The BBH Christmas Company Meeting was a big production number. A review of the year’s cultural, commercial and creative highlights, it featured motivational speeches, specially commissioned films and interviews, song and dance numbers, voting and amusing awards.

When I was first asked to speak at the meeting, I was a mid-weight Strategist. I made sure my piece was short and sharp, light and witty. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.

As I progressed through the business and took on senior office, I had a regular slot at the Christmas Meeting. My section became weightier, my delivery more confident, my jokes more elaborate. 

As Chairman I had a special responsibility for culture and ethics, and I liked to name-check people that had helped out in the course of the year. And so, with every subsequent annual meeting, my ‘thank you’ list grew longer, my illustrations more detailed and my oratory more laboured.

Eventually I realised that I was losing my audience.

I had started out as succinct and to the point. I finished off as rambling and verbose.

I read recently about a study into the changing tempo of songs as artists age. (Tom Whipple, The Times, 26 July 2024)

Geoff Luck from the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland analysed more than 14,000 tunes on Spotify, from acts with careers lasting at least 20 years. He discovered that, for every decade an artist aged, the average speed of their music declined by about 2 beats per minute. So, while Elvis Presley’s 1956 rendition of ‘Hound Dog’ clocks in at 178 bpm, his 1969 hit ‘Suspicious Minds’ is just 117 bpm. Similarly, Michael Jackson’s 1972 song ‘Rockin’ Robin’ is 173 bpm, but his 2001 single ‘You Rock My World’ is 95 bpm.

Writing in the journal bioRxiv, Luck observed:

‘We know that as we age, we tend to slow down. Cognitively, but also physically. In particular, our motor competence degrades as we age. So we can’t move as fast or as accurately…. It’s to do with neurobiological decay rather than just being chilled out or other things like that.’

We may recognise the broad theme of these findings in the world of work.

As we advance through our careers, we are accorded more respect and allowed more time to expand on our themes. Our juniors are reluctant to criticise, to suggest amendments and adjustments. We begin to enjoy having an audience. We start to like the sound of our own voice.  

The older the singer, the slower the song. 

It’s always worth stepping back and reflecting. Could I be more precise, more succinct? Could I make a bigger impact with fewer words? Could I leave them wanting more? No one ever complained about a shorter speech or a tighter presentation. Everyone needs an editor.

'Be sincere. Be brief. Be seated.' 
Franklin D Roosevelt

Perhaps we should take some inspiration from Elton John and Madonna. Luck’s study reveals that, over their long, successful and storied careers, they have bucked the trend, suffering no decline in tempo. They have justified our love.

'I want to kiss you in Paris,
I want to hold your hand in Rome.
I want to run naked in a rainstorm,
Make love in a train cross-country.
You put this in me.
So now what, so now what?
Wanting, needing, waiting,
For you to justify my love.
Hoping, praying,
For you to justify my love.’

Madonna, ‘Justify My Love’ (I J Chavez / L Kravitz / Madonna)

No. 497