Bill and the New Year’s Resolution

December 31, 2012

sunriseBill is married to my cousin Theresa and they live in New Jersey with their three children.

In truth I don’t really know them that well as they live in the United States, but my cousin is a really good and kind person – she has always been that way, ever since we were young, when we did actually see more of each other. At most I’ve met Bill about three or four times.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few weeks thinking about my plans for the new year and some of the targets or goals that I will set for myself. I believe it’s really important to have a clear focus.

I use a little visualisation trick, which helps me along the process and crystallises some of my ideas that in some ways become my New Year’s Resolutions.

My visualisation trick is to write a diary post for the end of the next year “I had a Great year because …..” .

I simply list out all of the things that will make the next year a great one and during the year I will keep checking back on my list to see how I am progressing.

I don’t have this task completed yet but as I mentioned already, I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks – as usual its going to be a list full of ambitious work “stuff”, which seems to be my total preoccupation these days.

Let’s face it –  you dare not take your eye off your work priorities for one single minute.

Bill passed away this morning after a long battle with cancer. Theresa and their three children were by his side.

I need to rethink some of the things on my list ….

Bill – Rest in Peace

Greg 

Posted in Family, Motivation, Personal development, Positivity | 15 Comments »

Christmas Interruption ..

December 28, 2012
interrupting christmas

Spend time with your loved ones!

“60% off nearly all stock tomorrow”

When someone likes our Facebook business page, follows our business on twitter, signs up for our newsletter or follows our company blog  in effect they give us permission to send them updates, news about our business and general communication. When they “sign up” they can’t control when we might interrupt them ..when it happens, about what or how often.

Permission to interrupt is a precious gift that we should respect.

In this “social media” age it’s become part of our ritual to check Facebook and Twitter , even on Christmas morning to see what our on-line buddies are up to, including friends and family – it brings us close ..I’m looking at friend’s children open their Christmas presents, I’m watching other friends having fun pictured in their new Munster Rugby Jerseys, I’m watching family pictures, I’m watching family reunions, I’m watching my “circle” cracking jokes and enjoying their precious family day ..

In between all of this I’m also watching supermarkets,coffee shops, gift shops, hotels, breweries and APP suppliers pitching in …in fairness most of them are wishing me Merry Christmas but a few are way too enthusiastic trying to sell, announcing their sales or offering special deals.

Most of these posts will have been scheduled in advance while their social media personnel were at work before the holidays and definitely not on Christmas day!

For everyone in business …with social media there is a time to interrupt and a time to definitely not interrupt. Christmas day, is a day when it is better not to say anything even when you think you have permission …you don’t!

Merry Christmas!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion provide social media consultancy and training from our offices in Dublin and Cork

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Posted in Customer Care, Facebook, Holidays, LinkedIn, Twitter, Web Marketing | 4 Comments »

Looking for Anna

December 25, 2012

Ellen Canty - coffee

My daughter Ellen is in great form …I am so thrilled for her that life is going so well. She is enjoying her job, she is doing really well in a beauty course that she is doing at night and personally things seem to be fitting into place.

“You’re doing great” I said to her early one morning when she grabbed a lift from me to get to work.

“I am” she admitted, “I’m in great form”

As usual, not leaving anything alone I probed to see why life was so good and it was a mixture of everything that was going on in her life.

Coffee Pod, Winthrop StreetOne tiny but huge factor she attributes to her daily happiness is Anna – every morning before work she grabs a coffee at the Coffee Pod on Winthrop Street in Cork and Anna always sets her in great form with her cheery manner and warm greeting …isn’t life simple ?

Well done to Anna and all the other Anna’s out there, who put us in good form every day by the little, but huge things that they do …. I’ll be calling to the Coffee Pod soon to look for Anna to say thank you.

The small things we do can make a huge difference..

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing & PR firm with offices in Dublin and Cork

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Posted in Brand Loyalty, Customer Care, Hospitality, Staff training | 6 Comments »

I had a Great 2013 because ….

