The Day I Had ‘A Lot to Learn’

Time to read: 65 Seconds

Naked Leader Week 1140 – Monday 8 September 2025

The Day I Had ‘A Lot to Learn’

Dianne Thompson – now Dame Ila Dianne Thompson, DBE was CEO of Camelot Group from 2000 to 2014.

I was invited to host Camelot’s 2001 Conference, and Dianne wrote me an introductory email in advance of the event, which she closed with the words ‘I hear you have a lot to learn’.

OK, I knew I probably wasn’t their first – or even tenth – choice, and I was not known for ‘hosting’ conferences but come on – that phrase struck me to the bone, and it didn’t improve on re-reading.

I decided to put it out of my mind and managed to only think about those four words around ten times a day – and night – in the six weeks leading up to the event.

On the day, I was met by Dianne herself. She shook my hand warmly and we had a great chat. Towards the end, I plucked up the courage to say to her:

“Dianne, one more thing, in your email to me you wrote that I had ‘a lot to learn’”.

Her response astonished me: “Well, you have”

I now began to feel rather weak, as I asked her:

“What do you mean by that, if you don’t mind my asking”

She replied:

“Well, I hear you are doing the whole event completely off by heart – impressive David”

And that was the day I did indeed learn a lot:

No words have any meaning other than the meaning you choose to give them.

Or, as Humpty Dumpty said, 130 years before, “When I use a word… it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less”

With my love and best wishes to Dianne and to you

David

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