Persuasion and pot luck

When the London team went into the Olympic bid pitch, seven years before London 2012 began, they weren’t expecting to win the Olympics. According to the press, Paris were clear leaders while London was trailing. Moscow, New York and Madrid were somewhere in the middle.

When the results were announced, of the 54 photographers poised to capture the celebrants, all but three were camped in front of Paris (the scuffles that erupted among them, as they attempted to get to the London team, made great TV).

So what changed? As then culture secretary Tessa Jowell put it, “We’ve come from nowhere to win the Olympics and that is quite something.” Something had shifted in the brains of the panel of Olympic judges casting the votes. Which begs a question this piece sets out to answer…

What is it that changes people’s thinking? What are the prompts that persuade and influence people to action?

Why, why, why?

Answers to that question are often based on looking around, on understanding ...