Mandalay Entertainment Group chairman and CEO Peter Guber moved and engaged 400 business, political, media, and sports leaders as he talked about his leadership story and the importance of storytelling in a business forum held by ANC on March 20 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila.
His audience included Sen. Sonny Angara, US ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, South Africa ambassador to the Philippines Martinus Nicolass Slabber, and ABS-CBN’s Eugenio Lopez III, Carlo Katigak, Cory Vidanes, and Ging Reyes.
At the ANC Leadership Series: Telling Stories Winning Games, Guber captured his audience right away, as he talked about the big role of failure in his success. He shared how he was turned down many times before finally being able to acquire a team in the NBA, a move that TJ Manotoc – who hosted and moderated the forum – thought was also a big risk in itself as the Warriors team then was not doing very well in the league.
Guber said they focused first on building a winning culture in the organization, where every member – from players, to coaches, employees, and even fans – believed in their goal and knew their role in achieving the goal.
“When you create that culture, people bring in things. Everybody in the organization feel their participation. Culture is the best business plan for any company,” he emphasized.
Guber uses the same approach in dealing with customers, who he prefers to call “audiences.”
“You must move your audience to the action you want them to take. People are not moved by features but the benefits the features render to them,” he explained.
This is why, he said, storytelling is crucial for businesses. “When entrepreneurs and executives emotionalize their message, they give meaning that people can hold on to,” said Guber, who formerly served as chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, chairman and CEO of Polygram Entertainment, Co-Founder of Casablanca Record & Filmworks and President of Columbia Pictures.
The ANC Leadership Series is part of the country’s premier all-English cable news channel’s efforts to raise the level of discourse on global affairs and business issues in the country by bringing renowned international speakers for a one-day speaking engagement. Former featured speakers were Virgin Group founder Richard Branson (2016), followed by former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright in 2017.