Forum Radio: Chris Wilkins

This week, Jessica Fellowes is in conversation with Chris Wilkins (London), managing partner of Audley. Chris is an expert in strategic leadership, having whispered in the ears of several Conservative Party leaders and cabinet ministers. Audley advises leaders in business and government around the world, to help them achieve their political, professional or personal goals. 

"To be in the room with some of those brilliant leaders making these world-changing decisions at those critical moments is an incredibly privileged position to be in and it's really what my business now is all about and I wouldn't be doing anything else, I love it."

Transcript

Chris Wilkins 

Hello everyone and welcome to Forum Radio, our ongoing series of interviews with Forum members from all around the world. This week I'm really delighted to be talking to Chris Wilkins. Chris is a London member where he is CEO of Audley, a strategic communications and advisory firm advising governments and businesses on their political, professional or personal goals. 

Former Director of Strategy and Chief Speechwriter at Number 10 Downing Street, Chris has whispered in the ears of several successive Conservative party leaders and ministers. So hello Chris, thanks so much for being here today. Great to be with you. 

So with all these politicians around you, I'm quite interested to wonder if any of them appear in answer to my first question. Who is your inspiration? Oh gosh, well yes, politics I suppose is my thing and so politicians generally, there would be a few I'd mention. I think, you know, what got me involved in politics in the first place was sitting in a pretty rubbish actually school in South Wales, surrounded by a culture which was, later I think somebody deemed this idea of the soft bigotry of low expectations and the sense that actually the people I was in school with weren't supposed to achieve and it was really education policy that sort of inspired me and got me involved in politics. 

And when I started to think about political ideas, you know, it's a bit of a cliche but actually the person I gravitated towards then was Margaret Thatcher and her kind of way of thinking about the world and this idea of aspiration and promotion of individual achievement and actually, you know, people can achieve and people can go as far as their, you know, as their ideas take them and so, you know, there are many people probably on the journey but that was probably my original inspiration for getting involved in politics in the first place. So you were given a real sense of possibility of change from where you were sitting to what, you know, what you could see was out there. Yeah, I think and I think from that sense of the importance of leadership and I've always worked in and around leadership and with impressive leaders and actually when somebody has an idea but not just an idea and actually also the will and determination to make it happen, then leadership, you know, can really change the world and that I find a really inspiring notion and so it's sustained me through politics and then in what I do now through Audley, you know, we work with some of the most brilliant corporate and political leaders in the world and that is a really great place to be alongside those people because when you find those kind of quality of leaders, it's gold dust. 

Who would be your dream leader to work with, you know, somebody who's in leadership currently? There's not many, there's a few out there who are not very inspiring at the moment. Tell us who's good. Honestly, I'm going to say and I won't go into our clients but definitely some of our clients are some of those people who are really doing impressive things in the corporate sphere and beyond and so, you know, it is a sort of privilege to be on that journey with them, I think. 

But I think, you know, if you think about, I guess, in recent times, sort of political leaders then, you know, somebody, I come from the conservative side of the political fence but somebody who I always thought from a leadership point of view when they were in government but even now, I think, who has a real sense of a vision and a sense of understanding where the world is going is someone like Tony Blair who, you know, other side of the fence for me in a sense but actually who has that strategic leadership capability to actually see the possible in a way that I find quite a lot of, you know, political leaders in the UK and elsewhere at the moment are not really seeing kind of what the world is going to look like, the impact of technology, things like that. I think we need better leaders in that sense but he's certainly somebody who I think does kind of almost uniquely get that sense of what the world's going to look like and how we need to change things to get there and be successful. Yeah, Blair's an interesting one to look at because his leadership journey has changed so much, you know, from being very inspiring to then sinking very down low and as you say there's definitely a kind of upward trajectory of respect for him in this country at the moment which I find interesting to watch. 

Yeah, indeed. So, I mean, you've done, you know, you've done all these different things and in many ways I feel quite close to you with what you do in that I think what you do is a version of storytelling and I think, you know, you must love being around people or, you know, telling the stories of those people but what is it that you love about what you do? Yeah, I mean, definitely storytelling is at the heart of what I've always done, I suppose. I mean, the core thing that sustains me through all of the different roles I've had really is speech writing and that was the thing I found early on in my career and I've gone on to do many politicians, many CEOs and others and so, as you know better than anyone, speech writing is really about storytelling and making that emotional connection with your audience. 

