9

The Power of Storytelling

Storytelling, built around the hidden agenda, carries your audience with you through the power of humankind’s oldest and most motivating form of communication.

The stage was set. The trio of strategists had laid down a carpet of brutal logic. Creative Director Jonathan, my friend and a great talent, delivered the concept he envisaged, the core of the pitch:

There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there’s MasterCard.

All the while, a small table sat amidst the enormous room of McCann. On it was a large object with a linen cloth over it. The linen was carefully pulled away, revealing a series of books, three feet high, in royal blue velvet, with a small polished brass MasterCard logo elegantly affixed in the center. The first book was opened carefully and the two brilliant creators of Priceless, Jeroen Bours and Joyce King Thomas, read simple lines from a page of beautiful photographs of a father and son and in gentle tones:

Two tickets, $28

Two hot dogs, two popcorns, and two sodas, $18

One autographed baseball, $45

Real conversation with 11-year-old son … priceless

Speechless.

In riveting cadence, story after story expressing this brilliant idea was told, the most intense moment of the pitch and certainly for me, and for everyone in the room, of all our professional lives. The looks on the faces of the assembly told it all. They were spellbound. It was because the pitch of this profound strategic thought was delivered in a time-honored means of communicating desire … storytelling. All of the logic, all of the elements of the “case” were transformed into a story of longing, heroism, and attainment.

The MasterCard Story

While introducing the extraordinary recommendation for MasterCard, we told a story. This story was about a brand weak and vulnerable and a villain (Visa) with unbroken success, but it was also the story of a potential transformation. We offered MasterCard the power and control to turn the story around and allow MasterCard to take its rightful place as a winner in its marketplace. This was a story not of life as it is, but of how it could be. It was the outline of desire that we strongly believed we could achieve.

Storytelling is not communication. It is the delivery of passion, emotion, and desire. It has a singular ability to convey, motivate, and stir. Your pitch, to move from theorem and logic, must be woven into an audience-riveting story.

Storytelling is an inspired subject involving the human condition: heroes, villains, plot complications, struggle, journey, and redemption. Now, your pitch need not be Wagnerian, but nor it should be a mere recitation of fact; your pitch has to carry your audience with you by touching and moving them profoundly.

Once Upon a Time

Storytelling is as old as humankind itself. Scrawled on cave walls, told around campfires, read to one another by candlelight, or broadcast in living rooms and on the silver screen, tales of all types have been told throughout the ages. These stories were not merely recounting of events and activities. A story of hunting didn’t go:

Uh, well, we went out, killed a wild boar, came home, and ate it.

Instead it was more likely to be:

We started early. It was a freezing morning and we felt the cold down to our bones. We moved along the trail, and as we did the thickness of the underbrush prevented us from seeing where we were going much of the time. Just then …a tiger appeared! We ran for our lives. As we ran, Ug tripped and fell down a ravine! Holding on for dear life, we formed a human chain and dragged him from certain death. All but one of my arrows fell to the floor below. We set out again, and before long we found a wild boar suddenly standing before us. He was enormous, and I knew we were in for a fight. Moving toward us, he charged. I raised my bow, reached for my last arrow, and let it fly … it was him or me. He leapt, and there in the tall grass we both fell, he with an arrow through his heart and I having secured the survival of our clan.

This wasn’t a recounting of events but the tale of a quest, a setback, a daring feat, and a moment of triumph, as the hero attained what he set out for … food for the family. It has drama, excitement, and inspiration.

Storytelling first and foremost is a tale of desire. It chronicles a journey toward the attainment of a goal or the fulfillment of a wish. We all share desires, so the recounting of an exciting journey toward its attainment is a story everyone enthusiastically relates to…. and listens to. Through the ages, storytelling has been associated with truth and wisdom, and masterfully told tales have compelled audiences for generations. I’m a hopeless classic movie fanatic, so let’s consider a few silver screen couples as examples. These characters inhabit love stories, most of them tragic, each one employing familiar elements designed to impart eternal truths and a good deal of wisdom:

West Side Story’s Maria and Tony: Love is eternal.

Cleopatra’s Cleopatra and Marc Antony: Great love requires a sacrifice.

Gone with the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler: Passion alone does not love make.

Each has a core theorem, just like we observed in our discussion of the advocate’s approach, but this time it has an added layer of emotion and enduring human desire. For us this is the hidden agenda. At the root of the story is the core desire, both yours and that of your conceptual target.

