Sean Gallagher lecture at Enterprise Innovation Week – IT Sligo
As I commented last night on twitter – awesome would not be a normal part of my vocabulary. Listening to Sean Gallagher of Smarthomes and Dragons Den last night as part of Enterprise Innovation Week (#eiweek) in Sligo IT – the word entered my vocabulary for the first time.
He gave an awesome and fascinating insight into mindset of the entrepeneur. Awesome because he’s a skillful communicator and was able to guide the audience through the practical and possibly more esoteric elements of safeguarding and God Forbid – growing a business in a downturn.
The fascinating bit was the back story – and the roles and jobs he held including farmer, community worker, political advisor and County Enterprise Board Advisor.
I thought the way that he answered the question from the audience of what business books he read was particulary interesting – he started the sentence by saying “learning from books” not “reading books”.
That was something that he mentioned a few times in different ways – learning from others and the importance of being in an ecosystem where you can learn and progress.
Let’s hope we see Sean in the North West again soon.
Kevin,
Completely agree – compelling hour and half or so and his handling of the questions was brilliant. You reference his communications skills. It was fascinating to see him handle the questions. The way that he engaged on first name terms with each questioner not only answered each question, directly and with wit, but also made each questioner feel personally touched. The guy has it.
Padraig
I loved when he was asked “Can you teach sales? Or is is innate?” He didn’t give an easy yes or not – even given the time pressure. He quickly broke down the question, tallied the requirements, proved his case and deftly answered yes and no! Yes you can teach the skills, but you need to like people. He’s realistic and positive.
I enjoyed his talk immensely. He’s no bullshit!