April 2010 – melclifford

What would you do?

April 29, 2010 No Comments

A young man on the street the other day asked me for 50 cents, the smallest I had in change was a two euro coin, so I gave it to him. He responded by saying “I only asked you for 50 cents” typical Dublin wit. So I had to explain to him that was the smallest I had. I had met this man several times before, sometimes he would ask for money but most times he would not and we would just chat for a few minutes. Mike (not his real name), I asked “how are you keeping”. As I got into conversation with Mike on how he was he informed me that he was after spending 5 days in prison. When I asked for what was he in jail, he told me he was asleep on a park bench in Dublin City and was arrested by a young Garda (Police Officer). Mike told me after spending five days in jail he then appear in court. In court he was informed that he was arrested for being drunk and incapable to which Mike informed the Judge that half of Dublin City should be arrested as they would fall into this category. I think Mike was right if one was to look around our cities especially at the weekends, there are lots of people who could be arrested ? What constitutes being drunk and incapable? The official definition of being drunk and incapable is when you are so drunk you are unable to stand or walk or unaware of what you are doing or unable to understand what is said to you. Where does the personal responsibility rest? The Judge – imposing a fine of €400 on Mike – what do you think his chances are of paying the fine or drinking the €400 if he had it? – Possible outcome of this will be Mike will be arrested and imprisonment for not paying his fine. So what should the Judge do, what options did the Judge have? Garda (Police Office) – should the Garda not arrest Mike in the first place – what about Mike’s own safety and protection from himself and others that day? Should the Garda arrest the rest of Dublin City as Mike suggested? So what should the Garda have done and what options did the Garda have? Me – Should I be giving Mike more money that day for which he could spend on more drink or food, what options do I have? Mike – Where is his ownership of his illness and need to seek help? What are the services in Ireland that exist to manage the care needs of drunk and incapable people?

Volcanic Ash and No Planes – The Journey by Road

April 27, 2010 No Comments

One never knows the challenges they will face until they come along. Last week with all the confusion related to air travel I had to make a decision to support some friends in their travel arrangements. The two key issues were one friend was in Ireland trying to get to Romania for his sisters wedding on Saturday 24th April. Three other friends were stranded in Romania trying to get home with no flights available. With all the uncertainty around not knowing when Airports would re-open, time was closing in on a decision to be made as to travel or not. The only information we had was that our friends stranded in Romania, the earliest they were informed about the airline getting them on a flight was this coming Thursday (a week and half later). On this side it was looking like Friday 24th April was the earliest airports would open by then it would be late to start to travel overland. Several options were examined and finally at 5pm on Tuesday last we decided to drive across Europe. The only way to approach this in ones mind was to look at it as an adventure and just enjoy the journey. Yes in the middle of our journey the airports started to open up but travel arrangements were still affected. New options were looked at again like getting flights within mainland Europe so our journey would be shorter but given availability of seats and prices been quoted for air tickets, what could one do except continue as originally planned. The route before us was Wales, England, France, Belgium, Holland (a little part), Germany, Austria and Hungary. After travelling through the day and night and taking turns in driving and sleeping, we reach Budapest on Thursday where we had agreed to meet. Our friends had made a 17 hour train journey through Romania. So I dropped off one friend and pick up three others. The round trip was 4,5875 kilometres. The end result was our friends made it home and her only brother made her wedding. We had some great support from others helping us to book the boat trips etc as we travelled. Lessons learnt when one is faced with decisions sometimes you just have to go for it and not waste too much time thinking about it, as someone has to call it, I am glad I did. We made the journey fun and had some great laughs along the way. I am sure we all got something from our travels, if not just a story to tell.

Boats, Automobiles, Trains and No Planes

April 25, 2010 No Comments

With the Icelandic Volcanic Ash stopping nearly all air travel over Europe in the past week like many others I was involved and having to travel over land. Therefore I had little access to Internet and could not post until now. Only getting back home yesterday (Saturday) I will rest and tell you about my 2,850.7 miles or 4,5875.75 kilometres trip in my posts in the coming week. It is amazing what one will do when the challenge comes their way. Read more during the week about driving a friend across Europe so it could make his sisters wedding in Romania and at the same time picking up three other friends who travelled by train to meet us in Budapest. They could not fly home due to the Volcanic Ash and were stranded until the flights returned and then were uncertain as to when they could get a new flight home.

Time Travel – supporting each other

April 21, 2010 1 Comment

Back to land and sea travel, maybe this will make us all think a little more. A lot of stories coming through are how people are helping each other and supporting each other more during this time of flight restrictions over Europe. Maybe all this rushing around at Airports will make us think again, rather than rushing we can take our time more. Here is a poem to share my thoughts on Time. “The World Above” Our time on earth goes so fast Each day we try to make every moment last So think hard how you will spend your time Because I will not let anyone waste mine Be careful what and how you spend each day If you always wanted to do something, do it now without delay Don’t look back and say I wish I had When you do you will only feel so sad It’s equal to us all you know So spend it wisely before you go Give it away to the ones you love Before you head into your world above

Your Recruitment Process -is it Boring or Creative?

