring Tom Cruise)