Archive for the ‘Irish Economy’ Category

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“Sorry, there’s nothing I can do”

April 4, 2011
Time for change

"Ok - what can we do here to sort this out?"

“Sorry there’s nothing I can do” – Revenue Official

“Sorry there’s nothing I can do” – Bank Official

“Sorry there’s nothing I can do” – NÀMA Official

 

“Sorry there’s nothing I can do” – Mr Landlord

“Sorry there’s nothing I can do” .. If we said that we would have no clients

We talk about flexibility, innovative solutions, making things happen, having a pro jobs agenda – some of us need to change our language.

“What’s the problem? – Lets find a solution that’s best for everyone” – Mr Make It Happen

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Ireland, Irish Economy, Recession | 8 Comments »

The Broken Man – We need him now more than ever..

March 14, 2011
Helping the Broken Man

Helping the Broken Man

In he bounded about two years ago full of energy, enthusiasm and little bit of arrogance but full of confidence.

His plan was to launch a brand new product in a sector that he reckoned was totally under serviced but one that was growing in interest and importance. He was fully convinced about the viability of this project and needed our help to design and launch it in the marketplace. We were swept along by this guys enthusiasm and everyone in the team got behind the new project – it was really exciting.

The new product did come out, probably at the worst possible time – in the middle of 2009 when no one was taking a chance on anything new. Despite his enthusiasm and powers of persuasion the revenue targets were badly missed.

The product sold well in outlets where it was given a chance on the shelves but in most others it was returned within the week! That often happens with new products that battle for space on the retailers shelves. Product feedback was really superb by the few who actually managed to get their hands on it.

A second variant of the product was planned but never saw the light of day ..insufficient funds (funds were never an issue at the start of the project!)

Fast forward to 2011 ..

We did manage to get a few quid off what was owed to Fuzion but there was still a really large sum outstanding. I guessed the phone call would be a waste of time but in any case it had to be made..

..no answer, he’s probably not up to the conversation – can’t be easy. Two minutes later I get a call back and we have a really good chat.

His other business ventures had also ceased (construction sector), he didn’t have money for me just now but promised to pay when fortunes improved. His mortgage payments have slipped by a few months and he was now job hunting. There is nothing here for him he reckoned .. his preferred destination is Australia but he wouldn’t get a work visa so he guessed he would end up in Abu Dhabi. This would be difficult as he has two young kids.

He is a broken man, his world is in tatters – he is not the only one I have met recently.

The truth is this broken man is an entrepreneur, someone who is willing to take a chance, someone who will make things happen. Sometimes things go wrong but often they go right and they end up employing people and service providers in the process.

In Ireland we need the broken man now more than ever – if you meet him give him a break and encourage him to get on his feet again.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Graphic Design, Ireland, Irish Economy | 15 Comments »

The Candidates – Deirdre Clune, Fine Gael (Cork South Central)

February 21, 2011
Deirdre Clune - Fine Gael

Impressive Deirdre - no generic flyer here!

As part of the election process I am going to do a “Ronseal” (what does their tin say about them) review of the political candidates literature that comes in through our letterbox and score them accordingly!!

Candidate: Deirdre Clune, Fine Gael (Cork South Central)

Deirdre was quite progressive in getting her literature to me to review – well done !

Design and Layout (5)
I must admit I wouldn’t be blown away by the design and layout of the literature but to be fair it is comprehensive and allows plenty of space to build the arguments and convince the reader of Deirdre’s merits – score 4

Photo (10)
The main photo of Deirdre is ok – she is wearing a light coloured smart business style jacket (against the standard Fine Gael “sky” background!) but she looks quite stern in the picture. The inside picture is much more relaxed and shows a warmer person – I have never met Deirdre so I have no idea what she is like. I like the person on the inside much more – score 7.5

Contact Details (5)
In terms of the contact details the full deal is here except .. a land line instead of a mobile number, which seems to be standard practice for all the other candidates. Deirdre has listed her website, her email address as well as her Facebook and twitter pages listed .. ok, in that respect Deirdre is very progressive allowing everyone an opportunity to really find out more about her, what she is like and what she is up to – score 5

Background (10)
Deirdre tells us about her background (she is obviously quite intelligent and very qualified), her education and profession, her family life and what she has been doing in the political arena – the flyer lists her different political posts but I am disappointed she has not listed her achievements during the course of this work – score 8

Sales Pitch (10)
The sales pitch in the flyer is quite strong – it covers the Fine Gael big items, it covers local issues that Deirdre wants to address and it also builds convincing arguments and a sense of a Fine Gael “team” – there is a good balance between Deirdre and the party message – score 8

Big Picture (10)
The big picture arguments are well made without over-promising, I liked the Fine Gael “business team” profile, which is reassuring and I just hope that these specific promises can be delivered on – score 9

Overall Score
This is not a generic Fine Gael flyer, which I love. Deirdre has put together her own literature and builds a strong argument unlike many of the other Fine Gael candidates. It shows how much you respect your voters – Well done Deirdre!! – overall score 41.5 out of 50.

