No amount of technology will turn a bad story into a good story

John Lasseter, the legendary animator and co-founder of Pixar, often said, “No amount of technology will turn a bad story into a good story.” The same holds true for keynotes and for software development. You can pack a keynote with dazzling visuals and cutting-edge demos and wow moments, but if the narrative is muddled, the audience will leave uninspired. Likewise, in software, the latest frameworks, cloud services, or AI agents can’t rescue a poorly defined product vision or a weak design. Technology multiplies the strength of a good story and a solid foundation, but it also amplifies the cracks in a bad one. Whether on stage or in code, the craft lies first in the story you’re trying to tell and the problem you’re trying to solve.