Luck of the Irish

The most important thing a story does is make a human connection. I made mention earlier of my German roots. Well, I am sure you can tell that, with a name like Kevin, I have an awful lot of Irish blood in me, too. As you can imagine, pitching for the Irish Tourist Board’s business held no small amount of significance for me. During the briefing process we could sense the clients’ deeply held feelings about the country, which was struggling to evolve amidst violence; their love of country was clear in their view of the Irish people as unique in the world. I detected a self-consciousness about what they knew to be true about their country and the publicity surrounding the “troubles.”

Their research was proudly shared with us, and it showed strongly that other worldwide destinations were places people visited to see significant things, but Ireland was a place people went to “participate.” They enjoyed not only the beauty of the country but the spirit and openness of the people. Having a Guinness at a pub, joining a little sing-along at the bar, and myriad other means of engaging with the charming Irish people invited visitors to become a little “Irish” for a week or so. The research result was not only strategic but offered evidence to support the emotions of the Tourist Board client that we had detected in our early discussions.

Hidden agenda: We want people to experience the real Ireland. The warm, engaging spirit of the people who inhabit this beautiful place is the reason we’re special. The publicity about our country doesn’t tell the real story.

The presentation would take place, Dublin, and my role was to open with our theme, found in the value system that the members of the Irish Tourist Board and we ourselves held close:

We believe this isn’t just any destination pitch, because Ireland isn’t just any country.

On the day of the presentation, I decided I would set the stage by making a connection to this idea that Ireland was more than just a country; it came as a result of a conversation over dinner with my family two days prior to the pitch. My opening went something like this:

“Good morning. Thank you so very much for having us. I traveled a good distance to be here, as just this past weekend I was with my mother and family in New York for Easter. Over dessert I finally plucked up the courage to tell Mom that I would have to travel to the airport and so I would need to leave just after dinner.”

“Airport? How could you? It’s Easter weekend! What on earth could possibly be so important that you would leave today?”

“We’re pitching the Irish Tourist Board.”

“You get yourself on that plane this instant and if you don’t get it, don’t come back!”

We all shared a laugh, but many in the audience may well have also heard their own mothers saying very similar things to them. Now, I could have said, “This presentation is very important to us, blah, blah, blah.” Instead, employing a simple story, I found a context that underscored just how important this presentation was to us. The story showed our connection to people who felt the same about their beloved country. This human connection was made not only because we rightly understood what was emotionally important to our prospect, but because we used a simple story with familiar elements they could all relate to. It created a bond in an instant.

I am certain Grandpa Whalen, wherever he might be, was particularly proud of the fact that my colleagues and I had the privilege to work for the Irish Tourist Board for several years as a consequence of that wonderful pitch.

The Medium of Our Age

Of course, we have to ask, is all of this emotion and storytelling still relevant in the digital age? I say it is even more so. For a very long time, we lived in a world where people were dictated into action. We were told to comply, and to buy. Organizations firmly in control were fiefdoms with a select few telling and a good many complying. People were cajoled, persuaded, and convinced. The ideal businesspeople were hunters, aggressive and predatory, and the sale was a conquest. The conversation was … one-way.

We live in a new age. An age of community. A democratized world where people, “citizens,” opt in and choose to, rather than being told what or made to. The most important news that anyone can hear in this new age is “So-and-so is following you.” In this new world, you don’t persuade anyone to do anything. It’s not buy me, it’s join me. You cannot demand your audience’s attention. But you can ignite it through the time-honored practice of storytelling, which reaches into the heart of your audience’s desire and connects profoundly to it. When you do this, people will follow you. They will embrace you and anything you represent, whether it is the direction of your company, the project you lead, or the product you sell.

Elements of the Story

He reflected how he had been persecuted and insulted, and now he was hearing everyone saying he was the most beautiful of all the beautiful birds. And the lilacs bowed down their branches into the water before him, and the sun shone so warm and so good. Then he rustled his feathers, raised his slender neck and cried out with a jubilant heart, “I did not dream of so much happiness when I was the Ugly Duckling.”