Best of luck in the elections Deirdre I suspect you will do well ..

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in General Election 2011, Irish Economy, Irish Politics | 2 Comments »

Have you met your “Other Self”?

February 15, 2011
Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill – Inspirational!

I came across this powerful extract in Napoleon Hill’s inspirational book, “Think and Grow Rich” published in 1937, and written with a backdrop of the Great Depression.

“You have been disappointed, you have undergone defeat during the depression, you have felt the great heart within you crushed until it bled. Take courage, for those experiences have tempered the spiritual metal of which you are made – they are assets of incomparable value.

Remember, too, that all who succeed in life get off to a bad start, and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they “arrive”. The turning point in the lives of those who succeed, usually comes at the moment of some crisis, through which they are introduced to their “other selves”.”

Have you met your “other self”?

I know it is a terrible time for so many people but I would really urge them to dig deep (or even deeper as the case may be), try to look for the positives or the “unique” opportunities and eventually you will find a new and possible very rewarding and fulfilling path.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Irish Economy, Personal development, Self Help, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

The Candidates – Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael (Cork South Central)

February 13, 2011
Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael

Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael - tell us more Jerry

As part of the election process I am going to do a “Ronseal” (what does their tin say about them) review of the political candidates literature that comes in through our letterbox and score them accordingly!!

Candidate: Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael (Cork South Central)

This review is quite easy for me as it follows a standard format that some of the Fine Gael candidates are using – I have other candidates reviewed already so my job is easy – check out Derry Canty!

Design and Layout (5)
Jerry and his FG team opted for a really small flyer, A6 size, it’s tiny but it is printed on heavier paper than the other candidates so far. For some reason there is no mention of which constituency Jerry is running in prominently on the flyer  – score 3

Photo (10)
There is a only a fair photo of Jerry, looking just ok, giving no hint of his personality and with a slightly vacant look in his eyes. He is wearing a dark suit with a light blue shirt and red and blue striped blue tie – standard attire for a politician I guess! Would you trust this man? The photo doesn’t engage with me so I will give a neutral score here – score 5

Contact Details (5)
He includes both his email address and his personal phone number on his flyer, a nice “open” approach. As well as this he has his Facebook and twitter pages listed .. ok, that puts him in the progressive box and gives everyone an opportunity to really find out more about what he is like and what he is up to – score 5

Background (10)
There is absolutely nothing on the flyer about Jerry. When I say nothing I really mean nothing.. how can I be expected to vote for you if I know nothing about you, what you believe in, what you are qualified at, what you have achieved – score 0

Sales Pitch (10)
The sales pitch on the flyer is a generic Fine Gael pitch and not why we should vote for Jerry. To be fair it does give a point by point review of what they would do. It is a little generic though using terms such as “radical stimulus plan” and “radical reforms” , tell me more, I’d love to hear more about these radical changes .. – score 5

Big Picture (10)
The big picture argument was the same as the sales pitch and did attempt to explain how FG would make a difference. At least there is an attempt at explaining how the “big picture” might be different if we voted for them – score 8

Overall Score
This is a Fine Gael flyer with Jerry’s picture and contact details on it. As I suspected we will see exactly the same across the length and breadth of the country with other candidate’s names and pictures.

Jerry (or Derry as the case will be), people vote for people and you know this – your flyer is a wasted opportunity to get your message across to your voters. Lots of pressing the flesh is needed to show them you – check out Aine Collin’s (Fine Gael) flyer who goes some way to showing what she is like and why we should vote for  “her” – overall score 26 out of 50.

Best of luck in the elections Jerry or was it Derry!?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in General Election 2011, Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

The Candidates – Simon Coveney, Fine Gael (Cork South Central)

February 7, 2011
Simon Coveney Fine Gael

Really Impressive Simon - Well done!

As part of the election process I am going to do a “Ronseal” (what does their tin say about them) review of the political candidates literature that comes in through our letterbox and score them accordingly!!

Candidate: Simon Coveney, Fine Gael (Cork South Central)

I must admit this impressed me the minute it landed in my hand – It looks different, it feels different and my only complaint is that I wish Simon was in my constituency!

Design and Layout (5)
This is refreshing, a big glossy A3 sheet (double the size of an A4 page) delivered in a landscape 3 panel format – why not? It looks and feels good and it is totally different to all the other literature I have reviewed – what a great way to stand out!

The other and really important thing? – it is printed in Cork. I just spotted this very subtly, not oversold but a point I appreciate – score 5

Photo (10)
The main photo used for Simon is one of him “in action” – it captures someone with a real task in mind. On the inside there is a casual photo of Simon, showing a more relaxed down to earth guy – this one was just ok, but it does show a different aspect of what he is all about. All in all I would want to vote for the guy in the photo – score 9

Contact Details (5)
He includes both his email address and his personal phone number on his flyer, as well as his own website his Facebook page and his Twitter page .. that puts him in the very progressive box and gives everyone an opportunity to really find out more about what he is like and what he is up to and a real chance to interact with him (tip for Simon: more effort on the profile pic and presentation on Facebook)  – score 5

Background (10)
This is the one area where Simon left me down (I’m sure he will be gutted!) – with such a comprehensive package he didn’t tell me anything about him. Ok, you can see his positive attitude, he gives his opinions and some of his philosophy, which is really strong but what about him? What qualifies him to take a seat, what has he accomplished? – Please let me know, it’s important – score 6

Sales Pitch (10)
The sales pitch for Fine Gael is really refreshing and strong on the flyer and I would definitely get a sense that this is the way I would like to vote. However it is mostly about Fine Gael and not enough about Simon. I do like the “personal” letter that Simon has written “To every Cork person“, which appears at the back of the flyer and carries his signature. This is really about Fine Gael with just a tiny flavour of Simon as I have already mentioned. As a Fine Gael pitch it excels and I love the avoiding of the blatant Fianna Fail bashing – it is positive and forward looking, more about solutions than pointing out problems – score 8

Big Picture (10)
The big picture arguments are really strong with solid approaches and policies for the main areas. I love the “Irish pride” angle and the sense that we need to work together to drive into the future. Well done here – score 10

Overall Score
I am totally sold, but I would love to have learnt more about Simon – wasted opportunity. The arguments and presentation are strong enough for me to be convinced that Simon means business and is very serious about winning a seat. He makes promises here and they seem to have substance.

As I said in the beginning , I’m sorry Simon is not in my constituency – overall score 43 out of 50.

Best of luck in the elections Simon!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Ireland, Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Marketing, Recession | Leave a Comment »

The Candidates – Derry Canty, Fine Gael (Cork North West)

January 30, 2011
Derry Canty, Fine Gael

Derry - we want to hear about you!

As part of the election process I am going to do a “Ronseal” (what does their tin say about them) review of the political candidates literature that comes in through our letterbox and score them accordingly!!

Candidate: Derry Canty, Fine Gael (Cork North West)

Now this review is tricky as he is a namesake and I know him! .. but, the idea here is to review the candidates purely based on that flyer that comes through the letterbox. After all I reckon that is as much as most people voting will get to see of their candidates unless they have been really active in their particular area.

Design and Layout (5)
Derry and his team opted for a really small flyer, A6 size, it’s tiny but it is printed on heavier paper than the other candidates so far. For some reason there is no mention of which constituency Derry is running in – score 3

Photo (10)
There is a good enough photo of Derry, looking friendly and approachable. He is wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and a blue tie – standard attire for a politician I guess! Would you trust this man? On the higher side of average I guess! – score 7

Contact Details (5)
He includes both his email address and his personal phone number on his flyer, a nice “open” approach. As well as this he has his Facebook page listed .. ok, that puts him in the progressive box and gives everyone an opportunity to really find out more about what he is like and what he is up to – score 5

Background (10)
There is absolutely nothing on the flyer about Derry. When I say nothing I really mean nothing.. how can I be expected to vote for you if I know nothing about you, what you believe in, what you are qualified at, what you have achieved – score 0

Sales Pitch (10)
The sales pitch on the flyer is a generic Fine Gael pitch and not why we should vote for Derry. To be fair it does give a point by point review of what they would do. It is a little generic though using terms such as “radical stimulus plan” and “radical reforms” , tell me more, I’d love to hear more about these radical changes .. – score 5

Big Picture (10)
The big picture argument was the same as the sales pitch and did attempt to explain how FG would make a difference. At least there is an attempt at explaining how the “big picture” might be different if we voted for them – score 8

Overall Score
This is a Fine Gael flyer with Derry’s picture and contact details on it. I suspect we will see exactly the same across the length and breadth of the country with other candidate’s names and pictures.

