For the past year or so, we’ve been doing deep work with some of our clients on what we call defining their point of view. Now, this is an age-old term that’s loosely defined as “a manner of viewing things.” But more than this, communicating a point of view implies thoughtful perspective, context and judgment.

As a firm, we have a lot to say about point of view, and we’ll have other posts and information about what the work looks like, as well as the dramatic impact it’s had on our clients’ businesses and organizations.

In short though, this work is rooted in helping articulate a clear vision of the future, and where an organization fits in with this future. This can be the future of health care, the importance of how the world’s energy is managed, etc.

I recently watched an interview/discussion between Steve Jobs, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Jobs did an excellent … um, job … of not only providing perspective about his company, but in providing a point of view about how the company will develop. Read his comments carefully. I’m paraphrasing, but they’re firmly rooted in how Apple will develop its products to meet the way we live our lives and the implications for our relationship with computers.

What struck me, and this aligns with how we’ve counseled our clients around POV work, is that this wasn’t a discussion of faster speeds, advanced architecture or better screen resolution. In fact, in this part of the interview there was little that Jobs talked about that was specifically about Apple. But in framing his thoughts—his point of view—he made these topics all about Apple.

It’s powerful stuff.

Here’s a link (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20006526-56.html?tag=smallCarouselArea.0) to the story.