You know, I always cite one of my favorite quotes from Mayor Angelo the Poet who wrote that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people never forget how you made them feel and that's kind of what a good speech can do, it's how you make that connection, how you take people on a journey and storytelling at the heart of that. So, definitely that but I think the other thing as I alluded to is a really privileged position of being in the room with some people who are making really consequential decisions and being alongside those people and being the person that they sort of turn to to kind of bounce an idea off or seek your advice etc and I think there's in a sense no greater privilege than to be in that trusted relationship with somebody grappling with something that maybe there isn't the precedent for, they haven't done before or maybe nobody's done before or it's actually a really mission critical decision they've got to make for their business or their country or whatever it is and you're the person there that they're going to turn to and you can only do that because actually over a period of time you've built a close personal relationship with them and you've built that trust and for whatever reason they see in you someone that they want to hear from, they want to confide in and who they can place their trust in sort of just get good counsel and good advice. So, to be in the room with some of those brilliant leaders making these world-changing decisions at those critical moments is an incredibly privileged position to be in and it's really 

what my business now is all about and I wouldn't be doing anything else, I love it. 

Yeah, I love it and I can imagine that's pretty intoxicating. I'm quite interested as well what you said about speech writing and making that emotional connection when you first sit down with someone and I know you worked with Theresa May for example, you know you were director of strategy you know what do you do when you, what's your kind of quick trick you know for getting into that speech, is there a little thing that exercise that you ask them to do first or that we could all think about when we're asked to do a speech? I think the, and there's no trick as such but I think the absolute starting point is to be just a really, really good listener and you know as people always say well sort of one mouth two ears so spend time listening you know I've written speeches for a very, very sort of diverse bunch of people, those who don't like speeches so much such as Theresa who didn't particularly enjoy that process. If I think politically somebody who did rather enjoy the process more was it was David Cameron who had been a special advisor, enjoyed the whole process of putting a speech together and things like that but had a very different style and sort of any number of people in between and when you're seeking to write a speech for somebody you know I always say I'm writing a speech that they would write if they have the time to do it but they don't so I'm doing it. 

It's not my speech it's theirs and so I've got to get inside the way they think, the way they talk, the way that they come at issues etc and that really starts with just listening, sitting down with them asking a few questions but really listening to the answers both what they say but the way that they say it as well and trying to in a sense inhabit and embody their way of being so that you can then go and write something that ultimately is kind of true to them and authentic to them. So I think probably listening is a key skill from speech writing which I now apply in my advisory world as I say when I'm in the room with somebody and they're seeking my advice it's because hopefully I'm a good listener and I'm able to sort of just quietly sort of absorb information take things on board and then be that trusted counsel and I think that's kind of the key thing. You are there to be a conduit for them and that's what's key. 

I always reflect actually Jessica that the thing that got me into this in a sense and way back when was I had musical training when I was growing up in South Wales. I was a musician and it was great and I did all sorts of things played the piano and was in orchestras and things like this but the thing I always did actually and the thing I loved doing particularly when playing the piano was I wasn't a solo pianist. I was I really really loved being an accompanist to others. 

I used to accompany singers and other musicians etc and I was the person who was sort of there in the background helping them to shine doing that role and I've always thought that's really interesting and I think that's kind of what I now try to do here just be there in the background behind the scenes writing the speech or whatever it is but hopefully helping the principal to shine and that's where I'm very comfortable operating and I love doing that. I love that that's a very nice quality. I like that so can you tell us a little bit about something about sort of where you are now with Audley and maybe where you think you want to be or hope to be in five years time and what do you think you might need to get there? Yeah I think it's a great 

question. 

What we were trying to do with Audley and we really from from day one said was that we set out to be an international business in particular so you know headquarters is in London, we're right on Chicago Square. I'm very privileged to have an office here but actually the work that we do is increasingly international. I spend a lot of time traveling. 

We do a lot of work across Europe. We do some interesting work in the in the US and in particular now the Middle East where I used to live and work once upon a time so I have an affinity with it but also there's just huge opportunity there and some really interesting work to do so I'm spending a lot of time in places like Saudi Arabia and places like the UAE and sort of across the region and I think that's the focus for us is to really build an international business and part of the reason for that is because you know that diversity of work then is what keeps it really interesting. You're dealing with very different leaders from very different cultural backgrounds and societies etc so the constant having to adapt to that is fascinating but I think also where we're trying to operate is on the front line of some of the sort of biggest mission critical issues in the world today and that necessitates having that global outlook and that global footprint. 