April 19, 2010 No Comments

Lots of organisations, when they need to recruit employees, select the wrong individuals and or panels to conduct the interviews. If your organisation really values its people, it would involve them more, in the selection process of new recruits. I am sure at some point in time you have heard the saying, “who recruited him/her” or “how did they ever get this job”. Whatever you do, don’t leave recruitment in the hands of the Human Resources Department. Seek their advice but don’t make them responsible. Take for an example, two positions become available in your Organisation. The first position is for a new Managing Director (MD) and the second position is for a new canteen person. What will the boring organisation do to recruit the new MD? Possibly any or all of the following :- Seek the help of a HR Recruitment/Head Hunting Company Nominate a Board member(s) to oversee the process Set up a panel of Senior Directors/Chairperson to make the selection What will the creative organisation do to recruit the new MD? Discuss with as many current employees as possible from different levels within the Company, to seek their advice on the type of person and attributes they would like to see in their new MD. Select several employees, at different levels (Managers, Canteen staff, Receptionist) within the organisation to carry out the interviews. Ask one or two clients, customers and suppliers to participate at particular stages. What will the boring organisation do to recruit the new Canteen Person? Possibly any or all of the following:- Allocate a Junior Member of the HR team to carry out the recruitment with the support of the Canteen Manager. Use a recruitment agency to select individuals for interview. Canteen Manager does the recruitment by themselves. What will the creative organisation do to recruit the new Canteen Person? Discuss with as many current employees as possible from different levels within the Company, to seek their advice on the type of person and attributes they would like to see in the right individual. Select several employees at different levels (Board Member, Senior Managers General staff) within the organisation to carry out the interviews Ask one or two employees family members to participate at particular stages. Why do organisations stay boring? They lack the ability to be creative from within. Think of all the time you waste, selecting the wrong person for the job. You don’t have to look too far around your own Company to find a wrong person in a job. Creative organisations take the time and select the right candidates. Your own employees will actually see how you value them. Is your Company Boring or Creative?

Interview for the job – the New Leader

April 17, 2010 No Comments

I have started following the British elections purely on the fact that some weeks ago a guy named Nick Clegg mentioned “what we need around here is honesty in politics”, I thought what a contradiction. So I watched the debate on Thursday evening between Gordon Brown, Nick Clegg and David Cameron along with the millions of other viewers. I looked at the debate as an interview process selecting a leader for the job. I was not concerned with any of the political parties they each represented. I was amused when the presenter in the first part of the debate kept addressing the candidates as Mr Brown, Mr Cameron and Nick. The presenter did change later to Mr Clegg. I thought shame on you all about the immigration question, as a lot of Britain was built up on the hard work of immigrants, this was not acknowledged. There are thousands of Britain’s living and working outside the UK contributing to other economies. I must say there was very little reference to the word honesty from any of them. Gordon Brown seemed to always have three things he was going to do when he addressed a question. David Cameron seemed a lot of the time on the back foot. Nick did address the issues well and had solutions but he was given good time to think about the answer as both Gordon and David spent most of their time having a go off each other. Gordon Brown seemed to concentrate on David Cameron more as I did not think he really sees Nick Clegg as a challenge. I think this was an ill advised approach. Well based on their individual performance I think I would select Nick Clegg as Leader. As it is now more than ever that active leadership is required to sort out the issues of Britian. On experience – Gordon Brown has more experience but he has presided over the issues that exist today in the UK and why has he not actioned all the three things he is now going to do to address the questioned asked? Nick – if he believes in honesty, keeps this at the forefront of dealing with current issues and faces up to the difficult issues that have to be dealt with then he could do the job – he is a new face, seems to have creative ideas. Often having no baggage of the previous political environment is a good thing. So Nick take your hands out of your pockets – don’t hide inside an office and be where your people are, deliver on your honesty and you get this job. Only two more interviews to go?

