GALVANISE

It was only three short weeks ago that I received the following message from an old and dear friend, Bill Manson:

“We are trying to create an opportunity with a few stakeholders to present a virtual MLN Leadership event on Thursday 6th May and wondered if you would be able and available to participate. It’s a work in progress but we have a working title ‘GALVANISE’ to reach out to beleaguered owners and managers to regroup and stay strong. You will undoubtably know exactly what to say which is why we are coming to you at short notice.”

Bill and I have worked closely a number of times across the beautiful country of Northern Ireland, trying hard to inspire as many as we can to take our positive leadership messages and help spread them even further to their teams, employees, students and colleagues.

He had me at GALVANISE. The clever play on the word GALVANISE with the highlighting of NI – Northern Ireland, was irresistible.

GALVANISE took place yesterday and was professionally and beautifully executed.

I had the privilege of working with some very special and brilliant people at yesterday’s hugely successful virtual event.

Neil Gibson was our gregarious host and compere. He’s the Ireland Chief Economist for EY, and gave an insightful (and rather upbeat) state of the nation address that was hugely practical and instructive. He kept the pace and energy going despite us all being in different locations. Superbly done.

Another dear friend and colleague, the very special Mark Gallagher, shared some wisdom from his time in Formula 1. He made the complex appear straightforward and within the grasp of all who were fully engaged with his case studies. He took a snapshot from one of the most competitive sporting arenas, where the difference between winning and abject failure can be measured in seconds. It was spellbinding and pragmatic at the same time.

Lara Morgan is a hugely successful entrepreneur and shared the leadership lessons that have underpinned her massive success. She was so sensible and so committed to both her people and her customers. A powerful masterclass based on doing the right thing no matter how tough the conditions.

It was a real privilege to work with all three of these first class leaders.

I hope the well over one thousand people that joined us took lots away.

I’ll just repeat my message of ensuring that when we communicate in these extraordinary times, we do all we can to leave our audience with the CLARITY, CERTAINTY and HOPE that they need and deserve.

Thank you to Bill, Kevin and all the team at MLN for making GALVANISE happen. They proved that “if you’re bold you might fail, but if you’re not bold you will fail”.

With only the best wishes,

René