Archive for the ‘Personal development’ Category

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The Last Burger !

July 3, 2012
Varadero, Cuba

Close your eye’s and pretend

This holiday could not be complete without one last visit to the burger bar, just off the beach as part of the resort where we were staying in Cuba.

Thankfully I discovered this little gem on the day we arrived and I am ashamed to admit it, pretty much everyday that we were here it was granted a visit …ok, I lie, one day I had a hot dog!

My tough ritual became… relax on a lounger just off the beach (under a canopy of sorts – I just sizzle in the sun), read a book, listen to all sorts of music thanks to Mr Shuffle on the iPod, go for a long walk (very necessary to walk off breakfast, justify the burger and feel better about the dinner buffet!) and then make my way to the little food hut, where a very nice man served hot dogs, burgers and an assortment of fruit.

After that it was back to the sun lounger for more music before heading back to change for the dinner buffet …maybe a drink at the bar before or after or both!

All of 10 paces from the food hut was the beach bar!!!! A full bar serving cocktails including anything with the local speciality rum, other exotic concoctions and of course beer.

Cuba Libre

If only …

The burger was washed down most days with a beer, unless I was feeling more exotic and had a Cuba Libre (rum and coke mainly)… A hard life!

So, the week at the resort is over, my place on the beach will be taken up by some other crew who will take their turn at stepping off their treadmill for a while.

For me it’s back to “real life“, work and all the other fabulous challenges that come our way, and that brief little escape is over until the next time.

All I can say is thank you Cuba, now for that burger ….

P.S. The chef thought I had lost my marbles asking him to pose for a photo with a burger (all for the blog) – he did earn a tip for his trouble, so he got over it!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Holidays, Personal development, Tourism, Travel | Leave a Comment »

Ignoring the Carrot!

June 27, 2012
Ignoring the Carrot

Ignoring the Carrot

There I sat, new job, GM of quite a large drink’s wholesale company and my new boss, the MD of one of Ireland’s largest drink companies outlined my “objectives” for the year.

Hit these objectives and you got your bonus at the end of the year …simple.

One of these was really unrealistic – he wanted me to raise the Gross Margin % from it’s current level to a higher figure. I explained clearly that this would be impossible as the business volume was shifting from pub products (higher margin) to off licence products (much lower margin) due to lifestyle trends which pretty much everyone in the industry had accepted.

This led to a really lengthy discussion where we both made our case and fought our corner with no real resolution. I explained that the “money” margin on these off licence products could actually be higher and the target should be a money one and not a % one.  At the end of the discussion he insisted that my “target” stood and I quite politely told him that it was impossible.

I left the meeting knowing this target could not be achieved but determined to drive the business forward in the most profitable way possible.

“I’m not very happy with your performance, you missed your objective and as a result you won’t be getting your bonus!”  he said to me across the desk, a year later as we had my review. He waited for my reaction, expecting me to fight my case or get all offended.

“I know, and I told you that a year ago” I responded “and to be honest I don’t really care about a bonus if it’s based on the wrong criteria. I care about doing a good job” …. silence.

After that , we never really got on too well. I guess it was because I didn’t behave like the others he was used to dealing with and the “Carrot” didn’t matter to me one way or the other.

You don’t always need a carrot to force good work and if you’re making targets for your team make sure they are realistic and they believe in them.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Accounting, Business Planning, Motivation, Personal development | 4 Comments »

I’m more important than you!

June 23, 2012

I must put down my towel for the morning !

Will I move their towels I wonder?

A few years ago we were holidaying in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast in Italy and had treated ourselves to a really nice boutique hotel spectacularly located looking out to sea.

The hotel had a small private swimming pool that was surrounded by a number of comfortable sun loungers. While this was great the problem was that there was never enough sun loungers and you had to be quite sharp about securing your space.

On our first day we realised that if we wanted a space by the pool then we would have to get there early – first come, first served , which was fair enough , in particular if you wanted a good spot.

With some relaxation in mind we made sure we got to the poolside early the next morning to discover we were one of first there but the best sun loungers already had towels on them, clearly reserved by some hotel guests who no doubt would be down in a minute.

We took two of the remaining loungers and started to relax and I was shocked to see the “pre-bookers” only arriving two hours later to take their spots by the pool. That’s not very fair I thought and we weren’t the only ones to notice as others seemed to look up disapprovingly from under their sunglasses.

Amalfi CoastThe following day exactly the same thing happened with exactly the same people and everyone just put up with it allowing this couple to get away with thinking they were effectively better than the rest of us.

Not only were they taking an advantage for themselves but they were taking an entitlement away from everyone else … I was really cross but yet did nothing. Who was going to be the one to have a word or merely just shift their towels onto the ground risking an unwanted argument with a stranger when you on holidays trying to relax?

