Smiles through gritted teeth!

As each day goes by I look more & more like Shrek!

I was fortunate to attend last week’s Council meeting to elect the new Metropolitan Mayor, or Metro Mayor as it has now been shortened to, of Waterford City.

As a side note I still read, via the interweb and social media, that there is continued confusion as to why we have two Mayors.

Yes, we have one “Senior” Mayor for the City and Council, who oversees the full plenary Council meetings of 32 Councillors and we have a Metropolitan Mayor of Waterford City, who oversees the Council’s Metropolitan District meetings of 18 Councillors. In addition there are the Comeragh District, 6 Councillors, and Dungarvan/Lismore District, 8 Councillors, neither of which has a Mayor, but they each have a Chairperson. In the future they may well wish to elect their own Mayors, in which case we could end up with four – confused, you may well be!

Anyway back to last week.

At a packed City Council Chambers, on the first floor of the Council buildings on The Mall, we awaited the election, nominations and voting on what turned out to be a two horse race, between Councillor John Hearne (SF) and Councillor L. Cha O’Neill (Ind). You can pre-judge how the voting will go just by looking around the Chamber and counting the number of supporters each candidate has in the public gallery. There were substantially more John Hearne supporters than Cha O’Neill so there would be no surprises on the night.

The order of Mayoral Office candidates was agreed at the very first amalgamated Council meeting, some two years ago, under a system called The D'Hondt Method. This proportionately allocates seats, or in this case positions, based on voting averages. Take into account the supplementary agreements made between the various pact groupings and you could have literally put your house on John Hearne getting the gig.

As is the process with elections, the two candidates still had to be nominated and seconded by fellow Councillors. The Chair also asked for any additional candidates to come forward – but alas none would be selected to add spice, to what would be a tame meeting. It was during this process that we heard the Proposers talk about their candidate and we listened to all manner of contributions that each contender had made to the Council and their Community.

A packed Press Centre!

There was even a suggestion that due to the high number of votes received by Councillor Hearne, at the last elections, he should have been a shoe in for Mayor and even Plenary Mayor. But the fact is at the last Local Council elections we were not voting for a Mayor, we were electing Councillors!

Maybe we do need to have elected Mayors and this would add a whole new dynamic to our local politics. We might even get a Boris!!!!!

Votes cast, there was no surprise that Councillor John Hearne was duly elected by a massive landslide majority of support.

For me the most interesting part of the meeting was after the votes were cast when Councillor after Councillor quite clearly spoke through gritted teeth about how they would support this historic new SF Mayor for Waterford City (Metro Mayor).

Clearly they were playing to the galleries of press in attendance, as I have seen no evidence over the last two years of certain Councillors supporting the opposition! In fact I would go further and say that deep down, many didn’t wish for a SF Mayor, but due to the pact and The D'Hondt Method they had little choice.

So, going forward will we see the Entente Cordiale continue throughout 2016 and into 2017?

David v a Goliath

I would hazard a guess that we will be back to normal at the next Council meeting, where swords will be drawn and normal hostilities will resume. Politics will never change!

As we are still at the bottom of the economic league table, I do wonder if a SF and FF Mayoral combination can be our Wales/Iceland to get us competing with the big boys? I wouldn’t put my house on it!

On a sporting day of green Waterford City is turned orange!

Start line - George's Street.

I was fortunate to be asked to Chair the South Eastern Cancer Foundation Solas Centre's main charity fundraiser in 2015, namely the "South East Run and Walk for Life". As a fundraising event it is of huge significance to the Solas Centre so how could I refuse the request. Being involved has literally blown my socks off in terms of how important the Solas Centre is to so many lives right across the South East. 

In light for this my blog this week is the actual final press release I wrote covering the "Run and Walk for Life 2015". I am sure that readers will get a flavour of the event and how we plan to make the occasion even bigger in 2016. 

On Sunday 11^th October over 2,000 people ran, jogged, walked and crawled their way around the Solas Centre Run and Walk for Life courses. It was a day of great joy and huge positivity as thousands of people took on the challenge of the 10-mile running route or the 5-mile walking route.

