Jurassic Park: Ignite a Fire

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993) will forever live not only as a cinematic conquest, but an immortal cultural touchstone.

T-Rex rampaging through the paddock fence. Her slanted pupils dilating in the beam of a child’s flashlight. Her patient, terrifying search for those only feet in front of her. They, as we, frozen in fear—a moment so immersive and visceral it stays with us forever.

Reflect—really reflect—on the first time you experienced this film, and specifically the T-Rex scene. The sense of awe and wonder; the terror—the unforgettable thrill.

We’d never seen anything like it before, or so bold a vision so beautifully executed—an experience so powerful no predecessors could ever hope to recapture its magic. Four sequels have attempted to. All have failed.  

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Steve Jobs; 2007. A seminal moment in the world of business:

Introducing… “an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator. Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices- this is one device”.

Instantly, the way we interact with technology (and each other) forever changed.  With awe and wonder, we received Steve Jobs’ gift to the world—in an experience so powerful no predecessors could ever hope to recapture its magic.

Standing on the Shoulders of Geniuses

The gold standard set by Spielberg and Jobs cast a shadow so long none following will ever achieve such glory. It cannot be done. When a film, technology, or any initiative is introduced with such purpose, power, and clarity all who attempt replication will forever fall short.

Dr. Ian Malcolm to Jurassic Park founder John Hammond:

“You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you're selling it, you wanna sell it.”

Note the irony here:

Dr. Malcolm’s warning is as much a prophecy for the franchise’s follow-up films as it is for the nature of genetic manipulation he’s referencing. Follow-up Jurassic Park films stood on the shoulders of Spielberg’s masterpiece; an endless turnstile of inferior, forgettable, poorly packaged and quickly sold sequels more insulting to Spielberg’s masterpiece than paying homage to it.

The leadership lesson is this.

Your initiative may be a product, service, promotion, event; any objective where impact matters.

Invest in the initiative launch with the passion you invest in the initiative itself.

You get one first chance. You get one first impression.  One.  

Steve Jobs and Stephen Spielberg never have to stand on the shoulders of geniuses—they are the geniuses.

And theirs is the example to emulate.

Nail the launch of your initiative—hold nothing back.

It is a mindset.

It is an energy you create.

Commit fully—in every way—to getting it right.

Be bold, ambitious, grand; all-in.

You get one chance.

Ignite a fire.

Let the world stand in the shadow of your genius.

Mark Joseph Huckabee