The Pitch

As Seth Godin has said, we live in a ‘connection economy’. Gone are the days of the ‘factory’ mentality where you are required to come in at a specific time, report to a specific person, do a specific job and then leave at a specific time. Rinse and Repeat. The way of the future is connection and innovative ideas. This requires questioning the way things have been done, having a vision for what a bold future might look like and then communicating that vision.

Having been involved in the startup sector for a number of years I have seen a number of pitches and have pitched for investment myself. They usually follow a tried and tested formula; the problem, the proposed solution, the size of the market, various financial projections and the ask. Most of these are aided by some sort of visual aids, beautiful charts etc. This is not just relegated to the startup sector, ‘pitching’ anywhere usually follows the same approach.?

But what are we missing following this approach? An idea no matter what form it takes is?more than just measurement, and convincing?someone of its strength is more than just ROI.

It's about possibility, a future devoid of magic if the idea is not brought to the world. To bring people onboard would then require something more human than analytics..

Mr. Rodgers and the Senator

Fred Rodgers and his TV show Mr Rogers Neighbourhood has been a staple of most American childhoods. His program ran from 1968 - 2001 and was notable for not shying away difficult topics such as civil rights, divorce and?assassination?(after the death of Robert Kennedy). Over the many decades Mr Rogers neighbourhood has been lauded by numerous honours such as Emmy awards and a Peabody award. Fred Rogers also had the honour of having had Tom Hanks play him in a movie.?

But all of this never would have happened. His broadcasting station in 1969 was in dire straits and risk of losing its funding. At a senate hearing it came down to him Fred Rogers to convince the? subcommittee chairman Senator Pastore to fund PBS (his station) to the tune of? $20million..no small ask in 1969.?

As you will see in the video below Fred Rogers slowly and calmly talked through his idea. Given the choice to read a??statement he declined. He had a clear vision of what children's programming could be. He had a vision that TV could have an emotional impact on children and provide a guiding influence to them..that children's programming could be a real agent of change. So he spoke to Senator Pastore. Spoke as a human being. Spoke as someone who had an unshakable belief in his calling. Spoke as someone who didn't need any pretty visuals, just a deep convection in his vision for the future.?

Mr Rogers spoke and over the course of 6 minutes enrolled the initially cantankerous Senator Pastore into his possibility..his vision for the future. He got the $20 million

I urge you to watch this video until the end