I was surprised to hear a local golf club was on the brink of bankruptcy. I thought to myself: "How could that be? They have tons of members and a huge membership fee, they must have extraordinary levels of income. How could it have gotten this bad?" Then upon further rumination I came up with, … Continue reading Long term neglect
Author: thomaspfduggan
Uncertainty speech
Recently I was thinking about my graduation day and the speech that was given. Ironically the only thing I remember about the speech was that the speaker couldn’t remember anything from his graduation day speech. If I were to give a graduation speech tomorrow I think I would I would make it on dealing with … Continue reading Uncertainty speech
Lockdown freedom
As a last resort, in order to flatten the Covid-19 curve, the Irish government has enforced a lockdown. I think it was a last resort because people love their freedom. Freedom is hard earned (eg. wars of independence) and shouldn’t be taken lightly. You always want to feel like you have freedom, freedom to do … Continue reading Lockdown freedom
Approval and deniability
Everyone on the team is happy with the design. The developers have readied the website. The factory have confirmed they can build it. The ads have been written. The agency notified. Everyone is poised, ready to go. Their hard work for the past year is about to come to fruition. All they need is the … Continue reading Approval and deniability
Firing clients
Once upon a time there was an agency. An agency with a reputation for two things: producing brilliant creative and being a great place to work. All who worked at this agency cherished their time there. It was their dream work culture. Then came ... the client. This client was huge, easily the biggest the … Continue reading Firing clients
Complaining v Action
Everyone volunteered their opinions as to why this was an awful situation but no one volunteered to do something about it. Why? Because complaining is easy. Changing the status quo is hard. Adapting a process means hard work and rectifying a relationship requires confrontation. Neither are pleasant tasks, it's easy to see why people avoid … Continue reading Complaining v Action
Control satisfaction
Dave: “Hey Jeff, you don’t have to do that spreadsheet in the end, the CEO is going to do it” Jeff: “What? Does he not trust me to do it?” Dave: “No, no, no, don’t take it personally this is more about him than you.” Jeff: “But I can do it his way!” Dave: “I … Continue reading Control satisfaction
Office fire fighter
The weeks disappear for the 'office fire fighter'. The arrival of summer is shocking to them, 'it felt like only yesterday it was Christmas'. Unfortunately they don't get a say in what they do, their agenda belongs to someone else. Their plans for safe proofing the office are continuously put on the back burner as … Continue reading Office fire fighter
Passion is developed not inherited
I believe passion is developed not inherited. I don’t believe that anyone is willing to dedicate 8 hours a day to a subject straight from birth. I think everyone goes through stages, starting with enjoyment. You have to enjoy the activity in its most basic form first before any passion can flourish and enough enjoyment … Continue reading Passion is developed not inherited
Empathy -> patience
When I stepped out of my first viewing of 'The Force Awakens' (Star Wars episode 7) I immediately googled the release date of the eighth episode. "Oh my god, why is it going to take so long?" I was devastated to see it was at least two years away. Devastated because I needed to know who's Rey's parents … Continue reading Empathy -> patience
