Was there a dry eye in the house when Gordon Brown made what
even his sternest of detractors would agree was the most dignified
of resignation speeches outside this evening?
Finally evicted from Number 10 after what was a protracted,
bitter and increasingly desperate battle to cling to power, Brown's
simple yet emotional farewell with his family at his side will have
earned him a level of respect from the British public which seemed
unfathomable when they so overwhelmingly rejected his government at
the poll stations just six days ago.
Political allegiances aside, there's a massive PR lesson to
learn from Brown's demise and subsequent rehabilitation (albeit
reputational and not political).
What we saw in his final moments as premier was the real Brown.
A solid, reliable and honest man with genuine intentions who was at
his best when speaking the truth - and, crucially, who was utterly
incapable of being taken out of his comfort zone and sculpted into
something he wasn't and was never going to be.
Labour's advisors must take huge responsibility for their
party's loss of office for their ludicrous attempts to spin Brown
into a dynamic, happy chappy with an inane smile. Oh the smile...
Who knows how the electorate would have reacted to the real,
brooding, serious Brown. After all, these are serious times.
Certainly he's fared better in the public's affection since
Alaistair Campbell arrived back on the scene with a back to basics
approach.
It was definitely a case of too little too late for Brown, but
the lesson for anyone else with a public profile to upkeep is
clear: keep it real.
Nick Clegg's whole electoral campaign was fought on
playing the 'honest guy in the middle'. While a lot has certainly
gone into moulding the David Cameron that's about to be made Prime
Minister, he's certainly comfortable in his skin.
Brown lacked authenticity and confidence, and so, ultimately,
credibility.
In business, even more so than politics, no matter how you
attempt to project your capabilities, there needs to be an
underlying truth and honesty for you to be believable and for
people to trust you.
Don't fall into the Labour Party and Gordon Brown's trap of
pretending to be something you're not: it'll only come back to bite
you.