Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

Every once in a while, there is a book or a movie that absolutely upends the traditional story structure.

In Hollywood, it’s Christopher Nolan and his penchant for contorting time, much like those circus artists who bend their bodies to fit in a matchbox. You know what (not) to expect in a Nolan movie, yet you scratch your head bald trying to figure out the story. Show me someone who figured out a Nolan movie on the first watch, and I’ll show you a liar.

My favourite example in the world of books is Japanese sensation Keigo Higashino, who writes “howcatchems”. These are essentially an inversion of the classic “whodunit” detective story—think Sherlock Holmes—where the identity of the murderer is revealed only at the end. In “howcatchems”, we’re told who the murderer is right away. The real story focuses on “how to catch them,” solving clues to prove the how and why of the crime. And it’s just as riveting a read as a traditional detective novel.

But why am I talking about inverted story structures? And who am I? 

Second question first: I am Savio D’Souza, head of The Ken’s learning programs. I’m filling in for Ruhi this week as she is busy preparing to deliver one of our Narrative Thinking workshops (they are really fantastic and if you’re interested, write to [email protected]).

But I’m also here today because I have a (non-inverted) story to tell you. A story about two billionaires—one American, one Indian—and how they have upended the traditional structure of corporate dealmaking. You’ve probably guessed the identity of the former, but it’s the latter that has arguably made the bigger impact.

And they have parallels to Nolan and Higashino.

The (traditional) boring art of dealmaking

Don’t get me wrong, some corporate deals are really interesting. Like Microsoft’s offer to buy Yahoo way back when. Or the will-they-won’t-they between Uber and Ola that cropped up ever so often.

Yet both those deals followed the very predictable nature of corporate M&A (mergers and acquisitions). It’s not unlike a college romance where two willing parties plan a happily ever after. Even arranged marriages are quite common, with big-name investors (like Softbank) or even bankers playing matchmaker. 

The story starts with a proposal and develops into a courtship where the two companies hem and haw, play hard to get, and pay bankers millions for advice. It builds into a climax where investors and shareholders either vote for or against the proposal. And ends with the duo either walking down the aisle or going their separate ways.