The London pitch is resolved.  Boris won and Ken lost, the situation that anyone who pitches will find themselves in more often than not. After all, if any company won , consistently over time, the majority of competitive pitches they would become a virtual monopoly.

So, how should we make the best out of losing?

Immediately, in the aftermath, sulk, cry, moan ‘not fair ref’, drink,  rationalise ‘ they were not our kind of people’, whatever, then get over it ,fast. Next get positive.

Review as a team, not a ‘mea culpa’ what we did wrong session but one of  positive learning, what we will do better next time. Get better insight to the decision takers, manage time more effectively, answer the brief,  review casting and chemistry, improve the theatre and so on. Every pitch is unique so you can always learn.

Then follow up with the rejecting client. Usually they cannot give you useful criticism, partly because they don’t want to offend , partly because they don’t want to say that your faces didn’t fit. Your real purpose should be one of making certain that you are the first company called on for the next oppportunity . Sometimes this can be sooner than expected if the winner screws up!

Ken, I feel is giving an object lesson in turning defeat to advantage . Handling interviews with grace, a good loser, he is aready paving the way to his next career, wooing us as readers of the book and as viewers of his inevitable television apperarances.

Years ago, Iain  Johnstone, writer, broadcaster, filmmaker, was being attacked in a radio interview over his latest film, subject of bad reviews. Rather than get defensive, Iain gave a classic reponse on the lines of ” in Chinese the word for crisis and opportunity are  one and the same”