Phone Call to the Top, Then Show Up Anyway

"That purchase was noteworthy not only for Heatley’s age, but because it was the first example of the simple and direct way that he would go about many of his business forays in later life. He would see an opportunity, find out who knew about it, and pick up the phone to talk to them."

"Again, Heatley reached for the phone. He got through to George Roberts, one of the world’s foremost names in leveraged buyouts. The pair had never met, but Heatley said he would like to fly to Roberts’ San Francisco office and sit down with him to talk about the possibility of Rainbow buying a stake in Woolworths Australia. Roberts agreed but told Heatley he could promise him only 10 minutes. He was polite but not encouraging. ‘If you want to come all this way, well, okay.’ Then he added, ‘I wouldn’t make the trip if I were you.’"

"Heatley read about Mounter’s appointment and did what he does—he reached for the phone. TVNZ might have been staid in many ways but it had access to taxpayers’ funds, longstanding viewer loyalty, a significant incumbency status and its government ownership could, Heatley thought, potentially work for or against Sky. He was worried that with a new, savvy chief executive on board, TVNZ could use its strengths to quash his and Jarvis’s start-up. In particular, the two companies were likely to be competitors for the rights to show popular products, especially live events."

"On signing, Heatley decided to verbally ask for something additional—a favour rather than a condition and personal not business. If he signed the deal, might ESPN somehow arrange for him to play a round at Augusta National Golf Club? He says he was ‘kind of joking but kind of not joking’ when he asked. He thought that if anyone had the contacts to pull it off it would be ESPN, whose people he now knew well and liked. He was certainly not going to approach the club directly even though by then he had been to Augusta three times to watch the Masters—a small perk of Sky’s contract with the prestigious golf club. He did not have the right contacts and, anyway, by reputation Augusta was one of those clubs where if you asked to join you would never become a member. Perhaps, similarly, if you asked to play you would never get the chance. But asking ESPN was different. ESPN was hugely influential, he was a client and even if he was rebuffed it was worth trying because if he never tried, it would certainly never happen."