December 18, 2012
Diary entry

I has a Great 2013 because ….

Well – how did you do?

Did you achieve what you set out to achieve in 2012?

Did you make ambitious plans and fall short of them or did you make any plans at all? – If you did, well done!

I don’t know about you but making plans and actually achieving them is always challenging and at the start of the year I find myself at the start of that loop all over again making promises than often will never materialise!

A few years ago I wanted it to be a little bit different and I had my own creative and quite practical idea, which was inspired by a book I read called “The Art of Possibility” by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander (a really interesting motivational book by the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and his wife who is an executive coach).

This idea is rooted in the power of visualisation – the principle behind this is that if you visualise what you want to achieve then there is a much better chance of it actually happening (unbelievers ….stop reading now !!)

Here goes ..

Take a pen and paper and simply write your diary entry in advance for your last working day of the year to come..

Imagine just before you switch off the lights in the office, before you head out the door to do some last minute shopping and enjoy a well-earned rest, you quietly write your diary entry.

It might go like this..

23rd December, 2013

Wow, that was some exciting and really fulfilling year!

It was a great year because I really achieved what I set out to both personally and professionally and even more besides because of those opportunities that cropped up that I wasn’t even expecting. At least I had my eyes open and when they occurred I spotted them and grabbed them.

I started the year with a few really clear goals including (go for it, be specific – list at least 5!)

I thought these goals were going to be really challenging, but I achieved these as I made a few important changes in my life that were necessary such as (be honest – what needs to happen for you to achieve those goals – your conditions for success).

It wasn’t all plain sailing and I had a few setbacks but I kept a clear focus on my goals, I kept a positive outlook and by digging deep and having a clear belief in myself and my abilities I managed to achieve them all in the end.

I’m glad I kept a positive outlook and kept my eyes open for those genuinely unique opportunities, which I know will only present themselves in this challenging economic climate – it made a huge difference to my business this year, which I wasn’t expecting.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,  2013 – Bring it On!

Your signature (make sure you do this)

Put this in an envelope, place it in your top drawer and have a peep at it on the first day of every month (set a reminder in your computer to do this) and see what happens.

We did this with our full team at the end of 2010 and 2011 and I can tell you it worked out quite well, thank you very much!

We will do it again this time round – I’ll let you know how we got on in about 12 months’ time.

By the way I’ve just spent a year driving a really nice new car – guess what was on my list at the start of 2011!

…what are you waiting for?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Ireland, Motivation, Personal development, Teamwork | 2 Comments »

Dads and Daughters ..

December 15, 2012
Ellen Canty - shopping

Now what will I get ?

I found myself standing in a packed MAC concession store in Brown Thomas while my fabulous daughter went through nearly every shade of make-up, lipstick and eye shadow in the store!

This was the week before Christmas and our little tradition is that we head into town together, grab a coffee and then we go shopping for Christmas presents for her – to be honest the biggest present is the time that we put aside for just the two of us.

Last year’s shopping expedition took forever and knocked the stuffing out of both of us as we wandered from shop to shop crumbling  under the stress of too much choice and not enough budget!!

This year I think she learned from the stress of the previous year’s experience and had her heart set on one place …the MAC store!

It’s awkward being a guy in those scenarios..the store was packed full of women browsing, sampling, gazing in mirrors and soaking up the advice of eager but patient assistants. The girls stare at you as if you just shouldn’t be taking up some of their valuable floor space and the odd one will give you a friendly and sympathetic smile.

I stand aside while Ellen does her shopping. While I am waiting I see my beloved Liverpool conceding 3 against Aston Villa at home – thanks twitter …aghhh!

Eventually (to be honest it was quicker than I had feared) she settles on what she wants and Dad gets the nod ….credit card time!

Ellen Canty - coffee

Rest !

Phew …we have a nice lunch and she has to go back to the MAC store again …for a few more bits – I admit it, I just don’t get it (a buddy Phil Moore tells me on Twitter @philleonono that I’m not supposed to get it!).

