Robert McKee's "Story," was written for aspiring screenwriters. Here are some powerful thoughts from the intro that should be mastered by every business executive.

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Power
Thoughts
from:
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Story is about principles, not rules
A rule says you must do it this way. A principle says that this works, and has
through remembered time. The `difference is crucial. Your work needn't be
modeled after a well-made play. Rather, it must be well-made within the
principles that shape our life.
My Take:
The same is true in business. Too often
executives and salespeople search for
“rules” and “templates;” when what they
really need to focus on is the fundamental
principle of doing something relevant.
© 2009 Imagine Business Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Story is about eternal universal
forms, not formulas.
The cinema's master storytellers give us the double edge encounter we
crave. First the discovery of a world we do not know, no matter how
intimate or epic, contemporary or historical, concrete or fantasized. The
world of an imminent artist always strikes us as somewhat exotic or
strange, like an explorer parting forest leaves. Second, once inside this
alien world we find ourselves. Deep within these characters and their
conflicts, we discover our own humanity.
My Take:
This is what a remarkable experience is all
about.
© 2009 Imagine Business Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Story is about thoroughness, not
shortcuts
While scribe-a-maniacs fill pages as fast as they can type, film writers
cut and cut again; ruthless in the desire to express the absolute
maximum in the fewest possible worlds.
My Take:
Simply put, if you want it to be powerful it
takes time, effort and a lot of frustration. If
you skip the frustration then you lose the
power. Don’t skip the frustration.
© 2009 Imagine Business Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Story is about mastering the art, not
second guessing the marketplace
The honest big city answer to all these fears is that you'll get an agent, sell
your work, and see it realized safely on screen when you write with
surpassing quality, and not until. If you knock out a knock off of last year’s
hit, you'll join the ranks of lesser talents, who each year flood Hollywood
with thousands of cliché ridden stories. Rather than agonizing over the
odds, put your energies into achieving excellence. If you show a brilliant,
original screenplay to agents, they'll fight for the right to represent you. The
agent you hire will incite a bidding war among the story's star producers,
and the winner will pay you an embarrassing amount of money.
My Take:
Starbucks became successful because they
focused on making a great cup of coffee
and providing a great experience. A great
business grew from that. It happens in that
order. Do something great, then let the
business occur.
© 2009 Imagine Business Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Story is about respect, not disdain,
for the audience.
My Take:
If you’re not passionate about and do not
respect your customer then it doesn’t
matter how good or special you are – you
will fail.
© 2009 Imagine Business Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Story is about originality, not
duplication
My Take:
Be original.
© 2009 Imagine Business Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved.