Archive for January, 2016

Paternity leave, gender equality and the changing role of fathers

January 28, 2016

Greg Canty and Brendan Canty

I listened with interest at the discussions about the new proposals regarding paternity leave and I fondly remembered (not!) how it was when my kids were born.

It was August, 1991 and Ellen, our second child was due. It was a busy time in work at that time of the year with my role as Financial Controller as I had to get all budgeting finalised for the following year. We were part of Guinness so it was a complex process.

I knew that when Ellen was born I wanted a little free time to enjoy the moment(s) and to be there to look after my son, Brendan who was two and a half at the time. I worked day and night and weekends leading up to that time so that when she was born there would be no issue and I could take a few days off.

Ellen was overdue and a date was set for her to be induced. I informed my boss,  Charlie of the date and he wasn’t very pleased as he was planning a management meeting on that date!

What could I do?

The hospital had a gap in their scheduling and Ellen was induced a day earlier ….my beautiful daughter arrived on the 21st August!!

My childminding role kicked in for the next few days. Two days later I popped into the office to check a few things and I was stupidly expecting a round of “congratulations” from all of my workmates.

Instead I got a serious look from the Sales Manager..”You’re in trouble“. I was dumbfounded at what I heard.

“What the hell could I be in trouble for and by the way it was a girl!!” I responded.

It turns out that because Ellen was born a day earlier everyone reckoned I could and should have made the “crucial” management meeting. I grabbed Brendan and we left.

A day or two later I was back in work and was summoned to Charlie’s office ..I don’t think I even gave him a chance to open his mouth.

He got it full belt “I always put this stupid place first and this time you can well and truly f**k yourself as it is one time I am putting my family first” and stormed out. I don’t think we ever spoke about the incident again.

Two years ago in Fuzion we had our first ‘baby‘!

A few months before that one of our team announced that she was pregnant. While it was fantastic news for her and her husband, it did cause an issue for the business. She was a senior member of the team and now we had to plan about replacing her with a quality replacement.

She would be out for 6 months and she also planned on taking the extra two months. I also learnt that while she would be out she was entitled to holidays and bank holidays, so effectively she would be out for 9 months. This would be disruptive to the business as well as costing us – it was the most expensive baby I ever had!

This is life and our business had to make arrangements and cope but it did strike me that this ‘issue‘ was one that we had to solve with her. Where was the guy in this equation? Was his work disrupted or would it carry a cost for them?

Maybe she was more than happy to put her career on hold for a while and take off that precious time with her new baby but maybe she might have liked to share this gift with her husband? No one had a choice.

I imagined a different world where her husband announced to his boss that “they” were pregnant and that he was opting to take half of the parental leave. This is how it works in Denmark so it isn’t such a stretch.

I’m a dad and I’m a parent and I would have loved to have those precious days when Ellen was born back again to enjoy…maybe more than a few days?

If we are serious about the guys role as a parent and we are really serious about gender equality then us fellas need to be treated as equals.

Two weeks paternity leave..nah!

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion who offer Marketing, PR and Graphic Design services from our offices in Dublin and Cork

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Posted in Equality, Parenting | 8 Comments »

Invest in making your wheels turn

January 26, 2016

Flywheel

This is a really interesting client.

This company has been around for a few generations and have done absolutely everything to survive the recent tough times,

They employ nearly 100 people and insist on manufacturing their products themselves in Ireland to preserve the quality control and the ability to provide the best solutions for their customers at all times.

They have their own retail outlets and also sell through some stockists.

They purchased a similar business overseas for the sole purpose of acquiring more potential volume so that production levels are kept up and the production facility remains viable.

One of the survival tactics like so many businesses during the recession was to cut back on overheads and cut out ‘unnecessary’ costs.

Of course the first to get the chop was the Marketing budget… advertising gone, sponsorships gone, exhibitions gone, customer evenings gone and PR gone.

Despite chopping these budgets the wheels didn’t fall off the business (well not immediately) – of course it didn’t as the business had a long established reputation, good recognition in the sector and a big collection of legacy customers who knew all about them.

A few months went by and the sales dropped, a few more months passed and they dropped again and so on. While the sales did not plummet immediately the lack of promotional activity meant the business gradually disappeared from view.

An aggressive overseas competitor spotted the gap and entered the Irish market, got some fantastic deals on adverts and started to win significant business.

The client has a large business with big payroll costs, an expensive production facility and a retail network all requiring big sales volume to sustain and there is virtually nothing being spent on attracting new business.

This is the “priority trap“.

