by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua There are probably more rankings or indexes of nations than nations themselves. As humans we appear to have a primordial need to order and rank ourselves on multiple scales from tallest to richest to most intelligent and this compulsion extends to everything about us, including our countries. Many rankings… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Mission Since the advent of the digital revolution the meetings and events industry has been drowning in a sea of content. Most of this content is ephemeral, disappearing without a trace as temperatures change. Some, however, endures, like the salt that remains when heat causes the water to evaporate. Greg Oates’ thoughtful piece on… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua VUCA – the new normal in the meetings industry? Apparently it’s a military term in use since the 90s but the acronym VUCA – volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – applies more than ever today, particularly within the world of meetings and events. Yesterday’s mysterious disappearance of an Air… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Often, when social media is being discussed at MICE industry events I’ll get the nod or the shout-out as the bloke with the blog or the twat on Twitter. There’s usually an underlying implication that I’m some kind of expert, the “go-to” guru for all things social in the meetings industry…. Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Last night I debated with my son whether players who “draw” fouls on themselves in soccer are skillful tacticians or cynical charlatans. You see the defender approach, flick the ball to one side and allow the momentum of the defender knock you to the ground. The referee immediately blows for a… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Back again in Frankfurt We were back in Frankfurt again for IMEX16, the 14th edition of an exhibition that constantly pushes itself outside of its comfort zone while remaining rooted to the understanding that it’s all about connecting real people in real places in real time. This year I… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua The world of the Destination Management Company or DMC has been under-going a radical change over the past 10 years. I wanted to say “kaleidoscopic” change but, on reflection, much of this change has not been pretty, muddying rather than clarifying the value proposition at the heart of the DMC offer. Accordingly, there’s… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua 1966 I was five years old in April 1966 when Ireland celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising. I can still see in the entrance hall of my school the framed copy of Poblacht na hEireann, the famous proclamation of independence read out by schoolmaster, poet and rebel leader Pádraic… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua I recently received a beautiful gift. It’s a turntable or what used to be called a record player. It allows me, now and again, to dust down my precious vinyl from the 70s. I get to listen to well-worn, scratched and cracked records like Carole King’s Tapestry, Jackson Browne’s… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Sharing Economy? I think the term “Sharing Economy” to categorise the activity of the likes of Uber and Airbnb is actually a misnomer. If I “share” something the implication is that I do so without expectation of financial or other reward and this type of activity has been on-going for… Read more »