Before we head home …we head for a cuppa and a glass of vino.

Daughters …you just gotta love them.

Merry Christmas Ellen, I had a great day ..love ya

Dad x

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Posted in Family, Parenting | 8 Comments »

Thierry Henry and the Tender

December 12, 2012
Thiery Henry Goal v Ireland

Farce?

Remember that feeling after Thierry Henry handled the ball and everyone saw it..

We all knew when we got just 4 days notice for this tender that the whole process was stacked against us..

How in the name of God can you turn around a decent plan in just 4 days? – this request was challenging and it was designed to work against everyone except who was lined up to get it, probably who had the contract already?

This was the third year when this contract was out for “tender”.

Year 1 – we put what we felt was a really good plan together – we put huge effort into the proposal. In any normal pitch situation we will be invited in for a briefing where we can probe the client, get an understanding of the issues and put a decent plan together. In a tender situation you don’t have this opportunity.

We weren’t even invited to present …hmmm, that’s unusual – the plan we submitted was really strong and priced competitively. Maybe the other plans were so much better that we didn’t even deserve the opportunity to present?

Year 2  – let’s dig even deeper. Our plan was really strong, priced competitively and once again we didn’t even get a chance to present. Hmmm.. that’s unusual, were we that far off the pace again? I was surprised so this time I carefully monitored the event and the media coverage to see what “magic” was delivered to the event that we were not able to provide – to be honest it seemed to be more of the same as every other year, no new ideas and more of the same formula repeated.

Ok ….this time, lets request a meeting in advance of the tender process so we can meet the team and have that opportunity to get a proper debrief. This meeting went well and we seemed to actually address all of their key issues in our previous plan – there was no point pointing that out! It was clear from this briefing meeting that the whole project had gone stale and needed a shake-up. We stated clearly that we wanted a fair crack of the whip this year.

Year 3 – We get four days notice, and they are operating to a tight budget …hmmm, that’s unfair and the launch date is nearly here.

Let’s make a choice – do we bow out (making it easy for whoever) and not accept the challenge or do we drop what we are working on, dig deep and ask the team to put everything into turning around a plan within the few days? Let’s go for it..this is a contract for a project we really wanted to work on.

We put everything into this plan, give a great price well within the stated tight budget and sure enough we get the “Dear John” letter and  once again not even the opportunity to present.

Was our plan that inferior?

I’m not bragging but when Fuzion get a fair crack of the whip we win more than our share of accounts – here we weren’t even worthy of a “look-in”. We are really busy, we have grown our business winning lots of great new contracts from Irish and international clients but this is a particular one that we were determined wanted to win.

While we pretend to be following guidelines and giving everyone a “fair” chance a lot of this appears to be window dressing and the usual suspects normally end up getting these contracts, because they always have ..this right must earned fairly.

How was that for a rant !!

Must make a cuppa, forget about Thierry and put my head down .. I have way too much to do!

A late addition to the blog post compliments of Brendan Palmer – this is a great YouTube clip

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Ireland, Irish Politics, Politics | 13 Comments »

Is that your best shot?

December 8, 2012
Ghost Estate

Creative Solutions?

Is that your best shot?

I’m not sure about you but I felt a huge sense of the inevitable about this years budget – it was a huge nothing, not in terms of what will be taken from the “easy suspects” , which is wrecking our domestic economy but it was a nothing in terms of the “solutions” , initiatives, incentives to try to revitalise and generate growth in areas that badly need it.

I was deliberately ignoring all the “headlines” on budget day but I did manage to accidentally tune into Michael Noonan being interviewed on the radio – he was declaring it a budget “for” SME’s and designed to help jobs and growth..

That was interesting – I eagerly started looking for some of the budget detail. I am a little confused as to what is in place to make it a budget for SME’s and for generating jobs and growth. Nothing!

Our government who admittedly have  a really tough job in a tough economic climate had a lot of time to work and prepare for this budget – considering the job creation issues and the huge challenge with sectors of our economy it was a huge nothing.