I’m writing this from a KLM 10 hour flight on route to Cuba with a very stiff backside and I just had a similar scenario with seat space. At 6 ft tall it’s hard to get comfortable and it gets a little worse when the person in front of you pushes their chair back to relax. They are well entitled but it does squeeze up your own space.

This time as I struggled to get comfortable I decided I would recline my seat a little … No sooner than I did this, I felt someone from behind hitting the back of my seat. At first I thought maybe my seat went back too fast and it ended up spilling a drink over the guy behind. I looked behind and made an “apology” gesture and thought that would have looked after it.

No such luck …. this wasn’t enough for my new friend who kept aggressively hitting the back of my seat. I thought quickly about getting into one and decided in the end that it was cramped for everyone and I would give him a break and pull my seat back up!

There was no way this guy was going to let someone invade his space. I thought about my friend and his “no messing” and yes, very aggressive way of dealing with a situation …. It’s a pity he wasn’t in Sorrento I thought !

Why do some people feel that they are just better than the rest of us, and why do the rest of us put up with it?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Air travel, Holidays, Personal development, Tourism | 4 Comments »

A Silicon Valley “State of Mind”

June 20, 2012
John Hartnett - ITLG

A Silicon Valley “State of Mind”

I am just back from a really uplifting Cork Chamber breakfast where the attendees had the pleasure of listening to John Hartnett, a Limerick man who is now working and living in Silicon Valley.

He was speaking about an initiative he is involved in called ITLG (Irish Technology Leadership Group), which is all about facilitating the Irish to succeed in Silicon Valley.

While the topic was absolutely fascinating what was even more interesting was his observations about Ireland and the Irish, which he can now do quite well “as an outsider, looking in” as he put it and the differences with Silicon Valley.

He spoke about Silicon Valley not being a place but being a “State of  Mind” and after listening to him speak for half an hour you get to understand exactly what he meant even by the language he chose in his presentation and in the Q&A afterwards.

The people in Silicon Valley work with a focused intensity, everything is possible, failure is often considered as a natural step on the ladder to success, mega opportunity is better than “niche”, we need to change the game and it’s all about “out of the park” ideas ….I was enthralled!

OK, we can see the big American influence but the language, both tone and content was totally infectious.

John spoke of the Irish having natural advantages such as being smart and sociable with great story telling ability but not being so great when it came to pitching and selling – “our kids should be presenting regularly at school so standing up in front of an audience and pitching your idea should be the most natural thing in the world when it matters”  he commented.

Silicon ValleyHe spoke about the very tangible “Negativity Bubble” in Ireland that we need to lose as quick as possible .. we need to get aggressive and go after it, we need to shake things up and make positive things happen. He spoke about getting more of the successful ex-pat Irish community in the US involved in the right organisations in Ireland such as the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the Science Council.

Not only did John make perfect sense but he gave everyone in the room a huge injection of positivity – Thank you John.

Cancel all flights …don’t let him leave the country!

What’s your State of Mind?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Note:

Colm Healy from Skelligs Chocolate gave me a great link to a “Ted” talk by Cameron Herold about “raising kids to be entrepreneurs“.

 

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Posted in Business Start Ups, Ireland, Irish Economy, Marketing, Personal development, Positivity, Recession | 11 Comments »

Vacation & Waiting for the Big Idea!

June 3, 2012
Varadero Cuba

Big Idea …. where are you?

I know that whenever I get a break new ideas start coming to me.

The minute you step off that treadmill of “doing“, the minute you let your mind settle and unclutter those ideas come to you. It’s as if all the other “stuff” is a block that prevents that clear thinking that is needed to come up with those fresh ideas.

So what’s happening? … I’m here sitting on the beach in Varadero, Cuba, sipping on a Mojito listening to the waves roll in gently. I’m surrounded by holiday makers lying on the beach, some asleep, some reading, all of them relaxing. A few of the energetic ones are in the water and some are walking the fabulous beach in their bare feet.

I’ve been on holidays for nearly a week now , I’ve managed to unwind (at least I think so) pretty much fully so where are you?

Come on big idea , major insight, incredible revelation…. I’m waiting!!

Maybe the Big Idea is I need to take more breaks!!

If that big idea comes over the next few days, I’ll let you know!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Holidays, Personal development, Positivity, Tourism, Travel | 11 Comments »

Why do we Subtract when we could be Adding?

April 13, 2012
add or subtract

Do I subtract or can I add?

On a gorgeous sunny day recently I sent out a tweet – “Make hay when the sun shines – it’s a great time to close those deals #Positivity”

Well, that’s what I meant to say …. With the predictive typing on my iPhone the intended message went out as “May hay when the sun shines ….” Oopps!

