Jack, Business Lessons from life, life lessons from business, author Blaise Brosnan interviewed

By @SimonCocking. Interview with Blaise Brosnan who has a unique blend of practical top management experience gained over 25 years and is a business adviser to a range of Irish business types. See more here. You can buy the book from Liberties Press here.

Jack was published in 2011 and is an interesting variation on the the Business advice book. Written in the form of a fictional, everyman character, born and raised in Kerry in the 1950s. This in itself already makes the book interesting to read for all of us not born in Kerry nor in the 50s. Possibly unintentionally this means the book does capture a time that has probably long passed, a rural Ireland, dominated by the church and all that came with it.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and from these humble beginnings Jack begins to find his way in the world, initially in school, and then subsequently on the building sites of London and New York, aided by the benefits of being successful in sport. Brosnan’s intent is to distill the life and business lessons along the way into usable nuggets to reach a wider audience than would be possible merely through the lectures and training he delivers. We spoke with Blaise to find out a little more.

What inspired you to write the book as a ‘factional’ work?

Two main reasons, firstly I was trying to get across that as we go through life we’re influenced by various people and events. How we react to this affects us.

We are a product of both our dna, and then we also become influencers too. I was wondering how to get this across in an interesting way, to tell this story. I tried a few different ways before coming up with ‘Jack; who is a combination of about 12 – 15 people that I’ve met. Rather than tell all of their stories, I tried to make it easier by having one composite character to explain the key lessons to be learnt.

The character in the book, Jimmy, for example was a big influencer, despite not having a highly respected status in society.

Secondly I’m involved in consultancy in business, delivering programs, but I can only reach so many people through this approach. The book is a way to reach a much wider audience and share these insights.

Growing up in rural Kerry, several decades ago, and now looking at the contemporary landscape, how different is it?

In the 1950’s, and 60’s Jack’s experience was a fairly typical scenario. Formal education was seen as meal ticket to get a better chance in life, especially in rural Kerry.

Now in 00’s, and now it is different again. The Celtic Tiger was quite a self centred time, but now, people more proactive. They are trying to build capacity and expand again. There is a different mood. We have more numbers coming onto our programs, and we are even over subscribed.

You wrote the book in 2010/11, 5 years on, is there anything you would change or say differently?

The fundamentals don’t change, the emphasis maybe. The book has about 200 nuggets of wisdom. The idea is to offer this to people and then let them use it in their own way, to see if they can do something with it.

Now, with LinkedIn, Twitter, and the whole ability to look at someone’s online presence before you hire them

“Social Media for your student and graduate job search” by Marielle Kelly

would this affect how you went about assessing whether to hire someone or not?

In recruitment now, business people don’t profile their outputs well. It is important to focus on output rather than input, far better to assess this. Recruitment does look at the past, and this can influence the future but more important to look at your outputs are, and could potentially be. This would be the most effective way to assess if someone is the right candidate for the role.

Looking back, what tips would you give to someone starting out in business now?

Clarity of purpose is the key. What are they trying to achieve, if they are not clear about where they are going then it will be difficult to achieve success.

The quality of the MD / manager, is also a massive influence.

Is there anything you would have done differently?

Not a lot, we’re all wiser with hindsight!

Anything else you’d like to add / we should have asked you?

Being influenced and becoming an influencer is the core message. None of us can do everything, so balance is important. Either upgrade your own skills, or find the right people to help you achieve your goals.

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