The chatter subsides and a cacophony of brass hits the speakers. As the lights dim, two thousand attendees feel the hair on the back of their necks prickle. For many, more visceral senses tighten too.

The employee conference is the most heavily anticipated event of the year. Tickets are allocated on some random algorithm and are regarded as gold to the fortunate recipients. Unless you are C-suite royalty, you only ever get to go to one of these gigs.

And now it is about to begin.

All forms of digital communication have been confiscated at the door, using screening technology akin to the most sensitive of airport security. And they had gone through it twice.

Out of the pure darkness, a blistering light hits the stage. Huge gold gates as large as the room freeze shut for a few seconds—until they ease open and as if to give their size some context, a figure tiny in comparison emerges, all in black.

From the merest ripple, the applause begins.

Two high definition screens aside of the stage form a huge backdrop and make the man’s image not only more visible, but more human too. Here is their idol. Here is the man who had made them rich—and they all hoped, would make them richer still.

He stands there for a few moments in the golden glow of both the lights and the accolade, before he makes his way over to the left and with a smile and slight signalling with his hands, hushes the crowd.

He does not speak at first, but from the forty-foot screens, they can see his face harden and lose the joy. Lose the impression of celebration in the moment just past and take a more severe tone.

“We are here today to celebrate the success of our company. To celebrate our success in a tough environment and to prepare us for more challenges ahead.”

From the auditorium rises a further well of applause. But his face makes it clear this is not what he wants.

“Thank you. Thank you. But this is no time to be self-congratulatory. For I have a story that I need to share with you before we go on. Something that has turned my view of our world upside down.”

The people hush and begin to sense that from the expected tub-thumping ra-ra day described so vividly by previous attendees, change might be in the air.

There is something about his demeanour and language that causes many of them a little concern. Everyone becomes highly tuned to his image; to each twitch of his face and now, to the words he begins to speak.

“My dad left us when I was small. Mom and I had to get along as best she could and she taught me the values I needed to succeed. She worked long hours—I was never hungry, though I think she sometimes was—and she was always there to care for me.”

He pauses for a moment. A hint of some hidden emotion passes across his face. The audience notices its breathing slow.

“She made sure I had all I needed, to overcome the difficulties caused by my dad not being around, to give me the best chance in life.”

He takes a sip of water from a bottle on a tall slender table.

“Refillable. No single-use plastics here.” He laughs and the whole audience laughs too.

With the quirky settling shake he is renowned for, he pulls himself back on message. The little moment where he almost lets his severity slide into humour passes. For today, he has his unexpected point to make.

“My mom has been the proudest advocate of me throughout my life and my career.”

He takes a deep breath, recovers a little and continues.

“And this week she died.”

There is an audible gasp from the crowd before another round of applause.

“But before she died, she told me something that only a mother can tell you in such an iconic moment. Something that made me step back from the wonderful life I have and realise that there is a different perspective on the world in which we live.”

He appears to look skyward, as if for the inspiration to carry on. Now, people really are holding their breath.

“She knew it was coming to the end. Of course, with my success, she’s had a good life in her later years and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to give back to her for all the sacrifices she made for me.

“’But, son, you need to give back more. To others and not just me,’ she said.

“’Time to stop doing it for the money. Time to stop doing it for the glory. You don’t need to any longer. You have done all that. Everyone knows where you came from and where you got to.’

“I’ve reflected on what she said, as anyone in such a situation might and it has come to me that I need to make a few changes in my life in the future. And that will include our organisation as well.

“She told me that she’d seen a TV show a few months ago about how kids—just like I was—are still hungry in our country. She told me how she’d seen starving children in other countries too and that she had begun to hate our prosperity for all that. Our luxuries seemed to her to be rather unpalatable.

“So, here’s what I am going to do.”

They are hanging on every word.

“Apart from my first $2million, everything I have is going into a trust. My salary will be frozen at $200,000 a year. That might seem excessive in itself, but it is what it is.

“From now, I will work only with the trust. Seeking solutions to help children who are hungry every day. But it will not just be about giving my money away, it will be about lobbying and fighting for answers to the bigger causes of disadvantaged children. For the hunger is a symptom—and not a source of the problem.

“I’m not doing anything anymore for the money. I’m not doing anything anymore for the glory. For both of them are insincere examples of my own insecurities and I am not that person anymore.

“My higher goal is for others.”

At first, the audience do not applaud. They do not know what to do. They talk together in hushed mumbles and try to take in what he has said. They consider the consequences for themselves.

“There is one more thing I want to say, before one of my team talks through with you how we as an organisation are doing and what we see in the future for us.

“Everyone in the organisation can take a part in this with me. It will be your choice how far each of you takes it. Whilst we have done much in the field of altruism with our success, I want more people involved. We will talk more about how you can do this in the months and years to come.

“But I do want you to know, that with each of your individual hopes and fears that may follow what I have said, you are—and will remain—secure for the needs of you and your families.”

At last, the audience erupts in applause. Finally, the man at the front smiles, laughs and joins in the applause himself.

There is no greater glory.