So where we are is trying to really lean into that and build that particular focus most immediately on the Middle East where we'll be establishing an official office and I'll be spending a lot more time there and I think what I hope in five years time as you put it is to be leading one of the most interesting and creative advisory firms in the world. We're not trying to build something that's massive, we're not trying to take on the big four or anything like that but what we do want is I think to be just really valued for the sage advice and the creativity that we bring to any problem and our mantra here is this idea of unconventional wisdom and that is really trying to embody the sense that we have a set of skills and experiences and an outlook that means that hopefully we come up problems for clients with a really different perspective and we can give them a different point of view and it is interesting and it is creative and it adds value to whatever challenge that they are they are facing. So if we can make a reality of that that's the ambition. 

But what's the sort of challenge that you most enjoy trying to meet? Is it a company trying to grow or to sell or needs to turn around its reputation or solve a crisis or what kind of thing? Yeah I mean what we do is so incredibly diverse that I could sort of talk endlessly about the different kind of things. I suppose the sort of shorthand answer to that is that there's generally a sort of political element somewhere along the lines to most of the projects that we do but political in its broader sense and obviously in a world that geopolitics is increasingly important and this kind of you know great power competition is back etc. Helping for example a CEO who is addressing whether it's you know a takeover battle or whether it's an expansion or whether it's a entry to a new market or something like that but helping them navigate the sort of politics of that alongside the business opportunity alongside the communications element that they need. 

It's in the nexus of those things that that I think we find the greatest interest. So you know I think politics really does underlie so much of what goes on and I'm often surprised in a sense by how the gap between the political worlds and the corporate worlds can be huge. I talk to CEOs who are absolutely brilliant some of the best around do an amazing thing that you talked about politics and they're so sort of disconnected and slightly naive about it. 

I think that's amazing and if I can sometimes bridge that gap and just help to sort of take them on the journey that they need to go on there then that's the kind of thing that I think you know we as a business find particularly interesting to play in that sort of space. Yeah yeah I can really imagine. So you've been as I mentioned you've been a friend of Forum because you've done lots of talks for us and chair panels and we're looking forward to seeing you in the Middle East of course because you've just launched in Abu Dhabi. 

Yes absolutely. Growing the membership there and the UAE generally but since you joined Forum what's surprised you the most? I think what's brilliant I mean there are many things but I think the really brilliant thing that sort of comes to mind most is the sheer diversity of the background of the membership at Forum. I always think Forum is not just great sort of nourishment for your network it's great nourishment for the soul as well because you meet people from such a diverse range of backgrounds and I don't quite know how you managed to sort of convene all of these people but yeah people doing really interesting business ventures and that's you know always interesting obviously but also brilliant artists and brilliant thinkers and intellectuals it's that diversity of the membership that I find really inspiring and so you know you never know when you come to one of the events you sort of walk around a corner and kind of who you're going to bump into next etc. 

I think that's pretty unique obviously I encounter various organisations networks etc as I travel a lot but I think that is a particularly unique thing to Forum and a brilliant quality for the organisation to have because we all need that in our lives you know it's not just about a transactional relationship and not just about business actually you need that nourishment for the soul to be able to be a better person and think differently and have your views challenged etc and I think that's what you get from the many events that I attend and that's what I value hugely. Thank you that's so nice to hear and do you think Forum has helped your growth either personally or professionally since you've been a member? Definitely both I think certainly particularly as I say we're trying to build a business which is international so to be able to connect into the network the Forum membership when I'm travelling to be able to meet you know somebody for a coffee and just have a chat etc is invariably good for both of those things because often out of those conversations a contact will come or a business idea will come or something like that but also just to be able to pitch up somewhere and have somebody who'll give some time to actually tell you how the land lies and what's going on and kind of give you that context is really I think valuable and important and it's in that interaction in a sense more so than anything transactional that I find the benefit. So yes I've met members from right around the world and as you say particularly as Forum grows in Abu Dhabi in the UAE I can see getting a lot of benefit out of that chapter in particular over the coming years so I look forward 

to that. 

Good oh thank you so much Christopher it's been really nice to to talk to you this afternoon and thank you to everyone who's been listening to Forum radio and remember that you can connect directly with all members including Chris wherever they are through forum.club just go to the forum the members directory and use the search engine to find people either by professional or personal interest and also please do keep an eye on the news feed for member news as well as events happening in the chapter where you are or wherever you're travelling to until next week goodbye and thank you so much thank you again Chris. Thank you.