Millions of children since 1843 have been told Hans Christian Andersen’s story of inner beauty. Apparently a story reflecting Andersen’s own life, “The Ugly Duckling” has been told and retold in dozens of languages the world over. It is a tale of overcoming the cruelty of judgment and the triumph of the beauty that lies within. In this charming story, and in every story, for that matter, there are a number of essential elements that can be called upon to create drama and to engage a shared sense of desire. Our ugly duckling was, of course, the hero, tormented for his ugliness by the villainous other little ducks. Throughout the long hard winter, the ugly duckling endured his bad fortune, until one day he transformed into a beautiful swan … it’s all there!

Classic story structure is based on the hero’s journey. It’s wonderful. It is all about an individual who struggles to attain a goal. Obstacles get in the way, there are reversals, but in the end all impediments are overcome. Finally, a moral is told, the theme of the particular story in question.

Basic story construction has two components, the players and the journey.

As an illustration, let’s make use of my very favorite film, The Wizard of Oz. (Ok, it’s my take on it!)

The Players

The hero: The hero is the focus of our attention and the means through which the storyteller conveys the core theme. The hero in The Wizard of Oz is, of course, Dorothy. On a farm she sings of her dreams of a special place “over the rainbow.” Every story has a hero (or “she-ro,” as Maya Angelou would say). This is the individual everyone relates to and focuses on.

The villain: The villain is the opposing force, the element competing with and blocking the attainment of the hero’s desire. Villains stir emotions and raise the stakes, creating drama and engagement. The Wicked Witch of the West, in all her greenness, does this beautifully.

The foil(s): These are characters who support the hero and, in particular, help to define the hero’s character. The Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, arrayed around Dorothy, help us see her character develop.

The sage: This is the person who offers wisdom for the hero along her journey. The Wizard, after being revealed as a humbug, offers each character a very special piece of wisdom. For example, to the Tin Man he says, “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.”

The Journey

The journey that the hero sets out on has several key parts.

The quest: The quest establishes the goal that the hero seeks and sets the meaning and purpose for the journey. It is marked by many events along the way, adding to the drama as well as to the learning the hero experiences. The goal for Dorothy is to get back to Kansas, and the yellow brick road offers a vibrant symbol of the journey Dorothy sets out on.

Reversal of fortune: This is the moment of suspense when it appears our hero may not attain her goal. It is a moment when all seems lost and the outcome looks very much in doubt. This is when tension and drama grip the audience. Dorothy is imprisoned in the tower, Scarecrow is in pieces, and it seems to us that all is lost.

Turning point: The moment of truth. The tables turn and the hero is back on track. The melting of the Wicked Witch signals that Dorothy is released from evil and she regains the momentum of her journey.

Dénouement: This is the eureka moment, when the hero discovers what it is that can help her attain her desire. It’s the summation of the story and it reveals the moral. With family and friends around, Dorothy exclaims, “I know that if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire, I’ll never go any further than my own backyard. For if it isn’t there, I never really lost it.”

The Hero’s Journey

Now, whether you are a sentimental person, as I am, or a lover of film, as I also am, you will find the same essential elements of great storytelling in any number of tales: Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, The Godfather: Part II, or … your presentation!

May the force be with you.

Now, lest you think storytelling is ancient and has outlasted its usefulness, consider some angry birds, and some very bad pigs.

Angry Birds and Bad Pigs

I ran into a wonderful guy not long ago, Wibe Wagemans, who was on the selection team of a division of Nokia that I pitched in Finland a few years ago. We won the business and he and I stayed in touch over the last several years. He’s now a key guy with a fascinating company called Rovio. They are a worldwide sensation and from my perspective a fantastic reflection of storytelling’s enormous power. Among many ventures, Rovio set out to design a puzzle-based videogame. Their designers began with a hero(s), a multicolored flock of little wingless birds. Quickly and instinctively, however, they realized that they needed a villain. Pigs were given this role and not just any pig … but green … and bad. Their whole lot in life is the perennial and shameless attempt to steal the little wingless birds’ eggs! Villains!

Not taking this lying down, our Angry Birds have a quest, aided by the player who, using slingshots, hurls the Angry Birds at the Bad Pigs and their structures, a fitting justice for their predatory ways! Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio Entertainment, observed that it is all about storytelling: “The unintelligent pigs, driven by their insatiable hunger and poorly developed instinct of self-preservation, are unable to pass up any chance of feeding on the delicious bird eggs. However, when the birds perceive their eggs to be in any kind of danger, they lose every shred of self-control and mental restraints they have, and will save no effort in securing the safety of their young.” It’s more fun than you can imagine.