I didn’t realise my error until I received a message on LinkedIn by a connection letting me know in no uncertain terms “the expression is make hay….“.

I was really annoyed to see the comment – ok it was a mistake, but surely anyone who read it would have seen the positive intent behind the post instead of being pedantic and motivated to just point out my error.

As annoyed as I was feeling I reflected on this criticism and realised that at times I do exactly the same myself. Recently I was at an event where we spotted a few grave “errors“.

We read through the event brochure and spotted a poem as part of the literature – initially I thought this was a novel idea and when I read it I spotted a “typo“. Surely a crime worth at least 1,000 lashes!

They had used the word “there” when they should have used the word “their” …. Tut tut! Of course I enjoyed my discovery and shared the error with the person sitting next to me.

At the same event we spotted the careless use of logos on the large screens – low resolution, poor placement and white border that could easily have been removed ….. Tut tut! Once again it was worthy of a little conversation and maybe another 1,000 lashes?

Did these errors reduce our enjoyment of the evening .. Of course not!

Why do we take pleasure at spotting mistakes? In this scenario we were in effect criticising a voluntary committee who clearly had gone to a lot of work for the night and instead of acknowledging the positives we were busy taking a little pleasure in how sharp we were in spotting someone’s errors.

Just like my critic that felt obliged to comment on my error instead of complimenting me on the sentiment …

Why do we subtract when we could be adding ?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, Personal development, Positivity | 12 Comments »

This is my “Colleague”

April 6, 2012

Fuzion gang

At what point did we end up being work “colleagues“?

I must admit that it never sits well with me when I hear the word “colleague” being used during introductions of co-workers at meetings or functions.

Is it just me or am I the only one who thinks it is the worst, dispassionate, unfeeling way to introduce someone you work with?

When I the hear the words being used I automatically think that we just “work together” and that’s about as far as any bond goes – maybe I am over analysing it but I feel it lacks emotion, depth and personally it leaves me cold.

In some organisations maybe that is the reality (I’ve worked in places like that!) but at best the “introduction” words used should convey something positive that reflects the spirit of the organisation.

So … What is the right language to describe someone you work with?

Fuzion team

The one that works best for me when I really think about it is the description “team-mate” – after all, we are on the same team, fighting for the same cause, we don’t have to particularly like each other (it obviously helps that you do like and respect who you work with) but we do wear the same jersey and the word does have a strong positive association to it.

It still feels strange to use the description as it seems to be reserved for a sporting context but even on websites and on credentials documents we often see the words “our team” being used and you see people say things like “our dedicated team will look after you” ..

… we don’t normally see a section describing the personnel as “colleagues“, but I guess you will often see in emails “one of my colleagues will contact you” … awful, maybe I am wrong?

If you use the right words it can be a powerful way in describing what kind of organisation you are.

Is it just me? .. how do you describe the people you work with?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Personal development, Recruitment, Teamwork, Uncategorized | 16 Comments »

Keeping your feet on the ground

April 3, 2012
Greg Canty & Kevin O'Shea, Fuzion at the DMA's 2012

Boys looking sharp at the DMA's

It was a big night for me and the Fuzion crew.

We just received our new business cards with our new brand revealed as we headed out the door to the Nokia Digital Marketing Awards in Dublin at the National Convention Centre where I was a judge and we were sponsors.

We put on the glad rags for this very glamourous and prestigious affair and I made an extra effort taking out the white dickie bow …. very dapper (very Downton Abbey as someone said to me)!

Over we marched to the event and arrived early so we could liaise with the event crew about the workings of the Fuzion twitter quiz, which was to run between courses during the night. We were greeted by the event signage where our new branding was on display alongside household names such as Nokia. Dee kindly jumped in and photographed me and our fab creative director Kevin O’Shea in front of the branding …. all done quickly before people arrived!

The night was a huge success and a very proud one for us and for me personally. Our brand was on display constantly as the quiz ran during the evening and then came the moment when I had to go on stage and present Blue Cube with an award for the Best Social Media campaign – this was the “real deal“, opening the envelope, cameras everywhere and posing for photos ..

When I was walking from the stage Barry Murphy, the MC from Aprez Match fame made a comment that I should win a smart dressed award … this night was getting better and better!

We had a cool crew at our table including the “boys about town” from B Scene, Brendan Scully and Sean Montague who whisked us off to Lillies Bordello – do you think we had to queue? No chance …. our boys were so well known that our crew were whisked quickly in past the queue and marched straight upstairs to the VIP room.

We sat around, ordered our Mojitos  and chit chatted as the fab hostess looked after her bunch of VIPs!

