Midnight conversations at the cricket club in Mumbai with Lord Timothy Bell and Sir Mike Tully

The leading PR expert and CEO of the communication agency M3 Communications Group, Inc., Mr. Maxim Behar shared another astonishing personal story in his author’s series Priceless Lessons, which he publishes for BGLOBAL magazine.

Midnight conversations at the cricket club in Mumbai

Late drinks with Lord Timothy Bell and Sir Mike Tully, stories about ethics, and the lessons worth learning, even for legends…

Mumbai’s cricket club, the oldest “British treasure” in India, is the most fitting place for a drink in a friendly atmosphere. This evening, it was loud, with numerous tables and booths occupied. A rich bouquet of different languages flowed through the space of the club, carried out by the large fan blades of the property.

Our dearest friend and host, Yogesh Joshi, handled every detail regarding our residence. All sorts of languages, dialects, and arguments floated in the air. New acquaintances were made through the night, and my new friend Solly Moeng and I sang aloud in the Zulu language the South African anthem “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” while the clapping of our colleagues accompanied our performance.

Two sophisticated, middle-aged men showed no signs of enjoyment in this motley company with friends from all over the world who had come to attend the annual meeting of the Association of Business Communicators of India (ABCI). They seemed strict and focused on their plates. I sat down next to them since we were ordering our last drinks for the night. It turned out that we had started one long and incredibly interesting conversation and a deep-rooted friendship at that very moment. The two men are true British gentlemen and people with titles and traces in history — Lord Timothy Bell, the PR expert and trustee of the legendary Margaret Thatcher, and Sir Mark Tully, the BBC correspondent who had first reported the assassination of the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.

- Well, that is so interesting… Bulgaria… I had no idea you have PR agencies there — said Lord Bell in a drowsy tone — one day, I will visit the country and have you introduce me to the market and the experts there.

I told him more about my meetings with Prince Charles, and I caught his attention. Lord Bell visibly brightened up and began to question me insistently.

- Ha, does Charlie have a Business Leaders Forum? I had no idea! Please tell me more about it. I live a few miles away from him, but I haven’t heard of this.

I knew Lord Bell and had read thousands of stories about him, especially in the post-Thatcher era. I was also aware of the stories about his work for Russian oligarchs and controversial political figures… So, on that hot Mumbai night, I chose every word that came out of my mouth with extreme caution.

- Well, you know, Your Excellency, today it is inconceivable to do business without transparency… So inspired by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, we have set up a forum with numerous companies who want to present themselves as transparent business leaders.

- In Bulgaria? Or in Europe?

He did not hide his great amazement at my statement, and to my astonishment, he was highly interested in our dialogue rather than his dancing friends. Simultaneously, I did not want to get into unnecessary arguments with people who had done wonders in the business industry and were true legends. Sir Tully, a man with brilliant journalism practices who made the world’s announcement of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, also listened to our conversation with interest. Lord Bell had the exact historical moment in his rich biography, and only months before I met him, in April 2013, he was the first to announce the death of his “patron” — Margaret Thatcher.

Lord Bell, I continued even more carefully. I do not wish to argue with you during our late drinks, especially when I know your undisputed professionalism, but let me share my opinion with you. Whether it is Bulgaria, Rwanda, Chile, America, or any other country does not matter. For more than ten years, we have been introduced to social media, and no matter what we do or what actions we take, there are at least three billion people potentially observing our movements. Everyone knows everything and the public control over political figures or even PR experts is irreversible. As a consequence, there is only one possibility for businesses to survive, and it is called full publicity.

I did not sound instructive, but we might have had a few drinks. Lord Bell got up from the booth, started seeking out his driver, waved at him, and said something resembling a “good night” wish. Then he melted into the dancing crowd on his way to the exit.

The following evening, the well-known traditional Gala Dinner at the phenomenal Taj Mahal Palace occurred. I had the honor of presenting one of the ABCI awards, considering that a year before, the same association announced me for “Communicator of the Decade,” this automatically became part of my duties as a winner. In addition, the association had printed 2,000 copies of my booklet “ 111 Rules’ How to Make It”, which we sold for 10$ each and were out of stock within an hour. It is no secret that later on, I donated the funds raised to the flood victims in India.

But before I got up from my seat to present the price, I felt Lord Bell’s hand from the seat next to me, which brought me back to my starting point. He then pulled the booklet out of my hands, went to the glorious stage, stood behind the illuminated chair, and, lifting the book above him, said: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I am Lord Timothy Bell, and let me tell you something…You should buy this book! You will not only help our brothers and sisters affected by the floods in India, but you will also have the opportunity to learn a few lessons from the man with the mustache and the red bowtie sitting next to me. I have already learned my first lesson from him.”

This could only be done by a great man who knew how to teach others and did not bother telling them he had learned something, too.

A couple of years later, Lord Bell expressively left his global PR agency, Bell Pottinger, when the entire business world rose against his company’s unethical methods in its operations in South Africa after leaked emails on different social media channels. And when he moved to a better place in 2019, Richard Edelman wrote: “He was an eccentric and ostentatious man, but we must learn from his merits for the world’s PR industry. And for what he did not do right, we must learn how to do better”.