“Working with White House Writers Group on the Franz Edelman Award was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career. They were true partners who worked tirelessly to ensure our message was concise, clear and relatable to those who were not knowledgeable about the complexity of plant breeding in agriculture. The WHWG team’s persistence and grace under pressure through 40+ versions of our 40-minute presentation were not only greatly appreciated but also helped make the entire experience positive…and award-winning!”

Chris Tutino, former senior communications manager, Syngenta

Operations research is the application of higher mathematics to business problems. The annual Franz Edelman Award is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize for Operations Research.” After a great deal of sifting in early stages, the winner is determined after a final round of competitive presentations and scientific papers.

In 2015, WHWG scripted and coached a team of seed scientists from Swiss-based Syngenta, one of the world’s top agricultural technology companies. The company competed against IBM, Ingram Micro, the Defense Logistics Agency, the government of Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. Army.

Each finalist submitted a scientific paper and delivered a 40-minute presentation before a panel of judges. The prize went to the team that best communicated a transformative use of data analytics.

Syngenta won the award for developing and applying a suite of highly innovative analytical tools that short-circuited the normally long and tedious process of identifying and developing a new seed variety from hundreds of thousands tried. Reaching into centuries to come, the implications were incalculable.

Our team had one month to:

• Edit the scientific paper for clarity of expression

• Script the 40-minute presentation

• Coach a team of four scientists on effective presentation techniques

• Retain and manage a professional video production crew that filmed new B-roll and video interviews for the presentation

• Script video interviews with the CEO and CFO

• Manage the firm that created animations to illustrate key points in the presentation

• Draft the text and charts used for the presentation’s slides

• Handle the audio and visuals during the live presentation

The top writer traveled to Iowa to meet with the Syngenta team and learn first-hand about their analytics, translating them from mathematics into English. He researched the judges expertise in business and math, finding no experience or training in agriculture.

Additionally, we trained the presenting scientists in the basics of effective communication, including:

• The use of everyday language in lieu of acronyms and terms that presumed a base of agricultural knowledge.

• How to master talking with lay audiences about subjects in which the presenters were the world’s leading experts.

• Methods of persuasive speaking and how to read from a teleprompter.