GSW owner believes in purposeful storytelling

It is quite rare that you come face to face with a master, someone who is accomplished, influential and wealthy across several fields. Even in our line of work, those encounters are limited to who is assigned to us, or who is within the sphere of the beat we cover. Luckily, Peter Guber is all that and more, an engaging, open, generous speaker who believes in purposeful storytelling. Guber, owner of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the fabled Los Angeles Dodgers, was in the country Tuesday as main speaker at the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) Leadership Series. Hundreds were at the ticketed event, including many sports executives and educators.

Guber began by emphasizing that failure is a large part of any growth process. Everybody fails, he said. What is important is not to surrender, not to get mired in it. You have to keep questioning your way of doing things, your way of being.

“You’ve got to be the challenger to your own incumbency,” said the 76-year old creator, who has been producing hit movies as a studio boss since he was in his mid-20’s.

The first major principle Guber shared was knowing your audience. He refuses to call people customers, because then, he said, they would become protective of themselves and their money, and less open to what you have to say. He also discussed the principles he calls M.A.G.I.C. in telling a good story, the letters in the word standing for Motivating, Audience, Goal, Interactivity and Content. These guided him to success in Hollywood with films like 1989’s “Batman”, “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, “Soul Surfer”, “Les Miserables” and dozens of others.

“You have to be motivated. You have to know your intention before you get their attention,” he reminded. “What do they want? All you do is tell stories. Think of a story as your Trojan horse.”

He cautioned his audience that it takes three and a half years to create a film from idea to final cut. In that time, so much can change, as the world evolves every day. But if the story resonates with people, it will have a greater chance of succeeding. He talks about “emotional transportation”, carrying people through experiences that touch them.

“Feelings and emotions are critical because we are all analog,” he explained. “Technology is a language, not just soulless information.”

Inevitably, his subject matter migrated to sports and how, in 1975, the company Guber was working for acquired the rights to Muhammad Ali’s life story, “The Greatest”. Right before the book was to be released, Ali phoned, demanding to speak before their entire sales force.

“Ali asked them how they were going to sell his movie. The book wasn’t even out yet, and he was already talking about the movie,” Guber smiled. “He made them all stand up, and went over, round by round, his plan to fight Joe Frazier. Soon, they were all tired to throwing punches in the air against Ali, but everyone was laughing. They got the point: you had to prepare for a big fight. Everybody had their picture taken with Ali. And they all told that story.”

Inevitably, Guber talked about the challenge of buying the Warriors, and changing the team’s culture. And later, when the team was in discussions with Kevin Durant after the first championship in 2015, Durant phoned Jarrett Jack, who averaged 13 points and over five assists in 79 games for the Dubs in the 2012-2013 season, and asked him about his experience.

“Jarrett told him that Steph Curry was the real deal, and that everyone in the organization was great,” Guber recalls. “He said everyone still says hi and they hug when they see each other. I don’t know if that made him decide to join us. But what if he had said the opposite?”

Guber’s group is now constructing a new coliseum for his champion team in downtown San Francisco, which will be finished middle of next year. Though they currently own the longest streak of sold-out games in the league, the Dubs are playing in the oldest arena in the NBA. He’s also proposing using virtual reality to give more people the experience of being in the venue during games, which has never been done before.

“State of the art technology is state of the heart technology,” he says. “People buy benefits. You’re not selling features; you’re selling benefits.”

That’s why, when Peter Guber talks, leaders listen.