All participants set off from Gladstone Street at 12:30 on the dot and proceeded down The Quay, up The Mall and then spilt, with walkers heading up John’s Hill and runners heading out towards the ring road, before turning back towards the City at the Ballindud roundabout. Both the runners and walkers passed the Solas Centre at the Williamstown roundabout before once again splitting and then converging once more to travel down the Dunmore Road and finally into the People’s Park and across the finish line. Once medals were handed out, every single finishing participant and their supporters enjoyed the Fun for Life, which continued late into the afternoon.

On such a big sporting day when the whole country had literally gone green, with the Rugby World Cup and Euro 2016, Waterford City was a sea of orange as far as the eye could see.

Commenting on the successful day was Michael Garland, Chair of the Solas Centre Run and Walk for Life, “On behalf of the organising committee we would like to thank ALL the participants, our sponsors, volunteers and everyone who gave up their time to help with the event.

Team Pete.

To see so many taking part was honestly just joyous and we knew at the end of Saturday night’s registration that the numbers were going to be very good. In fact we have exceeded our target of 2,015 participants and that is testament to ALL involved and verification that the Solas Centre holds a very special place in so many people’s hearts.

The introduction of the 5-mile walk has opened up a whole new group of participants and we will start planning the 2016 event in the next few weeks once we have had time to take on board all the feedback. We know that to bring the event to another level in 2016 we have to look at some aspects of combining runners and walkers and we will do this in preparation for next year’s event.

Once again we would like to thank ALL those who took part and ALL those who helped with the event. We look forward to seeing you ALL in 2016.”

As Chair of the Solas Centre Dr Brian Creedon is responsible for operating and running the Solas Centre, “As Chair of the Solas Centre I have to thank all involved from the Committee to the runners and walkers. We set a very ambitious target, in terms of numbers, and I am thrilled that we reached and exceeded that target.

Team Dog!

From the moment Mayor John Cummins officially started the event to the moment the very last walkers completed the course it was one of the most rewarding 4 hours I have so far experienced in all my previous Run for Life events. 2015 will be remembered as the event that literally put the Run and Walk for Life back on the map.

With such a large event we could not organise it without the support of our many sponsors and event partners. The main sponsors in 2015 were of course Datapac and Beat 102-103 and the likes of Waterford Council, Garda and other volunteer organisation rolled in behind the event. There are far too many to mention and we will in due course acknowledge everyone with an open “Thank you” night in the Solas Centre.

Once again we would like to thank all the 2,000 participants and we look forward to welcoming you all back in 2016.”

Unchained melody hits the wrong note!

Positive public relations (PR) for the City and County is an essential part of our marketing mix and is something that, as I have said time and time again, we ALL need to be aware of if we are to promote that City and County in a positive light.

The last seven to ten days have been filled with positive news stories right across the City and County. From the opening of the Lafcadio Hearn Japanese styled gardens in Tramore to the Medieval Festivals in the City and Dungarvan, Dromana 800 in West Waterford to the Promenade Festival in Tramore, Day Tripper concerts in Bolton Street and the Summer In The City musical treats in John Roberts Square and Wyse Park, (to name but a few) we really did have an awful lot to take in over the last seven to ten days.

And all of these events help create a general positive experience when it comes to making us feel better about our City and County and with the local papers full of pictures of our smiling sun drenched beaming pasty faces, eating ice cream, and attending these events, this creates a sense that we are all very predisposed to the upbeat PR messaging we are reading. These messages make us feel warm and fuzzy inside and that is good.

These most simple of generic PR messages have reinforced our knowledge that when all is said and done Waterford really is a great place to live, work and play.

The opposite side of the coin is of course how we might view and comprehend the mountains of self generated PR we come across on a daily basis.

For example, over the last 7 to 10 days we can also throw into the mix all the media and social media commentary on the appointment of the Mayor of Waterford City and County and the appointment of the Mayor of the Waterford Metropolitan area. And when we sit down in the cold light of day to review this messaging do we all believe that these types’ messages also show the City and County in the same positive light?