We were preparing a plan for them but we were warned in advance that the budgets for promotion were tiny – surely generating new business was essential?

If you don’t invest in ‘telling your story‘, promoting your products and getting those wheels turning you will eventually have no business.

Should the first priority for the business be promotion and not the last?

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion PR, Marketing and Graphic Design, with offices in Dublin and Cork

 

 

 

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Posted in Accounting, Business Planning, Marketing | 3 Comments »

Friend or Foe?

January 18, 2016

Gladiator - Greg Canty

I found myself in the middle of a series of emails back and forth with a business colleague (I hate that word) who I have a really great relationship with.

There was some confusion about an issue and we clearly had a different interpretation of the ‘facts‘ and as result our explanatory emails to each other were not helping!

What I was saying to him was clarifying nothing and vice versa and as a result a little tension and frustration had crept into our communications.

You could see an edge creeping into the tone and the language both of us were using…. this was heading to a bad place. It would have taken very little at this stage to drag the tone lower and raise the tension and before you know it we both would have our swords and shields out ready to do ferocious battle.

In the blink of an eye a great and very productive and enjoyable relationship could be ruined forever.

Both of us thankfully avoided the awful trap and we picked up the phone recognising that an actual conversation was the best way to sort out the issue.

Step back, take a deep breath and make a decision to be a friend and not a foe… It’s s much better place to be.

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion PR, Marketing and Graphic Design, with offices in Dublin and Cork

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Posted in Communications, Personal development | 2 Comments »

#GoGreg – Dublin Chamber Council and my 5 Priorities

January 14, 2016

Greg Canty - Fuzion Marketing & PR, Dublin and Cork

As we are doing a lot of work in Dublin and I am getting more and more involved with Dublin Chamber of Commerce (I co-chair the Business Owners Network that meets every second Friday) I decided I would take the next step and try to get even more involved.

I have decided to run for Dublin Chamber Council which would give me the opportunity of influencing how the Chamber is run and trying to shape the strategy and direction that it takes about key issues.

While I believe that Dublin Chamber is doing a really good job I do feel that it could do even more..

My Pitch!

No 1 – Passionate about Entrepreneurship

I am passionate about start-ups, business ownership and the SME sector and believe that Dublin Chamber should become a natural hub for all activity in this area. I don’t believe this is the case at the moment.

Dublin Chamber was founded by business owners and we should strive to get back to a scenario whereby successful business owners of all sizes are proactive members driving, supporting and encouraging enterprise in Dublin. We need their voices, influence and expertise to start shining through.

Successful entrepreneurs are asked to speak at Dublin Chamber events – we need them as proactive  members!

For my part I have had my own businesses since the age of 13!

No 2- Influence

I believe that Dublin Chamber should have a much bigger voice and influence in how our city and country is run. I hope with more involvement and through my own expertise I can start to support Chamber in communicating our messages even stronger through more use of traditional and digital media.

Also I believe my communications experience and my insights from working closely with some politicians and other key influencers could be of benefit here.

No 3- Fresh Perspective from the ‘Not so shy’ Cork boy!

I admit it, I’m not from Dublin!

While some might hold this against me as being a negative I feel it is a real positive. I operate a business in both Dublin and Cork, spending my time equally between both locations. I believe I offer a unique fresh perspective as a result, which could benefit the Chamber.

No 4 – Destination Branding Insights

I was recently part of the Destination Branding team that created a Brand book for the Cork region with a focus on attracting Irish and foreign direct investment.

The learnings from this process could be quite valuable to Dublin Chamber.

No 5 – Fun

My last point is a very serious one!

While there is serious business to be done I do believe we need to have a much bigger element of fun to the networking and the business of Chamber. In my view the best networking is done in a relaxed atmosphere and when people are enjoying themselves. I always try my best to achieve this and for anyone who attends my Business Owners Network sessions I chair once a month, I hope this is witnessed.

To give you a taste of the fun we have check out the incredible rendition of “White Christmas” that the Business Owners Network managed in December on YouTube!  

For these reasons I am asking the Dublin Chamber members who would like a fresh, challenging and different voice for Dublin Chamber Council to consider me when voting opens on the 18th January.

I am also asking members to also consider voting for David Lafferty, an accountant who runs his own practice and someone who is busy flying the flag for the SME’s and business owners. He is an active member of the Business Owners Network and has worked on the Budget Task Force with the Chamber.

For Dublin Chamber members the voting is open from the 18th till the 29th January.

#GoGreg !!

Greg Canty - Dublin Chamber

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Posted in Dublin | 4 Comments »