Unable to contain myself I was busy tweeting about my fabulous night of accomplishments and all of a sudden I misjudged my balance, the stool wobbled and I quickly tipped backwards and ended up with my two legs up in the air with the full VIP section of Lillies looking at me ….. “pathetic drunk” …. no one said that but I’m guessing that’s what some of them were thinking!

Red faced I finished my drink, put my twitter machine away and asked if anyone fancied a whopper in Burger King.

Guess I needed to get my feet back on the ground!

Thanks for reading ….. (it was a great night)

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Marketing, Personal development, Positivity, PR, Social Media, Teamwork | 3 Comments »

No, not yet and nothing at all

March 15, 2012
American Idol Judges

"Not Yet"

Another young hopeful prepares for their huge moment in front of the judges … will they get to Hollywood?

Of course the scene is set with their touching interviews ..this is what they have always dreamt of and if this doesn’t come through for them, their life will be over!

The big performance happens and then they wait for the judges verdict… The scene is set as the music plays in the background to heighten the drama and tension of this make or break moment.

This is American Idol…one by one, Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler give their verdicts.

Expecting to hear a simple “yes” or “no” as we have come to expect from these shows I am surprised to hear Steven Tyler, the Aerosmith legend say “not yet” to the young hopeful.

“Not yet” …I hadn’t heard that language used before on the show and it struck me that it was a really great way of rejecting the young singer in a positive manner, dealing them that dreaded news but in a way that left them feeling encouraged and that the world hadn’t ended.

I guess in the show someone had reflected on the whole Yes/No scenario and decided that there was an option and some sense of responsibility around the cold delivery of rejection – why not do it differently so that it might actually leave people feel ok about themselves and willing to possibly try again next time?

With young vulnerable people there is a particular responsibility to show encouragement even in a negative situation.

In business we all face rejection and at times we also have to do the rejecting …

“No”

“I’m not interested”

“No, it’s not for me”

“Thank you for all your efforts but unfortunately not at this time”

“Sorry, it’s not exactly what we are looking for”

“Unfortunately our budget won’t stretch that far”

– there are so many ways to say no and while it is always tough hearing it ,”not yet” or some sign of appreciation or encouragement always softens the blow.

Worse than “no” has to be the Nothing ..

Feel Good LostMy son, Brendan Canty who is new to the business world and doing really well with his music and film production company, Feel Good Lost shared some of his recent frustrations with me.

He spoke about a recent situation where he had put a fortune of work into a pitch, mocked up sample footage, presented and received encouraging feedback and then hears “nothing” back from the prospect.

He waits, he emails, he texts, he calls and despite his considerable efforts ….nothing. Then you tread a line between being pushy and just wanting some feedback. It drives him nuts, not receiving any feedback. As he says himself, he would prefer to get a clearcut “no” rather than the dreaded “nothing” treatment.

This experience bothered him so he came to me looking for some inspiration or advice … “Brendan, welcome to my world!“.

This happens in business and unfortunately it is just something that you have to live with as some people are either being rude or they just have a huge problem with saying “no”.

Is “No” better than nothing ?

Greg Canty is partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, Personal development, Positivity, PR, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Grey matters

March 4, 2012

Grey or brown with grey flecks?“How will I recognise Deirdre and Greg?” , Gina’s mum asked. Gina is one of the Fuzion crew and her mum does some work at Manor West Retail Park in Tralee. We were attending an event at the centre and her mum wanted to introduce herself.

“Greg is tall with grey curly hair and Dee will more than likely be with him” … That’s a reasonable explanation but it came to me like a devastating bolt from the blue and nearly knocked me over when I heard it..

“Grey, are you kidding? ….. my hair is brown with some flecks of grey” I seriously questioned Gina’s explanation of my hair colour … “No Greg, your hair is grey” she reassured me with a definite sense of authority but I was still convinced that she was just winding me up.

The truth is I wasn’t kidding – surely I know better than anyone else what colour my hair is? I look at it everyday in the mirror and without giving it a lot of thought I truly believed my mop of hair was brown with grey flecks !

This little “realisation moment” occurred towards the end of last year and it did knock me back … The boy is officially getting (looking at least) old!

This does tell you a lot about how we see ourselves and how differently others see us …. It does tell you how everything is constantly changing and we need to realise that our assumptions and beliefs need flexibility to match ….. It does tell you that you can be wrong about things that are under or over your nose!

It does tell me that sadly eyesight might also be an issue!!

I could pretend that when I had brown hair people underestimated my incredible “wisdom” because I looked so young – as a result I decided to dye it grey so I looked older!!!

Would I get away with that one do you think?

Because after all …. Grey matters!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion PR

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Posted in Marketing, Personal development, PR, Uncategorized | 12 Comments »

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