We have one Mayor serving the City and County (who chairs the main Waterford Council plenary meetings) and one Mayor serving the Metropolitan area of the City (who chairs the Metropolitan area Council meetings). This does of course lead to some confusion on behalf of, us, the members of the public and also leads to a number of protocol issues around who will or will not wear the ceremonial chains at this event and that event.

There is also another interesting PR dynamic that we will all see develop over the next ten months with both Mayoral councillors no doubt keeping one beady eye on the date of the next general election. Councillor Quinlan has already thrown his hat into the ring and I have no doubt the Councillor Cummins may well be contemplating doing the same.

With both of these Councillors in opposing political camps it will be very interesting to see who actually takes the lead in are

a of self generated PR and will the vast pages PR that each will undoubtedly generate be for the benefit of the City and County or the benefit of the individual?

Let us not be fooled as this process has already started and we have begun to see “the chains” being rolled out at this event and that event. The race has begun to stake a claim as a preferred candidate for the next general election and it will be most intriguing to monitor the progress of these two Councillors as they begin to position themselves with their respective party hierarchy.

So we must review and interpret the entire mountains of PR we read and are bombarded with on a daily basis and any messaging contained therein must be scrutinised and understood. We all must look at what we are reading and assess if this is, at the time of reading, relevant to “me” and if it is we will remember the context of what we read and therefore we will be more apt to regurgitate at a later date. If however, what we are reading is of no interest whatsoever to us we will conveniently forget what we have read and have no further interaction with the content of any PR article.

To be able to be interactive with any PR that we come across it is important that it is of relevance to us and perhaps more importantly it is vital that what we read connects with us and therefore plays in some way with our senses. PR will take us through a whole roller coaster of emotions and cleverly written PR will drive home specific messages that will become pertinent to us time and time again.

For Waterford City and County to continue to exponentially grow in importance within ALL of us we must keep reading positive PR messages. Messages that are not about individual self promotion rather messages that are about the greater good of Waterford Inc.

Remember to read between the lines to get the real meaning of any PR.

There's rays of hope as City gets its place in the Sun!

My Grandpa always told me to very, very conscious of how you speak to people outside of your place of work and also championed the mantra that you must never judge a book by its cover.

These are two extremely important points to bear in mind if you own and run your own business as you must always remember that you are really never off duty and you are perpetually having to fly the flag for your own business. YOU are your business’s most important brand ambassador and therefore when you communicate with people face to face, on the mobile phone, by email, by letter or via social media remember that you will continually be judged in relation to your own business. And I will come back to this towards the end of this week’s article.

Waterford City retained its recent run of positive news stories this week when on Wednesday 25^th March Sun Life moved into their new premises, and these new premises were officially opened by Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton, Mayor of Waterford Cllr James Tobin, Sun Life’s Senior Vice President for Client and Technology Services David Healy, and Sun Life’s General Manager Karen Burns. All these speakers spoke of the drive and determination to make the Waterford arm of Sun Life’s global network one of the jewels in the business’s portfolio crown.

Sun Life in Waterford employs circa 300 staff members and the expansion into new premises gives a potential to employ many, many more and VP David Healy spoke of the team ethic of Waterford’s employees and their hard work and dedication that has made the Waterford facility as important as any other of Sun Life’s worldwide locations. In fact Minister Joan Burton also highlighted the fact that on a recent visit to the Group’s HQ the Waterford operation was talked about at Board Room level as one of the business’s best brand ambassadors. It is hoped that in future years Sun Life will take on several new staff members and this new premises is ready and suitable for any future expansion.

The opening of Sun Life’s new premises was much more than just another IDA backed expansion of an existing global business in Ireland. This was really a local team effort on many fronts and a huge amount of credit must go to Sun Life’s senior staff members for making sure that where ever possible contractors for the new premises were sourced locally. This commitment to source locally shows how it can be done, shows how it should be done and perhaps many other organisations should take note and copy this model. We need to see more large orga

nisations make a commitment to source locally as we all know that this makes commercial, financial and social sense.

