At the beginning of this year I was voted onto the Dublin Chamber of Commerce Council – it’s like a big management team for the organisation, which plays a role in setting the direction for it and overseeing how it is run.
The Council is made up of 30 elected members and each year 10 must resign to be replaced by another 10, which can include the members who have resigned.
To get voted onto the Council you must put yourself forward for election and gather enough votes from members to make the grade.
It’s a tough and humbling thing putting yourself in the firing line, out there to be judged but that’s what you do to become a member!
If you don’t put in the work you won’t be elected and this means punching in sufficient effort so that members will recognise you and put their faith in you.
To rise to the pinnacle of the organisation and become President is another ballgame altogether and is testament to the very clever and robust set of rules that have been put in place to ultimately protect the Chamber.
Presidential Process
If you wish to become President you must first become Deputy Vice President (Number 3) and to achieve this you must first be a Council member and you must be voted in by the other members.
The very clever organisation rules only allow council members who are on their 3rd year to be eligible – quite simply you must be around council for over two years ensuring that you serve your time learning the ropes.
The Deputy Vice President normally becomes Vice President the next year and then President.
By the time this person takes on the role they will have at least 5 years under their belt and they will be fully immersed in the workings of the Chamber – this is a superb system for protecting the running of the organisation that plays such a significant role in the business of our capital city.
Now compare this to the role of President of the United States, possibly the most powerful and influential position in the world!!
Up steps Donald Trump. a loudmouth. brash, uncouth, moneybags who has enough balls and bravado to run and convince a lot of people that he is actually a valid candidate.
Would Donald be prepared to first punch in three years of meetings and learning the ropes with his peers before being able to run?
Would he put himself forward to be judged by his peers who have witnessed him in action close up for at least 2 years?
Would he then hang around for another two years of valuable learning, soaking up the ways of the organisation and the skills required to identify and tackle the real issues?
I doubt it …..
Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion Communications who offer Marketing, PR, Graphic Design services from our offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland
Tags: Donald Trump, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Fuzion Communications, Greg Canty
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 
November 4, 2016 at 3:58 am |
Good point, Greg!