Talk:Declan Ganley

Lisbon Treaty

 * Voters and National Parliaments are the losers. The democratic deficit will grow under Lisbon.


 * (About sending out free copies of the Lisbon Treaties to journalists and a number of voters): We wanted people to read the Treaty, the “Yes” side didn’t.


 * I started reading the European Constitution as a businessman looking for business opportunities but I finished reading it as the concerned father of four children.


 * The Lisbon Treaty is the child of political amnesia.


 * We are being asked to give the keys to the brewery to people who are drunk on the power they already have.


 * When Nicolas Sarkozy talks about combating unfair tax competition he doesn’t mean the Chinese – he means us.

European Union

 * The problem with the current approach in the European Union is that there is no will in favour of democracy.


 * The word “Minister” means servant. Ministers should and shall serve the people. And in the end, we – the voters – decide all public affairs.


 * We may be dissatisfied with failures in our own society, but it is our own fault and responsibility if we do not try to change it.


 * (Speaking about the EU commission) It’s a lobbyists’ dream! They are lobbying lawmakers that never have to face an electorate. That’s a dish for corruption if ever there was one.


 * (About the European Parliament) They can reject the full Commission, but they cannot elect a new Commission. This is reminiscent of the so-called “people’s democracies” of Eastern Europe.


 * You have to be non-elected to initiate a law in Brussels.


 * Non-elected and non-accountable bureaucrats control the monopoly of initiative in European lawmaking. And that is nuttier than a “Snickers” bar.


 * Our elected MEP’s are really just puppies barking at the moon, yelping about good they do when, in fact, they are largely impotent but are kept well enough fed to stay contentedly on the leash. We need to turn these MEP’s into big dogs that have bite and respond to the commands of the electorate.


 * This is the reality: the EU is governed in secret by a voting system only few people have heard about and no one can remember.


 * The European Parliament is more famous for its greed for money than its influence on law-making.


 * I refuse to accept that Europe is in decline. I am determined to play my part in trying to build a greater European future.


 * The decision is in OUR hands. Europeans’ hands.  If we let the chance pass us by, we know that we will only have ourselves to blame.


 * We are not here to break Europe... we are here to improve it.


 * We are not here to tell you to follow, we want YOU… the PEOPLE… to LEAD.


 * Good morning Europe, a new dawn awaits us, let us find the courage and optimism to get up and embrace it.


 * We should look forward to a Europe that takes its place as the moral superpower of the world, shining a beacon of freedom and democracy to the darkest corners of the earth.


 * While we need a Europe that can act efficiently on the world stage, we do not need a Europe that regulates the length of our pencils and does it in the name of the Free Market.


 * A single mouth will speak for the people of Europe on matters of international importance, and that voice will have no ears.


 * In any of the member states of the Union, corruption and incompetence on that scale in Government would result in swift removal from office. In Brussels, unaccountability corruption is being rewarded by more power.

Philosophy

 * All things can be changed if we have the courage to speak up and defend truth and freedom.


 * Democracy is not supposed to be “efficient” as, by design, it requires challenge, debate and opposition. Dictators are “efficient” in their decision-making because there is no opposition.

Business

 * The current system works for the courtiers. The big dinosaur companies with big lobbying budgets, at the expense of the people and the entrepreneurs.

The 10 entrepreneurial rules of Declan Ganley
1.     Invest heavily in pre-start-up research and diligence of potential entrepreneurial opportunities rather than trying to plug holes and gaps after the fact.

2.	As an entrepreneur, attempt to surround yourself with a management team of people who are smarter than you are.

3.	Making big money is the by-product of passion for something else, it is rarely the result of merely wanting to make money.

4.	The laws of political astuteness and patronage: make friends in high places, and influence people; don’t be afraid to tackle academics and politicians alike.

5.	Make the market: if no one believes in your idea, organise a conference to construct the debate your product needs.

6.	There is no limit to the value of lateral thinking in an entrepreneurial situation

7.	Don’t forget who you are

8.	Lead from the front, and never forget that your team is watching.

9.	It is possible to have several different businesses on the go at once but don’t forget that you’ll be working 24/7 to achieve your objectives, and some of them will fail.

10.	Don’t neglect your principles.