How Pam Sherman Taught me to Tell My Story

Congratulations, Pam Sherman, on the release of your book.

Watching Pam present onstage at POSSIBLE reminded me of my time working with her.

One of the first exercises Pam put me through: define the one word that embodies how you show up. Then find the story that proves it.

My word was Visionary.

Three weeks from the Gulfstream Aerospace G700 reveal, I was in my office reviewing the plans and I wasn't happy.

The stage design wasn't right. I wanted to redesign the entire reveal. A risky call this close to show day.

My client called before I had a chance. The CMO of Gulfstream was feeling the same thing. The design wasn't hitting the brand goals or the positioning of this aircraft in the fleet.

The G700. A flagship. 100 feet long. The future of private aviation. Launching outdoors, exposed to wind and rain. It deserved better.

I needed to redesign three weeks out. My team was nervous.

I sat at my desk and sketched something I'd never seen built: a moving hangar. A series of LED video cubes sliding into one another to reveal the plane, built from off-the-shelf concert touring systems in a completely new configuration.

Overnight, my team built a 3D render and animation to pitch it. The next morning, I called Gulfstream and the CEO got on.

They watched the animation. Long pause.

"I don't know."

I walked them through the use of stadium touring gear and stage automation. Still a lot to engineer. But we had the right team. "I need approval today or we won't make it. And we're going to need more money. A lot more."

The call went quiet.

We got the approval.

The reveal was spectacular. A stadium concert stage delivering an immersive presentation and a reveal no one had seen before.

Years later, an attendee from Gulfstream reached out with a similar brief.

On show day, I was standing on a classified airfield with the show execution times slipped into my hand on a tiny piece of paper like something out of a spy movie.

We were launching the new B-21 Raider for the US Air Force and Northrop Grumman. Our brief: create a hero moment to get a photo that would send a message of strength to our allies and a warning to adversaries, instill pride in the thousands who worked tirelessly in secret to build it, and inspire the next generation of pilots and support teams.

The hero photograph went front page globally.

On my way out, my client came over and shook my hand. She pressed a small piece of paper into it.

She had written four words: "You are a visionary."

My word confirmed.

Pam, thank you. Your work doesn't just define how we show up. It prepares us for the moments that test it.