Dear {{first_name | Friend}},
Well, I did say that you’d be the first to know.
Thank you, from the depths of my expanding heart, for being a member of this, the most exciting (and perhaps the fastest-growing club) just about anywhere. We have surged to more than 12,000 members in a matter of weeks, and your engagement has been deep, meaningful and energetic. I appreciate it so much more than you might imagine.
Gareth Southgate is both an enigma and an English everyman. An introvert and private family man who has spent 40 years in the public eye, he lived in various parts of the country while growing up. Early in his career, he showed a certain genius as a leader; then he missed perhaps the most famous penalty in English history, but refused to be defined by that epic and most public of failures.
The arc of redemption never knew a better candidate than this son of Sussex and south London. As Middlesbrough and then England manager, he’s shown us that the best lives are unlikely stories with many chapters. His particular approach to leadership, which he studied for years before practising it, is now sought out all over the world. And it means the world to me, as a football-loving former Aston Villa fan (I was mad for them as a kid) who reveres great leaders, that he should be our first guest.
I’ve interviewed Gareth a few times now, and spoken to him elsewhere. Here, he shows a side to him you just haven’t seen before. He is very open about:
How he stopped enjoying football altogether, even when winning;
Why he won’t go back into club football;
The brutal toll of being the most scrutinised man in England;
Why the Man City scandal and Fifa’s courting of investors show something has gone badly wrong at the top of football;
Why he took that penalty in Euro ‘96, how it felt to miss - and what happened next;
The key lessons he has learned about leadership and decision-making
How to handle tricky egos
What he’s planning in Business and the Media;
Why the crisis of meaning among boys and young men in particular has become his new calling;
Why working from home is not the best option for young people;
What he’s learned from other countries about social policy;
Whether he would go into politics
There is mischief aplenty too. I mean, no two ways about it. It’s a belter of a conversation.
And afterward, knowing it was our first recording, and seeing how pumped I was about it, he stuck around for a glass of champagne. Legend.
Those of you who have kindly subscribed to the paid tiers will have access to that behind-the-scenes footage.
Thank you, Gareth, for making the time for us.
And thank YOU, for being a member of the ARC Universe, and for watching or listening to this, our first episode.
I’m getting really quite emotional just writing this, and I do want to say that I feel like I’ve waited years, maybe decades for this moment; that my whole career has been but a preparation for this launch and for this show.
I always, always appreciate constructive feedback - especially yours.
From 7am tomorrow, you can watch or listen to the full episode on YouTube, Amazon Music, Spotify and Apple Music.
Thanks so much for your time. This week’s newsletter will be with you at 16.00 on Friday as usual.
Yours ARCfully,
AMOL