Derry, people vote for people and you know this – your flyer is a wasted opportunity to get your message across to your voters. Lots of pressing the flesh is needed to show them you – check out Aine Collins flyer who goes some way to showing what she is like and why we should vote for  “her” – overall score 28 out of 50.

Best of luck in the elections Derry!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Marketing, PR | 1 Comment »

The Candidates – Martin Coughlan, Labour (Cork North West General)

January 25, 2011
Martin Coughlan, Labour Party

Martin Coughlan - Start again?

As part of the election process I am going to do a Ronseal review of the political candidates literature that comes in through our letterbox and score them accordingly!!

Candidate Election: Martin Coughlan, Labour Party (Cork North West Central)

Design and Layout (5)
A5 flyer, which is quite clean and well designed with a professional look and feel to it – score 4.5

Photo (10)
On the flyer Martin shares the photo platform equally with Eamon Gilmore, which is obviously their policy for this election. This waters down Martin’s pitch I feel. Martin is smiling, looks like a nice guy, trusting but older and probably part of the political establishment! The suit is quite formal, dark suit, white shirt and red tie, the same as Eamon’s. At a time that we need new and fresh this doesn’t do it for me – score 5

Contact Details (5)
He includes both his email address and his personal phone number on her flyer, a nice “open” approach. However there is no sign of either Facebook or twitter, where people could really interact and get to know him – score 3.5

Background (10)
Other than being a Councillor on the Macroom Town Council and Cork County Council no other information is offered as to what qualifies Martin as being a valid candidate. This stuff tells me nothing, come on sell to me .. – score 3

Sales Pitch (10)
Other than offering his honesty, dedication and experience to the national stage and getting Fianna Fail out, nothing – the crew on X-Factor have to work harder than that to get votes – score 1

Big Picture (10)
Truthfully nothing is being offered here other than getting FF out, I know that seems like the obvious argument but for gods sake give me something more than this.. please! – score 1

Overall Score
This for me sums up why FF have been getting away with so much – nothing inspirational is being offered by the opposition. Out of a possible score of 50 Martin scored 18 losing so much by offering so little … come on guys, shake it up!

Martin, tear your stock of flyers up, start again, have a good think about your target audience and give us really good reasons for voting for you!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Marketing, PR | Leave a Comment »

Why we all need to think like Steve Jobs

December 14, 2010
Steve Jobs - We need to think like him!

Steve Jobs - We need to think like him!

When we think about innovation we normally conjure up images of scientists in laboratories working on breakthrough experiments and we think of people like Steve Jobs at Apple launching great new iconic products like the iPad.

While this type of innovation is “in lights” we need to embrace some form of change and innovation in the way we have been doing things for all of us to survive.

In Fuzion we are lucky in that during the course of our work we meet “innovators” on a regular basis as part of our work, people trying to launch new products and services. For example recently we had a guy who owns a company operating in the construction sector who has just developed a new product, which he is looking to launch in the marketplace. He explained to us how excited he is at the moment and how he is now actually enjoying the new challenges that the current environment has thrown at him.

This attitude is great and shows the resolve of people who are not sitting back and innovating, mainly forced due to circumstances. This is all about doing something new but I feel innovation can come in many other ways.

I write this on the Sunday, 28th November, 2010 when the IMF bailout agreement has been put in place with Ireland (and to add insult to injury Liverpool surrendered a good performance and lead and ended up losing to Spurs!). Everyone is up in arms, protesting and venting their fury through angry conversations, online on twitter, with angry editorial in our media and yes..it is awful.

We are now paying for terrible excess, lousy governance and mismanagement in “our” country but we need to take responsibility and we desperately need to start doing things in new ways and different from the past.

What kind of innovation is needed from us?

We need to find new ways of running our country efficiently, at a much lower cost and more importantly provide new opportunities for those displaced. There is an opportunity to really sort out the excesses in the Public Sector, which must be embraced.

We need to take a new and responsible approach as to who we vote into power next time round.

We need a new system of government that promotes standards and expertise and not local favours.

We need a new tax system that incentivises risk, investment in expansion and new employment.

We need new approaches to deal with the excess in commercial and residential property in the country. There are solutions that will help here that have largely been ignored. New conditions need new solutions.

We need new approaches to red tape legislation and regulation and adopt a genuine agenda of making things happen instead of “you can’t do that because”. How about “If you do this it will be fine”?

