In Las Vegas
I WAS looking forward to seeing Olympic champion Michael Phelps in the flesh – all 1.93m of him.
The swimmer was slated be the keynote speaker for IBM's big service management event – Pulse – at Las Vegas. This was in October 2008 way before the sorry business about him and marijuana two weeks ago through a single photo. (The quality of the photo was not even paparazzi-worthy).
Unsurprisingly, at Pulse, there was no usual build for the keynote speaker. Up to the eleventh hour, there was no mention of a replacement either.
So I was eager to get two world class lessons in spin management. One from corporate giant IBM on why it was sticking its guns on a champion who has made a suicidal plunge from grace.
The second was how the 23-year-old was going to seize this chance to scratch back some dignity. I am always fascinated by young people imbued with an old soul's gravitas. Will Michael be such a person?
IBM has put up a slick – Vegas-worthy – show so far. At the MGM Grand Garden Arena which can accommodate 17,000 people, images of speakers were magnified on three-storey-high two screens so that everyone in the audience could see the speakers clearly.
The sound was superbly handled. Hall filling, crystal clear – but never intrusive or jarring – and full bodied.
There is even a mock news channel – Pulse News Network (PNN – rings a bell?) with a seasoned anchor "breaking" news on announcement made at Pulse and a perky roving reporter interviewing attendees on their response.
So when head honcho at Pulse, Al Zollar, said that there was the replacement speaker – pushed to the end of the session instead of kicking off the day – was "someone you won't want to miss", I must confess that it was a strong motivation for sticking my seat. Tech speakers may be well-trained and motivated but some of their subject matters are pretty dry.
Guess who it turned out to be?
The IBM event's Magic moment.
ST Photo: Tan Chong Yaw
It was basketball superstar "Magic" Johnson – named one of the 50 greatest players in the history of the National Basketball Association of America in October 1996.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson spoke about his victories on the court and segued into his victories in the commercial arena. Cinemas (called Magic Theatres), property development, fitness centres. Sprinkling his speech with business figures and humour.
(By the way, "Magic" also bought into Fatburger – a hamburger chain. I blame Fatburger for my excesses in Las Vegas.)
He brought warmth, humour, and encouragement to the crowd. Unlike other speakers who stuck resolutely to the stage, "Magic" came down and mingled with the audience. The number of mobile phones, cameras and videocams that were whipped out at this rare opportunity was amazing. And not by trigger-happy teenyboppers either.
He addressed members of the audience by name. He made a man take a photo of himself and a lady fan who was eagerly snapping away. He also made one female IBMer a very happy lady by holding her tightly to him for a few minutes while he was speaking.
"Magic" – for the record, a full five inches taller than Michael Phelps – was a consummate charmer.
As for the swimmer, many were disappointed he pulled out of the event just one day before his appearance. IBM apparently went into red alert mode to find and secure "Magic" Johnson's appearance. Further, the cancellation message was not even from Michael – it was conveyed by his manager.
Continuity and resiliency are what IBM says its systems offer - and the company certainly showed these qualities with its last-minute star power.
Props to IBM for a quick graceful recovery.