This budget was lazy and unimaginative, it did nothing to stimulate our economy and most significantly it did nothing to restore confidence or any spark that would encourage you to drive on and start “making things happen”.

What is sure is that the budget won’t beat us and we will drive on and create our own future … As I have said to our own team “F**k the budget“.

Is that your best shot?  Unfortunately, it probably was …..

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Ireland, Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Taxation, Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

Last work day before Christmas..

November 30, 2012

turning off lightsYou know that feeling on the last work day of the year  – you’ve worked hard and you are finishing off those last few bits before you shut off your computer, tun off the lights and head home for a well earned break after a tough slog of a year.

With a few weeks left in the year it’s natural to start easing off, it’s job nearly done and after all everyone is thinking about Christmas – we find ourselves switching down the gears and cruising till the end of year ….

STOP!! ….there’s good business still to be done, get onto people’s radar now, for next year so you can hit the ground running when it comes to January – picture how good you will feel turning off those lights after a productive few weeks –  now you can really go and enjoy your Christmas Break ..

Make the list of what you want to achieve before the break kicks in and get cracking!

Lights out ..

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing and PR firm with offices in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Marketing, Motivation, Positivity | 13 Comments »

The Widow, her two coins and the 2012 Budget

November 24, 2012

The Widow's two coinsI found myself in church recently (it happens very rarely!) as part of the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial weekend and the very contemporary Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Charles John Brown from the US presided over a special mass in honour of Hugh O’Flaherty, Ireland’s World War 2 Hero.

I thought the gospel (bear with me guys, this is going somewhere…) was very relevant with our Budget coming up soon –

Mark 12 – The Widow’s Offering

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

In the budget our bunch need to make sure they grab the nettle and take what is required from those who can afford it and where there is genuine excess they need to cut it out and please, don’t expect to take the two coins from the widow and all of those like her.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics | 9 Comments »

A Train Journey and My Top 10 LinkedIn Tips

November 21, 2012
Train Journey

Anyone I know here?

Imagine sitting on a 3 hour train journey and across from you and next to you there are other business people that you don’t know. Other than some pleasantries you arrive at your destination and there has been virtually no communication between any of you.

It happens to all of us and for me this reminds me of how most of us are using LinkedIn – we are there but not really communicating with anyone!

LinkedIn is probably the most powerful business social media platform. If used correctly it is a terrific way to make good quality connections and it can be the best and quickest of all the social media platforms to generate awareness for you and your business.

My Top 10 Tips for getting the most from LinkedIn are:

  1. Use a great photo that captures what you are all about
  2. Complete your profile properly, taking care that you write an inviting bio for readers and use the standard industry terms to describe your areas of speciality (e.g. Social Media Consultant)
  3. Request personal recommendations from satisfied clients and co-workers (even better write some for others – it will earn you lots of brownie points!)
  4. Maximise your contacts by using the using the facility whereby LinkedIn will check your own email database against those in its database
  5. Only invite people to connect that you know, have interacted with or have a good reason for justifying a connection request
  6. Try not to ignore a connection request – as long as it is not a competitor accept requests as it can help to boost your awareness
  7. Always peep at the “people who you may know” suggestions – LinkedIn is very clever and often the suggested connections can be very relevant
  8. Try to post a status update at least once a day
  9. Join relevant groups and participate proactively – comment on posts of interest to you and the very best way to boost your awareness is to start your own discussions. Using your own blog posts as discussion “starters” is very powerful
  10. THANK & be nice is my very biggest tip – It’s really important that you respect who you interact with on LinkedIn. Thank people who connect with you, personalise your invitations to connect and think about being helpful before you try to start selling. Try and stay as positive as possible.

If people like and trust you and understand what you do, they will be more likely to want to do business with you or recommend you to someone else.

The train is pulling in ..hope you made a few new connections!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion with offices in Dublin and Cork offer Social Media Consultancy and Training Services

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Posted in LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media | 14 Comments »

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