A stress-free start as bonds strengthened

Oct 15 2008 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

PAUL RICE is chief executive of the Liverpool Commercial District Partnership. LCDP’s aim is to provide a leadership role for the private sector in the commercial heart of the city.

This was Paul’s day.

6.30am: The alarm clock blasts in my ear and I awake from my slumber. My two teenage daughters are away from home this week, so for once I don’t have to queue for the bathroom and can enjoy a rare stress-free start to the day before making my way downstairs and out of the front door.

7.30am: I reach my office at Customs House, in Union Street, and quickly check through any emails and missed calls before dashing over to my first commitment of the day.

8am: I arrive at Panoramic Restaurant, in Beetham Tower, where a member of the LCDP, Arup, is holding its annual business breakfast event. After a brief chat with Ian McCarthy, from Liverpool Vision, and Laurie Peake, from Liverpool Biennial, we gather round for the formal part of the event.

The guest speaker is Colin Hilton, chief executive of Liverpool City Council, who delivers an upbeat and highly positive speech about the success of the Capital of Culture year.

9.30am: Our new chairman, David Guest, and I get together to go through some financial management issues and to prepare for this evening’s board meeting.

It’s an exciting time for the board as we approach our AGM and welcome the new directors who are coming on board, with David expanding his role within the partnership.

10.30am: I have a meeting with one of our partners, which we do on a regular basis to bring them up to speed with our current activities and any particular issues they may have.

11.30am: I pull up a pew in Brew for a catch-up with our colleagues at PR agency Paver Smith, who we recently appointed to help us build the profile of the commercial district regionally and nationally.

We wash down our toast with a few cups of Scouse Breakfast tea and enjoy our surroundings. I’m a big fan of Brew, and it’s really pleasing that a local entrepreneur has decided to open such a great concept as this in the heart of the commercial district.

12.30pm: A working lunch with Roz Lloyd who, as part of our agreement with Liverpool Vision, co-ordinates our marketing activities.

2pm: Over to the Capital Building for our marketing group which, as you might expect, is always a lively and imaginative session with representatives from a cross- section of the partnership.

3.30pm: I call Gary Banks, at Arup, to discuss the progress being made on the 3-D digital city model. This was a project instigated by the LCDP which has now become a city-wide initiative and will hopefully provide a key component of Liverpool’s exhibition at the Shanghai expo in 2010.

4pm: It’s time to get my papers ready and prepare my thoughts ahead of this evening’s board meeting at the Atlantic Tower Hotel.

5pm: I arrive in plenty of time and, as usual, the meeting room is already prepared to meet our needs. Our organisation is all about embracing what today’s Liverpool has to offer, so it’s great to hold the board meeting in the plush surroundings of a newly- refurbished hotel.

7pm: The board meeting has finished and we reconvene in the hotel bar for a quick drink before we leave. We deliberately schedule our meetings at a time when we’re able to spend time together afterwards in a less formal capacity, as we feel this helps to strengthen the bonds that have served the partnership so well.

8.15pm: I arrive home and catch up with the day’s news and see my family. My daughter’s back at home and I’m keen to pay particular attention to her university application.

She wants to study either architecture at Cambridge or avionics at Leeds – I know students have a reputation for being lazy, and it appears she hasn’t even bothered to look past A.