Blair-isms applied to life

That was such an inspiring day. Thank you.”

“Congrats on the Blair event!! Great to hear him live and to have Manila on the global speaking circuit.”

“He’s cute! Worth it. Congrats to you for pulling it off yet again.”

“Big, big thanks for all you and your teams did for the visit. I thought it was a huge success!”

“I’m so glad you brought him here. We need more of these learning experiences.”

“Well done! Congratulations!”

“It was so inspiring.”

“He was such a great speaker!”

“Forget Iraq. I love Tony Blair!”

“Astig! He was cool!”

“It was a pleasant experience listening live to a world-class leader. Hope the third conference will be as good. Congratulations.”

“Congrats, ha. Kayo pala nagdala kay pareng Tony! Galing!”

“The poetry and the prose that is Tony Blair ... what a delightful learning experience.”

“Congrats on the Tony Blair event! It was great and he was super! I will e-mail Chief Justice Panganiban my comments on his speech. We all loved Mr. Pedro for being a good sport.”

“Congratulations! Great conference!”

“Why can’t he be our president?”

“Congrats! You did it again. Blair was much better than Giuliani.”

“Great event! Glad to be here! I will vote for him.” (chuckles)

“Congrats, fantastic turnout, great achievement.”

“You have a great event, relax ka na.”

“Logistics in registration is really bad. With the high ticket costs and profile of the audience made to line up outside — under the heat — and we are in our business suits. Really bad. People complaining. Hope Tony Blair speech will make up for it. Will see.”

“One year from now they will remember you brought Tony Blair and not the registration at all.”

All of the above statements were feedback said or texted to the organizers. One was disapproving, but all the rest were appreciative. So the first Blair lesson to apply is, “If you want to understand the world, understand it like it is, not like what you want it to be.” 

There will always be those who look at the glass as half-full or half-empty, depending on where they are in their life. If every praise and criticism is taken to heart as though our entire self-identity was at stake, we will most likely become bipolar or manic-depressive.

Although the Blair negotiations started in August 2008, the agreement with all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted was only signed on March 2, 2009. Thus, the one-day event was staged in a record 21 days! Nothing short of a miracle! It is definitely easier to criticize logistical weaknesses from the seat of your pants than to negotiate the contract of a world-class speaker. Every security aspect was written into the terms, where failure to comply could result in the speaker’s reclusion. A total of four separate security entities (PSG, PLDT, Embassy, Blair’s personal security) put together the tightest safety plan, as Blair was a former head of state. The original demand was for passports to be surrendered at registration, which was negotiated to any government-issued photo ID. A minute-by-minute accounting of how the allowable three hours work time would be utilized had to be submitted for approval. Every person who would come within three feet of the former prime minister had to be dossiered.

The PSG savored every moment of righteous paranoia. They even wanted the ticket buyers profiled, in case someone had the propensity to throw a shoe at Blair! (We put our foot down on that one.) They insisted on using the narrow and steep ramp as the entry instead of the wider and more accessible opening. Do you think it mattered to them that it would mean attendees were frying under the heat of the sun? The result was that the meticulous time and motion flow that Creasia, the production team, had put in place was completely disrupted. To make the event even hotter, the air conditioning couldn’t cool the registration area — which now had two gaping holes instead of one. But despite the last-minute changes imposed, the registration of almost 2,000 attendees was finished in record time.

Which is more than what we can say about the introduction of CJ Art Panganiban, which took all of 18 minutes instead of the five minutes that was allotted! Maybe next time there should be a trapdoor that swallows over-timers! Even if the presentation is sent in advance, there is no way to time asides, jokes, dramatic pauses, water sips, fumbles, and the like. Every seasoned event planner knows that. So you can only hope that instructions are followed. To borrow Blair’s words, “We live in an era of low predictability.” Requests for CJ Art’s presentation have been pouring in. I hope that he will have the time to respond to the questions that could not be answered because the clock was ticking.

Thankfully, the introduction to Cil Pedro was cut short to two minutes by Ding Salvador. And Mr. Pedro, showing complete grace under pressure, made the most of the 20 minutes left of his hour. No one was more mortified than the organizers, but Blair’s segment was not moveable, as stipulated in the deal. Blair’s words echo in our minds as a hard and unpopular decision had to be made to stick to the schedule so as not to breach contract. But God must love Cil Pedro as much as we do, because he won so much praise and admiration from the audience with his sense of humor. He won more hearts to his cause and endeared himself to everyone because he took it all in stride and understood our predicament. 

In Part 1 with Giuliani, there were many who wanted to attend but could not due to prohibitive ticket prices. So for Part 2, a larger venue was tapped because more seats meant more popular prices, so more people could attend, learn and be inspired. Impresarios know that ticket sales alone don’t defray the costs of a concert even if you sell all the seats! That’s even truer for what my friend dubs “political” concerts. Co-presenters and sponsors who share the vision and the values of a leadership conference cover the costs, and ROI is not a priority. You just pray that you don’t lose your shirt. That’s the difference between bringing in Tony Blair and Britney Spears!

We were told that part of the audience only wanted to listen to Tony Blair. Obviously these are not the same Filipinos who wonder whether there are no local leaders good enough that we have to import from abroad. There is really no pleasing everybody!

And to top it all off, the most idiotic conspiracy theory put forth betrayed a severe lack of knowledge: Why was Tony Blair’s topic “The Leader as Principled Negotiator”? Was his presence used to “soften” resistance to peace negotiations in Mindanao? To help the uninformed, “Mastering Negotiations” is one of the most in-demand executive modules at Harvard. Whether it is for a peace process, labor dispute, business acquisition — principled negotiations is the process for win-win outcomes, replacing the old concept of positional bargaining. With patience and a sense of humor, the Leadership Conference Series will continue to try to teach, expand and inspire those who want to learn. For as long as there are likeminded sponsors and an audience, the organizers will continue to bring global leaders to excite minds, add fervor to the spirit and show Filipinos how we can improve our lot despite leaders who are on the wrong side of history, clinging on to power for dear life! The crabs will always carp, just as the eagles will soar and the archers will hit their mark! As Tony Blair said, it is forgivable to fail; what is unforgivable is not to try.

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Congratulate or commiserate. E-mail the author at mscom@campaignsandgrey.net or ms.comfeedback@gmail.com.