Angry Birds has enjoyed broad appeal and engagement around the globe, importantly across a wide variety of ages (hmm … just like the ugly duckling) with a combined 300 million applications across all of their platforms having been downloaded. Film and television plans are afoot. The extraordinary worldwide following for Angry Birds created by some brilliant people from a little town in Finland was not by reason of the games technology on its own, but through the clever combination of brilliant game play and creativity, glued together through the use of the fundamentals of story. It’s all there: the heroes of our Angry Birds, the evil villains in the Bad Green Pigs, the setbacks and triumphs, and the engaging role of the player in that story, all to make a decidedly fun and altogether delightful experience. Go get ’em Angry Birds!

The Moral of the Story

The central element of storytelling, what people relate to, is what happens to the heroes and the lessons that they learn. This is the “moral of the story,” the takeaway. For our purposes, the hero is your audience. Your story is all about what your audience is striving to attain. The “moral” is the hidden agenda they seek, the unspoken desire they hold. Delivering your pitch persuasively means organizing your story around the hidden agenda of your audience, highlighting elements of the journey with drama. As you work to create your pitch, consider the elements of story as tools. Clearly, Visa provided a villain with which we could contrast MasterCard’s genuine difference, but it also offered a focus around which MasterCard’s emergence and transformation could be seen.

Why Story Is Compelling

Storytelling has a unique ability to address the hidden agenda. It does so because great storytelling rivets and inspires your following for several very important reasons:

Storytelling is genuine and authentic. Telling a story, just like our forebears did while sitting around a campfire, renders us completely and totally human. An endearing story is one in which, as I was once told, you “step out from behind the suit” and make an authentic connection with another human being. The reason that storytelling is so powerful is that this time-honored practice is understood as a means of connecting emotionally. This is its power.

Storytelling captures your audience’s hopes. When you tell a story you bring your audience into a world that you create. You capture their imagination and invite them to visit and share, in the hope of creating a dreamt-of future. The story is motivating and inspiring and, of course, taps into what we have suggested drives human desire—hope. Your story suggests that the desire that resides in their hearts might be realized.

Storytelling offers drama. Unlike the exquisite and all-important logic outlined in the previous chapter, storytelling involves drama, passion, and surprise, all of which serve to engage. It is not possible to put yourself forward and make a profound connection if you can’t find a means to engage with your audience. Facts do not move people. Remember, our legal friends were quick to point out that the oral argument is a story that weaves together all the legal facts in order to engage and persuade.

There are many examples I could give to illustrate the power of story, but probably the most compelling “case” was made in the pitch to an emerging new global brand from China Mobile.

There’s Another Way

This is a real David and Goliath story involving a sparky little office of Lowe Worldwide in Shanghai. Our agency there consisted of a good group of about twenty-five people led by a fabulous lady named Kitty Lun. A real go-getter, Kitty secured us an opportunity in the first ever global brand launch, from China Mobile called Zong. Landing in Shanghai to assist the group, I remember arriving at the Regency Hotel, a very fancy place indeed. As I stepped out of the car and looked to my right, there, in a blaze of glory, was the huge logo of our competition (a five-hundred-person agency) emblazoned on a building with a Rolls-Royce dealership in the lobby. Oh boy.

A debrief with Kitty’s team provided the usual background, which included China Mobile’s strategy of introducing the brand around the world not to mature markets but to developing countries. After not a small amount of handwringing over the near certainty that the behemoth would be given the business, we had a realization that led to our conclusion about the hidden agenda: that while they had never introduced a brand outside China’s borders before, we could sense that there was no appetite for imitation. Their desire was to chart their own path and be proud for doing so.

The Hidden Agenda: We want to make this launch a success and will be known for doing so in a new way.

This insight had at a dramatic impact on the way we would pursue the business. The natural inclination would be to try to “out-behemoth” our competition, to demonstrate prowess and global experience and to show how our vast experience would answer their need for a global communications partner. Against a formidable global competitor with a local powerhouse team, this did not seem viable. The answer came from an analysis led by an insightful and energetic guy named Cris Dawes. He uncovered a simple yet profound insight, that China Mobile simply because of its national origins shine as a beacon for developing market aspiration. Developing countries look to China because it shares much of the optimism and challenges of a developing economy (since much of that country is still in a state of development).

