Many of the articles on the passing of Steve Jobs highlighted his Stanford commencement speech and his gift for storytelling.

I raked the media coverage to see if anyone actually focused on his communications expertise.

A few did with the best one ironically coming from MIT’s media property, Technology Review.

David Zax penned a post simply titled, “Steve Jobs, Storyteller” which kicks off:

Among the many things that made Steve Jobs, who died yesterday, a genius was the fact that he was, at heart, a storyteller.

Later, Zax resurrects his 1985 interview in Playboy that I’d forgotten about.

Check out these words from more than 25 years ago:

He is on a mission, preaching the Gospel of salvation through the personal computer, preferably one manufactured by Apple. He is an engaging pitchman and never loses an opportunity to sell his products, eloquently describing a time when computers will be as common as kitchen appliances and as revolutionary in their impact as the telephone or the internal-combustion engine.

What struck me reading this passage is he maintained this intensity for 25 plus years.

I think this quality often gets overlooked when it comes to storytelling in business.

And as discussed before, he consciously created scarcity as a technique to build drama.

But his intense care – “preaching the Gospel of salvation through the personal computer” – more than any quality explains how he did it.

That’s the subhead for a Wall Street Journal column crafted by Peggy Noonan earlier in the month.

It triggered over 700 posted comments which says something about the topic.

After her preamble that patriotism is alive and well even as the country struggles to find its mojo, we get to the heart of the matter:

“Are those running for president aware of the fix we’re in? I’m not sure they are. For one thing, if they knew, they wouldn’t look so dementedly chipper. And they wouldn’t all be talking about The Narrative. Which is all I heard once I came back East.”

Love the phrase “dementedly chipper” (a nod to cult movie Fargo I believe).

But to her point and I think it’s worthy one, its weird how politicians including President Obama have embraced THE Narrative as the latest magic wand.

The core shouldn’t be the story.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the core should incorporate the policies and thinking of the politician.

Then, it’s up to the politician to articulate his/her ideas to the relevant audiences.

Here, effective storytelling can absolutely be an asset … as a means of communicating, not the basis for economic reform.

If we rewind the tape to Barack Obama, presidential hopeful, his ability to connect with America can partly – some would argue largely – be attributed to his skills as an orator. 

The man can tell a story.

Here’s the problem and it’s one that applies to politicians, business executives or anyone in a leadership position.

You can’t tell a story about a story.

In the literary world, they call this fiction.

It works in novels.

Not so much in real life.

So many great stories and memories on Steve Jobs have been shared over the past 24 hours.

As you would expect, Journal colunnist Walt Mossberg crafts a fitting tribute on Steve the person.

My favorite visual goes back to his “kid days” when he landed on the cover of Time Magazine.

Given Steve’s storytelling acuity, he provided plenty of fodder for this forum over the years.

Here are three posts from the archives:

• Replacing Narrative Cultivated By Steve Jobs will Be Tougher Than the Product Roadmap
• The Best Storytelling on Steve Jobs
• Apple Dumps Macworld

To borrow words, he was “insanely great.”

Dear Artie,

It is OK to call you Artie?

Anyway, I’ll get to the point.

Your rush to join the talk-show circuit after the debut of “Money Ball” generated some good news and bad news.

Let’s start with the good news.

You didn’t send your wife to do your bidding and talk to the media.

Thank goodness you’re a student of history. That’s how you so deftly navigated the righty-lefty match-ups, right?

I bet you analyzed how playing the wife card didn’t work for Nicolas Sarkozy and decided to take a pass on this tactic.

Smart.

Now the bad news.

You came off as silly, publicly discussing how “Money Ball” wronged you.

C’mon, it’s a movie.

This is Hollywood, not C-SPAN.

Nuance and shades of gray don’t play well on the silver screen.

Making a sports movie that sells requires good guys, bad guys and the occasional f-bomb.

Geez, you worked under Bobby Valentine, so you saw firsthand the gap between a good narrative and reality.

Yes, I can understand your unhappiness with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s physique. Why he decided to channel Jack Black in “School of Rock” and put on 20 pounds is beyond me. If it’s any consolation, I always thought you cut a rather svelte figure in your green and gold unie.

Look, I know this isn’t easy.

You want to defend your honor.

I get it.

But Artie, you were in the game for over 30 years. If you felt this strongly about your rep, call some of your compadres to put out the word that the real Art Howe got the most out of his talent and if Billy Beane is such a genius, why has it been five years since the A’s produced a winning record?

It sounds so much better when your buddies say you’re a great guy than when you say “I’m great.”

Better yet, how about reaching out to some of those players you managed on the A’s to share their perspectives on your managerial acuity?

That’s really the advice I wanted to share.

I don’t mean to rub salt in the wound, but even your Wikipedia profile is flagged with the words:

“Please help by adding reliable sources.” 

Short of showing your stuff again - can’t quite see the Red Sox calling - third-party validation is the next best thing to setting the record straight.

Good luck and if you decide to continue down this path, we do happen to offer media training.

Sincerely,

Lou