Proud to be a Friend of Tricia Murphy

I have a stolen 15 minutes thanks to Dublin traffic. Left the office in DunLaoghaire at 5.00 to make Clontarf Castle for 6.30 to give the Networking Queen of Ireland (Tricia Murphy in case you don’t already know) a small show of support in her sponsored head shave (it’s not too late to sponsor her!). It’s also Robert’s 40th birthday today and we arranged late celebrations so as I could get over there and back.

Bit of a rock and a hard place – Robert is just about the best husband a woman could have, and I’d like to think I’d drop everything and anything for him. He loves birthdays though, and this one is a bit special. But Tricia – she’s been hit with her “little nasty” and in typical Tricia style has turned a negative into a positive and has raised almost 4,500 Euros for her charity. The woman has such courage, generosity and kindness it would be criminal not to support her.

So we compromised with a late celebration and at 6.45 I was still sitting on Erne St after having travelled less than one mile in an hour and a half. The traffic just wasn’t moving, and no way would I make Clontarf Castle by 7.00 (which is when I’d have to leave to get back in time). Robert got an extra birthday pressie of a lovely bunch of flowers, and I’ll just have to think of some other way to show Tricia how much I admire her, and how my life is enriched by having a her as a friend.

People ask me about work/life balance and why I’m so against the work/life balance thing. It’s because it’s only through work that I get to meet such fantabulous people, and have the pleasure of getting to know them and have them as friends as well.

I’m proud to be a friend of Tricia’s and Happy Birthday lovely hubby…

How Wrong Can They Get it?

I know this isn’t strictly business, and possibly doesn’t belong on a business blog, but I just can’t sit here and not say anything about the recently announced 2009 budget. Have they completely lost the plot?

Remove medical cards from the over 70’s – do you really think that Michael O’Leary is going to use his medical card when he’s in his 70’s? Or Tom Parlon for that matter? What’s the point in spending millions means testing the elderly? Maybe it’s a cunning plot to get the Health Services Executive working more closely with the Department of Social Welfare and do some team building – pretty darn expensive if so.

1% Income Levy On All Earnings – Where’s that at? The person who manages to get themselves a job at minimum wage can’t afford 1% per week, they’ll be better off on social welfare. Ho hum. Let’s watch that one backfire.

Pumping up the Construction Industry – yet again. Don’t they get it? To watch the head of the construction industry federation on the telly claiming to be quite pleased with the budget made me almost gag.

Cowenomics? Pantomime, IMO – and I’m normally quite an admirer of Fianna Fail. Take it back to the drawing board for heavens sake.

A Pretty Bad Hair Day

You may know Tricia Murphy (AKA the Networking Queen of Ireland) – you may have attended one of her salons or been a delegate at a conference where she entertained and enlightened you on the subject of networking. If you don’t know Tricia then I hope you get to meet her in the future.

Tricia is passionate about networking – about its benefits and about its purpose. When she takes to the floor with her signature bell or hat or crown, she makes everyone feel good about themselves. She has a huge warmth and kindness and openness to everyone.

Recently she was diagnosed with what she calls herself “a little nasty” and since she will lose all her hair to chemotherapy soon, she is going to get it shaved off and donate the funds to the APA – a charity in Africa that she is involved with. This is typical Tricia – turning the negative into a positive. You can help her to do that by going to:

http://www.mycharity.ie/event/tricia_murphys_sponsored_shave/

Where you will be able to donate online.

Good luck soldier! We’ll be with you all the way…

Finally! October is here…

You know all those plans you had for the Summer? How you’d use the quiet time to reflect, organise, prepare and plan? Did it work for you? Not for me. Although I got a little bit of time off, most of the last few months have been about panic – as people decided at the last minute to go ahead with their events and realised they needed a booking system in place ASAP.

The stress that places on a small company is awful – although I’m a deadline junkie (as well as a slot junkie!) – it means that you spend your life in these frantic periods followed by exhausted relief. We pride ourselves on always meeting deadlines, try not to promise the impossible and deliver 95% of the time. But I sure wish there’d be some stability around. Not a return to the glory days, but a little stability – something that makes people feel confident in making plans again.

The events business has changed so much over the last 5 years – deadlines and planning times were already shrinking. This past few months has shrunk planning time even further and it’s enormously challenging. Roll on 2009! While we’re at it, take a look at the Santa Train at Rathwood Garden Centre in Tullow, Co Carlow. We love it and I can’t wait to take my horrendously advanced 2 year old grand niece Suzannah on it!

Happy Autumn!