Putting aside a big global “show” with expansive case studies and other proofs of competency, our group instead selected five individuals from each of the countries where China Mobile planned to launch. Each of these young aspirants—from a street vendor in Kuala Lumpur to a young female lawyer in Pakistan—were interviewed at length. These people all told the stories of their lives and their struggles to become something better for themselves and their families. They didn’t see themselves as “downtrodden.” In fact, they saw themselves as people on the way up.

We showed China Mobile that they could succeed even without previous experience, because a real and profound connection with the aspirants in each of their respective targeted countries was truly the way to “go global” (glocal, actually). As Cris pointed out, “China Mobile would become a global portal for human potential, empowering their aspirations and dreams rather than being the world’s biggest phone company.” The opportunity was not to embrace a global one-size-fits- all strategy, but to forge a shared bond with the ambitions of customers in each of their markets. This would ensure a positive impact for the brand. We reminded them through these wonderful individuals, who were so compelling in their stories, that ultimately all marketing is local. China Mobile would not become a faceless global brand applying well-worn; high-tech marketing idioms, but an empathetic company who embraces these individuals and the aspirations they hold close market by market. I can still feel the gnashing of teeth near the Rolls-Royce dealership when China Mobile decided to hire Cris, my dear Kitty, and her worldwide team.

Tone And Language

For so very long and to a large extent still today, the language of business has been the language of militarism: objectives, tactics, missions, flanker brands, and other terms from the language of war are used in everyday use in the conduct of business. I have lived it, as part of the “madman” culture of McCann Erickson. We saw ourselves as warriors and conquerors. Our battle cries were statements like, “A marketing plan is a carefully designed plot to murder the competition” and other pleasant ditties. Dreary stuff.

Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen

A vitally important element in the crafting of your story is the appropriate use of language. The choice of language you use will set the tone for your organization and help you shape your business. A few years after we were awarded the Marriott’s business, Marriott International acquired the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, an up-market hotel chain known for beautiful locations and unparalleled service. We soon found ourselves doing some work for the brand. In preparation, I visited one of the chain’s locations near its headquarters and was struck by how genuinely I was greeted and by the understated grace of the service. I made it a point to ask employees I met if they could describe the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company culture. They all had the same genuine and endearing reply, “Oh, that’s quite simple. ‘We’re ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen.’ I was struck by how clear the resolution was by the company’s strong sense of identity and purpose. Looking further I discovered that this was part of a story told by the company’s president, Horst Schulze.

I spoke to Mr. Schulze, a delightful and engaging man, who recounted his humble beginnings, being taken by his mother to a local hotel for an apprenticeship. While there he was made a busboy and sent to hotel school once a week. After some time, his instructor asked the class to write a story of their experiences at the hotel. Mr. Schulze wrote instinctively about the maître d’ he worked for. He was an imposing and elegant man, meticulous and immaculate down to every detail. “He came to work to be excellent.” Said Mr. Schulze, “He was a very proud man.” He told Mr. Schulze that while people who stayed at the hotel were individuals of importance, namely Ladies and Gentlemen, service to them was not servitude. The maître d’ insisted that Mr. Schulze could be very much a gentleman, as they were, by virtue of how excellent he was in the pursuit of his job. “I was told I could be a gentleman by creating excellence,” Mr. Schulze recounted. He extolled the importance of humanity, which Mr. Schulze made a hallmark of his career, with wonderful thoughts like, “Elegance without warmth is arrogance.”

Mr. Schulze captured this extraordinary sentiment in a simple yet penetrating thought, Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen. He could have said, “We are a company of elegance” or “Exacting Standards.” He didn’t. Instead he told a human story of an aspiring young man, prodded by the standards of excellence set by his mentor, redefining himself as a gentleman. Mr. Schulze was very astute, not just for his beliefs and business acumen but in his storytelling ability and careful use of language.

The HerdBuoys Story

In the discussion earlier about the real ambition, I recounted a story. It was a story about how an ambition was turned into a great victory for a fledgling agency. I have encapsulated it into this short narrative. Here is a summary, using all the tools of story.

In the days before freedom for black people in South Africa, three men set out to change their country. They formed an agency struggling with no accounts save a voter registration effort for their country that earned them no revenue. After years of struggle came their first few accounts and then management takeover and formation of Herdbuoys McCann. It was a short while later that the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself: a pitch for South African Airways. Earnest in their efforts to pitch, they were seriously behind until twenty-four hours before the day, when a small piece of film crystallized their dreams and ambitions, not just for themselves but for a new unified nation of South Africa. This little bit of footage and its accompanying lullaby changed the course of South Africa’s future, its national airline reflecting the sentiments of a newly unified nation created by HerdBuoys, a little company but a living reflection of this ambition.

