I left the accountancy practice because I knew I had gone stale, working on the same clients in the same environment and now I wanted to get stuck in and get more involved so I decided to move into industry.
I started with Moog, an American multinational at the age of 22 taking on the role of financial accountant, reporting into the financial controller.
I didn’t have experience of working for a multi-national before but I was a bright, enthusiastic qualified accountant looking for a new challenge.
For six months I was learning, soaking up this experience with fresh eyes and a new perspective and after that initial period I really got into gear and they got the best of me. The financial controller went off on maternity leave after I was there just over a year and I was asked to take on her role and mine – not a bother, I took it in my stride. When she came back I knew I couldn’t slip back to the supporting role so I looked for a new challenge.
I then took on the role of financial controller of a drinks wholesaler and manufacturer, a subsidiary of Guinness.
I didn’t have experience of working in the drinks sector before but I had worked in practice and I had been the financial controller in a large multinational. For six months I was learning and soaking up this experience with fresh eyes and a new perspective and after that they really got the best of me.
After a few years in this role I was going stale, I was repeating myself and the job was more of the same. I had always wanted to start my own business and I loved music so I recruited a manager and opened a few music stores around the country while I still stayed working. I had never worked in the music industry before nor had I operated retail stores but I brought a fresh perspective and bucket loads of enthusiasm to this new experience.
Out of the blue I was asked if I was interested in the General Manager role, which I gladly accepted.
I didn’t have the experience of managing a large business but I was a bright, enthusiastic person with a good understanding of the company and I had a solid background in finance.
For six months I was learning, soaking up this experience with fresh eyes and a new perspective and after that period they really got the very best of me achieving the best results ever for the company.
I then moved to Guinness in Dublin taking on a number of different roles, none of which I had done before bringing fresh eyes and a new perspective to all of them.
After three years I became the general manager of a subsidiary of Heineken bringing fresh eyes and a new perspective to the role. I really drove on the performance of the company but in truth I had done a similar role for the Guinness subsidiary and after three years I was getting bored and I should have moved on. I lasted two more years and left to join Deirdre Waldron at Fuzion, which has been brilliant.
Everyday in Fuzion we are faced with new situations and fresh challenges. We often work with new clients from different sectors and we achieve great results by bringing fresh eyes, new perspectives and enthusiasm and applying all of our collective experience and learnings to their challenges.
I have learned in my 32 years of working that to get the best of anyone in a role there must be some element of a challenge in it, something new the whole time that keeps them challenged, fresh, inspired and motivated and at the top of their game.
I have also learned that after a while of doing the same thing over and over people will get stale as that sense of challenge disappears. Despite having all of the experience and knowledge a big opportunity will be lost by not handing over the mantle to someone who knows less but has a sparkle, a freshness, a hunger and a desire to learn and take on a new challenge.
The next time you are choosing someone for a role or you are putting your project out for contract try to resist the safe temptation of going with the person or the company that have “done it all before” and instead look for the fresh perspective and grab that sparkle.
Tags: Cork, Dublin, Fuzion, Graphic Design, Greg Canty, Guinness, Heineken, ireland, Marketing, PR
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 
January 25, 2015 at 8:02 pm |
It’s so true, Greg! Excellent post!
January 26, 2015 at 1:06 pm |
thanks for reading Naomi and thanks for the positive feedback !
January 26, 2015 at 4:58 pm |
That is probably a hard thing about PR – that some clients are continually looking for something ‘fresh’. You have to constantly adapt and give them things that they did not realise they could have.
January 27, 2015 at 7:12 am |
You are right Conor but often it is the opposite with tenders written to give contracts to the old guard.
January 27, 2015 at 12:41 pm |
Great article Greg. It really does come down to people believing in themselves more (as you did) and embracing new challenges. Unfortunately, given the circumstances that our country went through over the past few years people who are lucky to have a job maybe lack the courage to move on. Here’s hoping that this will start to change soon.
January 27, 2015 at 3:13 pm |
Great point Denis – fear gripped all of us ..
January 28, 2015 at 10:02 am |
Hello Greg. Great piece. For me its about offering the client some form of confidence that you can deliver for them but having the personal drive and energy to be open to learning and implementing your ideas with a confidence to bring about a better outcome for client and yourself.
January 28, 2015 at 10:34 am |
Spot on Charlie … often they take comfort form going with what they perceive as the safe route
February 7, 2015 at 11:19 am |
Love this Greg, happy to report after 9 years working for a large global corporation, I’m now the ‘sparkle and fresh perspective’ in a growing start up company #Inspiration 🙂
February 14, 2015 at 6:41 pm |
well done …hold onto that sparkle