I was more than surprised at the Cork Chamber annual dinner this year that the General Manager of Mercedes-Benz sitting next to me, Liam Mullane was also a hard rock guitar hero!!
After a couple of hours of exchanging polite corporate pleasantries over a couple of drinks and roast beef, we got down to the real business and quite accidentally discovered our mutual love of rock music.
I think I told him that I found these formal events to be quite boring and that my best time ever in that very hall was to see a Thin Lizzy gig (my first convert ever!!) in 1980.
With surprising enthusiasm he told me that his favourite guitarist was Gary Moore who actually played with Thin Lizzy and from there the conversation took off.
In truth we never really know who we are talking to and what their background is – as well as listening to wonderful stories about the world of luxury car sales, I also heard about his rock and roll dreams and when big decisions needed to be made, and how sadly these dreams had to be put in the back burner.
He now runs a prestigious business but he still plays his guitar.
The next time you are sitting next to someone at a corporate function, never make an assumption that you know their story!
The chat that night was so interesting I asked Liam to guest on my Win Happy podcast so you could hear it also.
Whether you want to learn some sales tips from an expert or you want to listen to a passionate guitarist talking about music, this podcast is worth a listen!
Greg
The Win Happy podcast is available on all podcast Apps and on Spotify.
Greg Canty is the Managing Partner of Fuzion, a Brand Communications Agency in Ireland with offices in Dublin and Cork.
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 