We need a new, but fair welfare system that cares for those who genuinely are unable to work or those who cannot find work but does not reward those who choose to take an easy option.

We need new and honest attitudes towards cheating in this country.

We need new attitudes towards buying products and services from Irish suppliers.

We need new messages about Ireland and start talking up how great this country is to anyone abroad.

We need to be creative and take new approaches to finding work including “try before you buy” and this needs to be genuinely supported by our welfare systems. People who take a risk get rewarded.

We need to start having new conversations about positive things. I can’t take any more of this doom and gloom. It has us all in a very deep hole, which isn’t helping our country.

No one owes us a living, but we owe it to ourselves to reinvent ourselves as true innovators, start adopting new attitudes and new ways of doing things in Ireland.

Ok, it’s not exactly like Steve Jobs this is real innovation that we can all adopt and really need to at this stage.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Marketing, PR, Recession | 5 Comments »

New 30% of Profits Penalty tax to be introduced…

November 25, 2010

Red card

A new 30% of profits penalty being introduced would stop me in my tracks and whatever had to be done to avoid it would happen.

What is this new Penalty about?

I’m not sure about you but I have been up to my tonsils as usual at this time of the year with getting all my bits and pieces up to date for the tax deadline. The thought of financial penalties is a terrific way of focusing the mind!

When you have to, you can get really focused and the whole tax deadline scenario made me think about all the other deadlines that make us get a task completed. The bank requesting figures, VAT & PAYE returns, a tender document closing date, or even a client presentation deadline or event. We pull out the stops and invariably, always deliver on time and achieve whatever is required.

So, deadlines are effective?

Of course they are but do we have deadlines for the really important things? I find that often some of the really important tasks get pushed back because of the other deadline issues. We can easily leave other priorities get pushed to the back of the queue because they lack a pressing, external deadline that has obvious and tangible downsides.

Planning
How about setting a deadline for your annual Business Plan?

Is there really any deadline that should be more important than this? After all, this is the starting point for everything in your business and it makes all other things possible.

How about it being completed in November before everyone starts winding down for the Christmas break? Isn’t it absolutely vital that your team starts the new year with a clear focus on the objectives for the business, for their departments and for themselves as individuals?

Business Planning

Clarity
Does your business have a crystal clear goal or purpose or even a “Mission Statement” that everyone understands and is working to? This needs to be real, it needs to be practical and it needs to be supported by definite plans.

SWOT Analysis
Have you and your team completed a real SWOT analysis for your business?

Have you in detail discussed the Strengths and Weaknesses of your business? These are the things that make your business special and vulnerable all at the same time. What are the Opportunities for your business in the marketplace? Have a detailed look at these and it may even result in some required diversification. What Threats are posed to the business and how are you dealing with these?

Make sure you have done a competitor analysis as part of this. To be honest I wouldn’t get too obsessed about the competitors but you do need to understand where they are coming from and the tactics they are adopting and how they could affect you.

Play your own game, let them try to catch you!

The SWOT analysis should be done at Company level and then repeated at Department level. This will clearly highlight some key issues for all areas of the business and for the plan to be affective the business must have a clear plan around the tackling of these.

Plans are ineffective without detailed actions and someone needs to take clear responsibility for these.

Objectives & Budgets
The detailed plans and responsibilities need to be built into the department and individual’s objectives. These plans need to be supported by detailed budgets. What income targets are set for the business and what spend is required to achieve this?

As an individual I need to know about my part in the overall plan, what is expected of me and how my performance will be measured.

Performance Management
Performance Management is the ongoing evaluation of the performance of the business against the agreed plan. Of course the market is dynamic and things will change during the year, which the business will have to react to. Build this flexibility into your plans and amend them as this happens.

Positive Marketing
Make sure you have a really clear Marketing Plan written as part of your overall Business Plan. What are your Marketing Objectives and how will these be achieved?

Don’t go into retreat mode and lose the position you have fought hard to achieve in the marketplace. Be brave, it’s never been a better time to market your business. Take the terrific value that is still available in Advertising/PR/Marketing for your business and don’t ignore the free(ish) Social Media opportunities that are available to spread the word about your business.

Unique Opportunities
There are unique opportunities available in the current climate, which just won’t exist in a few years time. Be in a position to grab them with open arms and thrive.

Penalty Tax!

There is no 30% penalty tax on your profits for the not having your Business Plan ready for the start of the year. However, how much will it cost you if you go into next year unprepared?

30%, or maybe even more?

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, Irish Economy, Marketing, PR, Recession, Taxation | 1 Comment »

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