Insights from walking around England and Wales: #21 Influencing without power: ingenuity, enthusiasm, relationships and marketing.

In Hull, after a long walk along the flat Lincolnshire coast, I received a masterclass in how to mobilize people to do something.

Our host, Simon, looked to be in his early forties. He gesticulated to my friend Richard and me.

“Come, see my lovely garden and meet my wife,” he encouraged, holding open an immense, 15-foot wooden gate. “My lovely garden and even lovelier wife,” Simon corrected himself.

The world changed, from a ramshackle street in a poor neighborhood of Hull, to a sizable 17th-century garden, replete with arches and paths and box hedges and gracious tranquility.

After introductions, we started talking about the area, which someone had told me was one of the poorest postcodes in England. And suddenly, although it was casually told as a little story, Simon’s masterclass began.

Several years earlier he decided to restore a derelict Victorian street fountain, to revitalize civic pride and reinstate beauty to the neighborhood. The town council told him there was no money and that old fountains were not a priority. Undaunted, Simon wrote a catchy song about being proud to live in Hull and offered to teach it at morning assemblies at nearby schools. The teachers loved the idea. Then he initiated a ‘name-a-brick’ scheme for brickwork around the proposed fountain. The students became excited, singing the song and asking their parents to chip in a brick. Local businesses provided materials and expertise.

The councilors realized that the community was mobilizing. Suddenly, fixing derelict fountains was a line in their budget. The National Lottery chipped in. The neighborhood celebrated the grand re-opening two years later. The councilors spoke eloquently about their vision for the community and the role of fountains in beautifying the streetscape. Credit splashed around as vigorously as the fountain’s water, blessing everyone.

The next day morning I bid farewell to Simon, standing on the street. Recalling one of my minor obsessions, I mentioned that a few trees would make the road leafier. Simon knew that already, but he graciously nodded. A few months later, he texted a photo of a planting ceremony on Coltman Street, Hull, with a local councilor. There was never any doubt.

Simon influenced those around him with ingenuity, enthusiasm, cultivation of relationships and astute marketing. And made a huge difference.

A longer version of this post can be found here.