The resignation of Maria Miller, the former
Culture Secretary who ‘stepped down’ over an expenses row a few days ago, just
goes to show that saying sorry isn’t always enough.
While there are bigger issues in play
regarding the structures and processes of policing MPs’ behaviour, there was
much made of the ‘inadequate’ nature of Maria Miller’s apology to the House of
Commons.
For many, her ‘32 second apology’ (as it’s pointedly
dubbed in multiple news references) appeared hollow and insincere. The brevity
of the apology – which was along the lines of ‘I’ve been asked to say this, so
here I am’ – on the back of allegations that her attitude to the investigation
had been unhelpful, left a poor impression. Did we believe that Ms Miller was
sorry? Did her actions match her words?
Authenticity – as individuals, as business leaders,
as brands and as organisations – is essential if we expect to be trusted by
others.
What makes a voice authentic? I think it’s
where our words and our behaviour are evidently in tune. It’s how we live our
values in action, as individuals and as companies.
Authenticity matters for many reasons, not
least because we all make emotional judgements about others; call it ‘gut feel’
or intuition, but it’s almost impossible to remove it from the way we make
decisions.
Which brings me to PR pitches. I attended
Adrian Wheeler’s thought provoking PRCA workshop the other day on ‘Pitching to
Win Business’, and we discussed the subject of ‘chemistry’. Research among
clients has shown that chemistry is in the top three most important factors
when selecting an agency, alongside track record and creativity.
Adrian points out that this is hardly
surprising, when you consider that personal
relationships are essential to successful business relationships, although most procurement and pitch
processes endeavour to be based on rational criteria and evidence.
He suggests that an explanation for this
apparent conflict between the cold, hard, analytical process of choosing one
agency over another, versus the ‘touchy feely’ sentiment of ‘I just like them’,
may be found in Daniel Kahneman’s ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’. Kahneman describes
two distinct ‘systems’ of how we think. System One is what we consider
instinct, it’s subconscious, whereas System Two relates to our conscious
thought process.
Kahneman’s research shows that nearly all our
decisions are made quickly using System One, and we then use System Two to
rationalise a decision we’ve already made, without being aware that this is
what’s happening.
So, if it’s an emotional response that guides
our thinking, then it follows that personal rapport, chemistry and authenticity
are crucial; whether facing the Commons or a client pitch. Personally, I’ll
stick to pitching.
Sarah Bryars
Chief Executive
