Bud Tribble, longstanding colleague of Steve Jobs, created a concept to describe a phenomenon that happened when you were in Jobs’ vicinity. The reality distortion field.
Back in 1981, the vision held by Jobs for the Macintosh project was so strong, so exceptional, so compelling, it had a magically persuasive effect on the developers around him.
Jobs knew what he was creating and he knew its potential. His energy was felt, quite physically, by those around him. He amassed a tribe, he gathered superfans. Those working with him trusted wholeheartedly in his picture of the future and they worked their socks off to travel there together and make it a reality.
He inspired engineers to shave seconds off the startup time of an Apple Mac when they said it was impossible. He compelled suppliers into creating components that didn’t yet exist.
When your vision is that strong, the laws of physics seem to not apply. Normal goes out of the window. Constraints don’t exist. Naysayers move aside with strength of the force coming the opposite way. Any difficulty is temporary and will pass. Nothing is insurmountable.