All of the elements are there: the core, credo, real ambition, conceptual target, and the hidden agenda, as well as a careful argument for the shaping of a new South Africa … but now … the elements are told as a compelling, endearing, inspiring story.

Happy Ntshingila, who you may recall was one of the founders of HerdBuoys, wrote some years later in his wonderful book, Black Jerusalem, of the agency’s journey. Toward the end is a moving summary of this wonderful story:

I remember the holes in the soles of one of my decent pair of black shoes, the consequence of attending function after function in an attempt to drum up business in the early days. On one occasion my wife even refused to accompany me to one such function because she was embarrassed by “those shoes.”

I thought of the successful pitch for South African Airways. I did not think of the problems ahead as chronicled earlier. I thought of the people behind the pitch both on the client side and on the agency side.

It dawned on me that something bigger happened today, bigger than just the winning of one piece of business.

One of the earliest definitions of Jerusalem is a “legacy of peace.” I like that definition … Believe me brothers and sisters, no two words have more simpatico in Africa than peace and hope.”

Okay, Here’s How

First, identify the essential elements of your story:

1.	What opposing forces or villains do you face?
2.	What will you draw on? (Clue: it is your core)
3.	What is your quest? (Clue: it is your real ambition)
4.	Who are the heroes? (Clue: they’re you and your audience!)
5.	What values and beliefs sustain your journey? (Clue: this is your credo)
6.	What is at stake? What is the desire? (Clue: it is the hidden agenda)
7.	How will the story be resolved? What does the future portend?

Writing your pitch story involves taking the work that you have done in building your argument—based on the lessons we’ve learned from the advocate’s approach—and crafting it into a compelling story with all the above elements. As an example, do you remember Company A in chapter 6? Earlier, we took their stated mission, and wrote a compelling real ambition statement:

To business adventurers, Company A will be a pioneer that creates technical leaps for people’s most precious needs, because of a belief that scientific advancement is a gift in the service of humankind.

So let’s construct Company A’s story:

Each and every day a voice is heard, speaking for the fundamental gifts of life. Clean water. A healthy child. The opportunity to learn. The keys to these things can be found in the secrets of science. We are on a journey of discovery toward a means to unlock these mysteries. Wherever the road ahead may turn, for us, it leads to only one place, to the advancement of life one person at a time.

Okay, I’m in.

Let’s deconstruct the elements:

Hero: Company A, an outwardly focused pioneer concerned about the world around it

The Villain: The world’s blights

Quest: To unlock the mysteries of science

Reversal: The unknown roads ahead

Dénouement: The benefit of human beings, one person at a time

Let yourself go. Take the essential elements of your argument and let your heart do the talking.

Red Lion Square

I had my dream job. An office in London. Jetting between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Living in the city of BBC broadcasts. On this particular day I was on my way to lead a pitch in London for a major technology company. I jumped in the car to drive to the pitch. I looked at the address in the dossier: 26 Red Lion Sq. WC2. It couldn’t be. I would be returning to virtually the same spot where I’d stood nearly twenty-five years before. As I made my way into the boardroom, my carefully prepared opening went right out the window.

I began, “Good morning. I have a confession to make. I had prepared quite an opener for you this morning, and it was all about ambition, the ambition you’ve outlined and our shared ambition as partners. But instead, my friends, I simply must share this with you.” I pointed to the window looking out over Red Lion Square. “If you look out this window, you will see number seven Tresham House. It’s a council flat, and twenty-five years ago as a young student I lived in that room right there. The Fryer’s Delight around the corner on Theobald’s Road was, and I know still is, the very best fish and chips in town. The interior is unchanged except for the labels over the prices (then, cod and chips was 50p). As I struggled with living away from home for the very first time in a new and unfamiliar place, at a time when I had little in my pocket, I dreamed of this moment. I have to say that, no matter what may be, win or lose, I hope you know that being here means more you could ever know, that I thank you for affording me and my team this moment.”

My impromptu but heartfelt story of my own real ambition captivated the group. Cable and Wireless did award us the business, and we celebrated with a plate of cod, chips, and mushy peas.