Six Steps to Achieve a Better Interview Experience

April 15, 2010 5 Comments

Interviews for a new job/position can be a very positive experience and learning opportunity for both the interviewee and interviewer, if you prepare correctly. It is amazing how many individuals fail to prepare properly, even the basics. I have seen candidates not knowing what they have written in their Curriculum Vitae (Resume). CVs with lots of inaccurate information. I have seen interviewers rush out of one business meeting into an interview without having read the candidates CV or even have the person’s correct name. One of the interviewer’s biggest mistakes is not allowing enough time for and between candidates. Both candidate and interviewer have a responsibility to make the interview a positive experience. Interviewee Apart from looking your best and getting to the interview location on time here are three simple steps that you can take to make your interview a positive experience. Prepare – research the position on offer, the company, the interviewer… Divide your Resume / CVinto separate headings that suit your personal circumstances. This will allow you to structure the discussion when you are asked a question on any particular area, for example. Education, Work Experience/skills, your personality Work Experience/skills, achievements, your continuous development, your personality Bring relevant material with you – copies of references, your portfolio, and have questions prepared to ask about the job/position and company. If you fail to prepare, you let yourself down. Interviewer Apart from you knowing exactly the person spec and skills required for the position and having the right people in the room to conduct the interview, here are three simple steps that you can take to make the interview a positive experience. Prepare – your welcome, greeting and introductions, your location, your interview structure and questions. Structure the interview process – make the candidate feel at ease and clearly set out the interview format and structure. Opinion of your organisation – ensure that each candidate leaves the interview process with a good feeling of wanting to work with your organisation (or in that new position). Remember how you see the candidate dressed at the interview will properly be the best dressed you will ever see them. If you fail to prepare, you let your organisation down.

Time Management – What a Waste of Time

April 14, 2010 No Comments

Do you manage your time? A topic that I will keep coming back too, while reading Jim Estill author of CEO Blog-Time Leadership http://www.jimestill.com/ the other day it reminded me to write another blog on my personal experience of time management. Have you ever gone on Time Management (TM) courses? Do you still have the fancy Time Manager folders and stationary? Do you continued to practice all of what you learnt on these courses? As the saying goes, “I have been there and done that”. I have over many years come across lots of other individuals who would share the experience of going on a TM course and only improving their time management in the short term but has little long-term effect in their working or personal lives. The key difference for me was when I changed my focus from where I was spending my time to where I was wasting my time. This started to highlight where I was wasting time in both my personal life and work life. So concentrating on what I did not want to do or where and who I did not want to be around allow me to spend more of my time on what, where and with whom I want to be with. I placed value on my time and therefore was very reluctant to allow myself and others to waste it. Remember what gets measure gets done. Do you value your time? Time management for me is a simple as this if you want to change your behaviour change your point of view towards your time. The only one who is responsible and can manage your time is you – focus on where, on what and with whom you want to spend your time. Don’t let others waste your time. Thanks for the image to Thom Allison – http://thomallison1.wordpress.com/2009/07/

Open a door for your dreams

April 10, 2010 No Comments

Do you dream? Do you listen to your dreams? I know I don’t listen half enough or pay enough attention to my dreams. Why, because I busy myself with activities and daily nonsense that just gets in my way. I know what I should do but often I don’t – its take commitment to listen and I must give it the time it needs. For spending time in our conscious self, we can find ourselves saying, if only I had …… then this is what I would really do…. or if I won a lot of money then I would do this……….Sometimes living in the world of “if” It is vital that we learn to listen and pay attention to our subconscious, both our positive and negative thoughts. Each of us have the road map for where we should be going, finding it and listening to your dreams will help get us there. Focus and willingness to listen to your dreams is important, remember the words “I have a gut feeling about ….” In ancient times they had dream interrupters to help them understand the meaning of their dreams. Individuals would paid more attention to understanding their dreams. Listen to your inner self for within your dreams you will find the answer. What are your dreams and what are you doing about them? Have you opened your door for your dreams to guide you?

Uniquely You

April 8, 2010 2 Comments

I accidently came across this poem in a small coffee shop in Skerries. I noticed a book of poems on the window ledge titled Pardon Us Ms. Writer written by Megan Easley- Walsh. As I read a few of her poems they stuck a cord with me and I thought it would be nice to share one or two of Megan’s poems with you from time to time. I have added “Pardon Us Ms. Writer” to the Books for You list and here is a link to Megan’s website http://www.pardonusmswriter.com/ Thanks to Megan this poem below is shared with her permission. Uniquely Me They’re looking at me again as if I’ve suggested some absurdity By declaring what is right By declaring that I’m free Imposition may have stuck on you but assumption won’t adhere to me You may think that’s how I am but this is how I choose to be You don’t get to decide what I’m worth You don’t get to reason what can’t be You simply get to be you And quite happily I get to be me I shalln’t apologize for my precepts of life Nor for my convictions sounding from truth’s fife But I resolve to ever be Forever more, uniquely me

Mel Clifford

Mel Clifford

Blog & News

Month: April 2010

What would you do?

Volcanic Ash and No Planes – The Journey by Road

Boats, Automobiles, Trains and No Planes

Time Travel – supporting each other

Your Recruitment Process -is it Boring or Creative?

Interview for the job – the New Leader

Six Steps to Achieve a Better Interview Experience

Time Management – What a Waste of Time

Open a door for your dreams

Uniquely You

Mel Clifford