It’s Your Worst Fear.
It’s mid-morning and we’re darting through Tokyo in a taxi. Our team is here for prototype development, working onsite at factories for a week and a half.
But before our arrival, several days remain unscheduled. So, we connected with design teams from other well-known brands in Tokyo. We pitched the idea of meeting as small teams. We'd compare approaches, share insights, and inspire each other.
The response was swift and enthusiastic. A contact at Sony Design expressed keen interest. We confirmed and set the date.
Back in the Tokyo taxi, we arrive at Sony HQ. We find the front desk and ask for our design host. Minutes later, a few somber grey suits emerge to escort us to our design confab.
Weird. This is not what we were expecting. A bit cold and formal. But we follow anyway.
We walk down a long hallway and see a door leading to a very dark room. We enter it.
As our eyes adjust, we’re now in an auditorium with a hundred people in seats. A presentation? Wait. All eyes are on us. And then it hits us, "Shit! We're presenting!"
Despite our fear and shock, there’s no time for fight, flight, or freeze. Instinct kicks in. It’s go-time and we know it.
Between us, we have several presentation decks tucked away in our computers. “I’ll handle the brand narrative,” Rudy declares. “Matt, you take the design ethos.” I add, “Alright, I'll delve into our innovation approach.”
Within fifteen minutes, we're our Brand's ambassadors to Sony Design and Engineering. Back home we’re a low-profile group. Here, we are the Brand. And this audience hangs on every word.
It definitely was not a “drop the mic” moment. Yet looking back, we should have bombed, big time. But we didn’t. Why?
After a debrief, we agreed that the countless internal meetings and presentations we'd each endured paid off. Our brand origin story, mission, and methods — all etched deeply into us. We could summon them at a moment's notice and deliver them with confidence. That was a powerful realization.
A question lingers today: How well do we craft our stories? Are we equipping our teams and culture to know them? Even to the point of over-saturating them?
You never know when that story may save you!