The Centennial celebration for Ronald Reagan have seen a number of articles and broadcasts discussing his achievements. The consensus is that he was one of the great American Presidents, up there with the Roosevelts. Tough politically he was not the ‘amiable dunce’ as detractors  described him but a man with an ‘uncanny ability to find words that expressed the deep feelings of a nation’.

One of his most defining characteristics was his ability to infect others with his own innate spirit of  “sunny optimism”.  It was powerful stuff.

It worth thinking how a mood of “sunny optimism” would work in the business pitch. Even with the most stringent assessment,with scoring against  critical factors (strategy/insight/innovation/fees), scores will be higher across the board where the mood is right.

 A mood or tone of professional enthusiasm is the expected minimum and unlikely to differentiate. Even the most hardened of procurement people have feelings and a team with sunny optimism will connect better than the one that is seriously worthy!