There were a number of senior contractors engaged in the Sun Life project and these included; CJ Falconer and Associates Architects, Nevin Construction and Fieldmaster (Office Design and Service). There were also a number of smaller local contractors who were involved in the supply and fit out of IT, audio visual and so on. In total over 100 local people were involved in the project and that is a significant number of wage packets being invested directly back into our local economy.

Sun Life could easily have championed “a company sourcing or tendering policy from HQ” to use one particular supplier for this project. But they did exactly the opposite and credit must be given to them for making a commitment to source as much as possible from local Waterford businesses. The challenge is now to get other multi-nationals, government departments, and local authorities etc to look closer to home when seeking to find new suppliers. If there is a commitment to copy the Sun Life model then everyone will benefit. After all what is the sense in seeing wages being spent in Dublin, Limerick or Galway? We need a holistic approach to sourcing and engaging with local companies but above all we need leadership to make that commitment to try “by hook or by crook” to use local companies and therefore engage with local employees.

In addition to good news from Sun Life on Thursday 26^th March the Waterford Mail launched its first every annual golf charity competition in Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Club. A poignant moment for me to return to my first ever place of employment in Waterford City. The event will raise money for three local beneficiaries and I do hope that this event will be supported by local businesses as the causes do need the additional support that the money raised will bring.

Whilst at the launch I had the opportunity to meet with the new owner, Seamus Walsh (and his team), of Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Club and I have to say that I would be extremely encouraged that we will finally see this iconic island realise some of its latent potential. I believe that the new owner will not only make a significant difference to the Castle but he will also be an integral part of a resurgent Waterford and I am sure that he will be an important voice who will champion the need to connect with the people of Waterford City and County and the wider region. We wish you the very best of luck in your new venture.

 

So the above ultimately brings me back to my opening paragraph. I spent last week meeting with some wonderful business people who were to a man and women consummate professionals and ultimate brand ambassadors for their own businesses. And yet my week ended on a sad and bitter note that can ultimately be attributed to poor customer service.

On Sunday 29^th March, having competed a gruelling 100 kilometre charity cycle for Mount Sion Secondary School in aid of new Astroturf pitches, in hurricane like conditions, with a number of fellow The Biscuit Club members, I was met by a business owner who told me “Not to park that piece of s***e (my bicycle)” next to his apparently expensive bike. Initially shocked by this verbal attack I obviously had to retort in my usual Scottish manner. But this “business ambassador”, and I use this phrase loosely, has now lost a customer and a potential significant customer, as I will ultimately upgrade my “piece of s***e” at some time possibly later this year, but unfortunately not with him.

In business you must at all times take care how you speak to people as you can never be sure just where your next customer might come from!

“Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.” Food for thought. 

Everyone must be a brand Waterford Ambassador!

I attended the decommissioning ceremony for the Irish Naval vessel La Aoife. This vessel is in fact twinned with Waterford City. The ceremony took place at 15:00 on Saturday 31^st January, at Forde Wharf, in the presence of the Minister of State at the Department of Defence Paul Kehoe TD, Rear Admiral Mark Mellett DSM, friends and family of the many crew members (past and present of the La Aoife) and many other dignitaries too numerous to mention.

I also spotted representation from the 1848 Tricolour Celebration Committee, Waterford Business Group, Waterford In Your Pocket as well as many of our very supportive local media.

Maybe due to the absolutely bitterly cold wind blowing right down the Suir Estuary, making my eyes run constantly and preventing me from wearing my kilt, that I failed to notice any significant representation from our 32 Councillors. I did see the City and County Mayors (we have two Mayors in Waterford) and two additional Councillors, but very few others. I understand that there was Mayoral Civic Reception held the night before but surely the decommissioning ceremony, in the presence of a Minister of State, with national TV coverage should have been attended by a significant number of Councillors and not the scattering I and many others noticed and commented on?

It was also great to see RTE South East, with Damien Tiernan and his dedicated crew fighting the elements, filming the decommissioning ceremony and managing to get the whole service from the cutting room floor to being broadcast on RTE Six One News only a few hours later. Well done to all.

