tcm
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There have obviously been serious discussions aboard the yacht. Original transcript from Preecy below, heavily edited version at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20030110171630ywkingfisher.html>http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20030110171630ywkingfisher.html</A>
"I’ve been getting involved with more of the detailed discussions with Ellen and other members of the crew. They didn’t seem sure as to whether to head due south but risk waiting longer for the winds, or move further to the west for more wind, but lose time travelling more miles.
There’s no doubt that the pressure is on, and with Ellen spending ever-increasing amounts of time planning alternative routes, we can’t spend too long dithering over the issue. Today, we all had a crew meeting to thrash out the issue thoroughly. Few people seemed to have any ideas, so it soon came round to my turn without much if anything having being decided.
I suggested that we should go right back to the basics of the challenge, to our guiding principles and ask ourselves - “ How does this fit with the goals of our sponsor?” and “How can we reflect Kingfisher values?” or more to the point “How would a Kingfisher customer deal with this challenge, right now?”
The rest of the team was enthralled. The night stars twinkled in appreciation as I developed this theme in the warm evening breeze. Gradually, I reminded the team of the strong links between the sponsor and the activity with most if not all challenges, in offshore yachting and in other sports.
There was the determined reliability of the Group4 sailing racing team. The brave adventurism of Branson’s Virgin record-breaking ballooning expeditions. And, long before that, the high-speed convenience food empire which funded Malcolm Campbell's record-breaking before the war. Some of them still weren’t sure, especially about this last one. What, they asked, about the failures, and of the ill-fated Bluebird? Ah, I explained - but then even his son Donald showed those same Campbell’s values: just as with a bowl of real soup - the interesting bits were eventually all found at the bottom.
Of course, as I continued, any customer of Kingfisher group companies would recognise and rise to the challenge of global yachting. The self-reliance, the team spirit, the clash of a goal and practicalities, pushing the boundaries, gaining as much as possible from a limited budget.
Kingfisher isn’t a well-known brand to some of the crew, so I explained the importance of these brands especially to those in the UK, where an Englishman’s home is his castle. DIY is almost a religion: a family outing to the church has these days been replaced with a Sunday excursion to a B&Q store, or the equivalent French store, Castorama, also owned by Kingfisher.
So let's think about this: having made a hefty initial expenditure of buying all the equipment, assembled the team, started the project with such gusto, and facing a few difficulties - what would a real Kingfisher customer do now? Hmm? But isn’t it OBVIOUS, I asked? Surely... yes, of course! A real-world DIY project would now…be left quietly in the back of the garage! That’s right – just pack it in! Stuff it! We could pretend that the planners, somebody or something stopped the project, park up in Cape Town and blame it on the previous owners. Easy!! And it’s even more realistic with Ellen already wife-ishly nagging away to get the damn thing finished as soon as possible! See?
After a stunned silence, a few of them descended upon me in mock fury, and playfully made as if they were going to throw me overboard, but stopped short and just threw all my spare clothes overboard. I’m going to have to make up a story of how that happened, but meanwhile I am keeping a low profile, hiding in bed with Topper the teddy. At least he seems to understand.
Preecy
"I’ve been getting involved with more of the detailed discussions with Ellen and other members of the crew. They didn’t seem sure as to whether to head due south but risk waiting longer for the winds, or move further to the west for more wind, but lose time travelling more miles.
There’s no doubt that the pressure is on, and with Ellen spending ever-increasing amounts of time planning alternative routes, we can’t spend too long dithering over the issue. Today, we all had a crew meeting to thrash out the issue thoroughly. Few people seemed to have any ideas, so it soon came round to my turn without much if anything having being decided.
I suggested that we should go right back to the basics of the challenge, to our guiding principles and ask ourselves - “ How does this fit with the goals of our sponsor?” and “How can we reflect Kingfisher values?” or more to the point “How would a Kingfisher customer deal with this challenge, right now?”
The rest of the team was enthralled. The night stars twinkled in appreciation as I developed this theme in the warm evening breeze. Gradually, I reminded the team of the strong links between the sponsor and the activity with most if not all challenges, in offshore yachting and in other sports.
There was the determined reliability of the Group4 sailing racing team. The brave adventurism of Branson’s Virgin record-breaking ballooning expeditions. And, long before that, the high-speed convenience food empire which funded Malcolm Campbell's record-breaking before the war. Some of them still weren’t sure, especially about this last one. What, they asked, about the failures, and of the ill-fated Bluebird? Ah, I explained - but then even his son Donald showed those same Campbell’s values: just as with a bowl of real soup - the interesting bits were eventually all found at the bottom.
Of course, as I continued, any customer of Kingfisher group companies would recognise and rise to the challenge of global yachting. The self-reliance, the team spirit, the clash of a goal and practicalities, pushing the boundaries, gaining as much as possible from a limited budget.
Kingfisher isn’t a well-known brand to some of the crew, so I explained the importance of these brands especially to those in the UK, where an Englishman’s home is his castle. DIY is almost a religion: a family outing to the church has these days been replaced with a Sunday excursion to a B&Q store, or the equivalent French store, Castorama, also owned by Kingfisher.
So let's think about this: having made a hefty initial expenditure of buying all the equipment, assembled the team, started the project with such gusto, and facing a few difficulties - what would a real Kingfisher customer do now? Hmm? But isn’t it OBVIOUS, I asked? Surely... yes, of course! A real-world DIY project would now…be left quietly in the back of the garage! That’s right – just pack it in! Stuff it! We could pretend that the planners, somebody or something stopped the project, park up in Cape Town and blame it on the previous owners. Easy!! And it’s even more realistic with Ellen already wife-ishly nagging away to get the damn thing finished as soon as possible! See?
After a stunned silence, a few of them descended upon me in mock fury, and playfully made as if they were going to throw me overboard, but stopped short and just threw all my spare clothes overboard. I’m going to have to make up a story of how that happened, but meanwhile I am keeping a low profile, hiding in bed with Topper the teddy. At least he seems to understand.
Preecy