You simply cannot buy the sort of publicity and branding the La Aoife has generated for Waterford City. The La Aoife has been one of the City’s greatest ever ambassadors and we owe a great big thank you to her last Captain Marie Gleeson, and her dedicated crew, who worked extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure that the La Aoife was decommissioned in Waterford City and not Cork.

We must also acknowledge the work of Councillor Eddie Mulligan who in his capacity as a new public servant and in his role with the Naval Reserve (Waterford) also worked away in the background to bring this vessel eastwards, away from Cork, for her final official ceremony here in Waterford City.

Over the last number of years the La Aoife crew have raised in excess of €35,000 for our hospital and this has been done without fuss or ceremony or publicity. We owe a huge thank you to all those who raised funds over the past numbers of years.

But what of our future relationship with the Irish Navy now that the La Aoife is decommissioned? Will Waterford City be twinned with another of the Navy’s newer vessels or will we simply be forgotten?

I do know that a number of official requests have been lodged and submitted requesting that the new vessel, Le James Joyce, be twinned with Waterford City once the vessel is commissioned later in 2015.

As we are all too aware “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray!”

So we ALL need to ensure that our relationship with the Irish Navy, as maritime City, continues and if readers are interested in continuing this relationship then please lobby your local TD’s and Councillors to ensure that the Le James Joyce does in fact become twinned with our wonderful City and we can continue to see the name of Waterford City promoted and literally carried around the vast seas that surround this island.

On Friday last I had the immense pleasure to spend some time with three Committee members of the Ballybeg Brick by Brick appeal. We got in touch with each other on the back of the Waterford Business Group organising its own fundraising night on the 28^th February, at Kilcohan dog track. The Waterford Business Group unanimously decided at our weekly group meeting to give part of the nights fundraising directly to this appeal. So coming along and support if you can.

The three committee members I met must also be considered as brand ambassadors for Waterford City. What happened in Ballybeg was nothing short of horrendous and yet only a few days later a committee was founded and action plans were being drawn up.

The appeal has been promised the earth, moon and stars by a vast number of political representatives and it will be the responsibility of those who have made these many promises to deliver and deliver within a timescale that is appropriate and suitable for Ballybeg. There are large numbers of community groups relying on a renaissance that must happen within a period of weeks and not over a period of months. The longer the rebirth of this area takes the longer it will simply be forgotten and the citizens of Waterford City cannot allow that to happen.

I saw a determination and drive in the three Committee members that tells me they will make sure Ballybeg rises from the ashes - just like the mythical Phoenix does. But this group will need help, encouragement, guidance, advice and much much more. It is everyone’s responsibility to be a part of the rebuilding process and I would urge that we make the regeneration of Ballybeg a good news story for the whole of Waterford.

In business every staff member is a brand ambassador for that business, whether they like it or not. Even when you are not at work you will always be associated with your company, business or place of work. Like the La Aoife, its crew, and the Ballybeg Brick by Brick Appeal committee we need to work very hard to create the right image and right impression if we are to flourish as businesses. This means being constantly aware how we act and more importantly how we deal with our customers.

There is absolutely no point in Waterford working hard creating a brand image of the City if once you come here you experiences something completely different. Good customer service builds your brand image and bad customer service destroys your brand image.

The businesses across Waterford need to be aware of their brand image and through better customer service we will build a better brand Waterford. In light of this the Waterford Business Group are providing FREE customer care workshops to members starting from Monday 9^th February and taking place in Lady Lane Library every Monday and Friday morning throughout the month of February. See www.waterfordbusinessgroup.com 

Finally, I often find that it is those who work hardest to make a project come to fruition that never seem to get the credit they deserve. Strange but true!

Fail to Prepare & You Prepare to Fail

In business it is essential that there are structures to any organisation and from within those structures it is crucial that the business prepares strategies and plans. These strategies and plans will take into account areas such as the market sector the business operates in, peaks and troughs in relation to sales trends, staffing levels in relation to busy and quiet periods, marketing planning, staff training, budgeting, and cash flow analysis and so on.

There really is a huge amount of preparation needed in order for a business not only to function properly but to ultimately survive. The stark reality is that without a sufficient amount of time set aside preparing a business for what lies ahead then that business is more than likely staring down the barrel of a gun.

I myself do a significant amount of my own business planning when cycling my road bike. I recently joined “The Biscuit Club” who has an appropriately club motto “Everything Stops for Tea!”

Since joining the Club in August I have literally cycled thousands of kilometres around our wonderful County and dare I say further afield into Kilkenny and Wexford. I have been inspired by some of the most jaw dropping scenery that would quite rightly find pride of place on the Channel 4 programme Location, Location, Location – I hope you are reading this Kirstie and Phil. We are simply surrounded by some of the most stunning backdrops in Ireland – FACT. And it is not as though I have not explored these routes by car, as I have, it is just that when you are moving much slower you have the time to take it all in and believe me there is an awful lot to take in.

This easy access to coast, mountain and valley give me the time to plan in my head and in many respects take back what has inspired me whilst out cycling and build those experiences into my forward planning. And in early November I prepared an article whilst I sat on the strand, in Tramore, chatting to the Mayor Lola O’Sullivan, bathed in sunshine, surrounded by people in t-shirts, having returned at warp speed from Kilkenny that was bathed in nothing but cold damp misty fog!

As a side, I do know that we need to more to do promote what is on our doorstep and we must push the semi state bodies such as Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to bring more and more tourists into Waterford and the South East, as we really do have so much to offer. And each and every one of us who live, work and play in Waterford have must also start espousing and championing what we have to offer. The simple fact is that NOT enough of us from Waterford champion the City and County to the extent you see in other Cities and Counties. And if we don’t start shouting soon we will very quickly become the Nations bad news story.

The need to prepare is paramount to driving an organisation forward and it is essential that the constituent parts i.e. staff/personnel of an organisation contribute. You may not be aware that the new City and County Council are currently preparing a very comprehensive Corporate Plan that will cover the next five years of the Council’s operations. The discussion around this plan started a number of Council meetings ago and at the November full Council meeting the draft and updated plan was considered by our 32 Councillors and the Council Executive.

At previous meetings Councillors were asked for their own input and at the November meeting it was revealed that of the 32 Councillors OLNY 3 had supplied and put forward written submissions, and it was inferred that there may have been a number of additional “verbal” submissions. During the meeting, and perhaps due mostly to the media presence, there were a number of Councillors wishing to add to this document by giving additional suggestions and contributions, but as the Mayor pointed out the time had passed and there had been ample opportunity to contribute. Full credit to those few Councillors who took time to give an input, but to have such low level of effort from everyone else is to say at the very least disappointing, but more crucially it does show a complete disregard for the need to prepare.

A business organisation would not have the time to fail to prepare as they are operating in a commercial world that plainly does not stand still. It is constantly moving and evolving at an accelerated pace and if everyone from within an organisation is not prepared to take the time to invest in that business then said business will fail. We do need to see a businesslike approach to Council with our Councillors preparing for meetings and more importantly preparing their contribution to documents such as the Corporate Plan well in advance of scheduled meeting dates. This will in turn free up Council time for much wider and important issues such as job creation, job retention, promoting the City etc etc.

I often see many businesses and organisations not investing enough time and energy in the pursuit of accurate preparation and planning. If you lose sight of where you want your business to go how can you properly prepare for what is coming.

You often hear many people saying that “practice makes perfect”. This of course is complete and utter rubbish as the right phrase should be “correct practice makes perfect”. If your practice simply consists of repeating the wrong processes over and over again you will never get it right. The right thing to do is identify where you are going wrong, correct those mistakes and practice doing the right things at the right time. This way you will continually improve your performance and more importantly you will bring your colleagues along with you as they will strive to better themselves as they see your performance levels increase.

It is therefore essential that business leaders, business owners and organisation engage with their greatest assets, their staff, and get them involved with the planning process. Time must be invested with personnel to ensure that preparation becomes part of the day to day workings of a business or organisation.

If the “Boss” is not prepared to invest his or her time and energy into strategic planning then he or she has quite simply failed to prepare and therefore they need to prepare to fail.

ENDS

Michael Garland, founder of bizBoost.