It was all about the election of the Pope and the cardinals who were coming to Rome to vote

It was all about the election of the Pope, and the cardinals who were coming to Rome to vote but who suffered various mishaps on the way. One or two people in the group were very inventive and good at dreaming up ideas for games One day we decided to invent one, and we succeeded. But the Select group, led by Tony Martin, was one of the outstanding success stories of the Nineties.. MY BIGGEST mistake was getting involved in a business venture, and then losing control of it.

When I was in Dublin, not long out of school, I used to be a fanatical player of board games; these were not your typical family games, they tended to be strategy- or business-orientated and would take hours to play. The competitors I would be wary of are those spotty youths in a garage who are thinking of new ways of doing things - the Bill Gateses and Steve Jobs of the recruitment world. All the agencies in Britain are competing for the same people and we are trying to be the leader of all these agencies This makes for stimulating days. That is what interests me and that's what I enjoy, competition. The recruitment market in the UK is the world's second-largest and it's highly fragmented, unlike France with only a few agencies. I'm also impressed by Eden Brown which does a great deal in the public sector - it is busy forming partnerships with industry bodies.

Greater co-operation and collaboration will work for everyone's benefit.James ReedChief ExecutiveReed ExecutiveTHE CUSTOMER is becoming more demanding and it is our job to meet those demands as best we can, to retain our place in a very competitive market. I'm impressed by companies using progressive and innovative methods such as Adecco Alfred Marks which used research to find out what its clients and what its candidates want. It works to the candidate's advantage too, because they know they have more chance of getting the job they want if they go to an agency.To succeed in recruitment, you need good interpersonal skills and a sound knowledge of your sector and the law. What clients are beginning to recognise is that they need to leave selection - specialist and general - to professionals. It is expensive and time-consuming for companies to do their own recruiting and we understand the clients' needs and their language so we can respond effectively and rapidly. Increasingly, large companies are creating specialist divisions and small companies crop up to cover niche divisions such as education. This has brought with it increased professionalism and an overall raising of standards Another change has been in specialisation.

I respect people and companies who have been in the business some time and who have built their business organically - Reed for example.Sue SmithChief ExecutiveInstitute of EmploymentConsultantsTHIS INDUSTRY has experienced massive growth. It is a cut- and-thrust business, so people who are confident, commercial, determined and who want to win tend to get ahead. This may make life more difficult for us but it does mean our organisation becomes more efficient. We are one of the larger corporate account suppliers and so consolidation suits us. The customers are getting more sophisticated and buy more cleverly from us because they know where we should be able to reduce costs. He has a clear view of the issues facing the industry and doesn't shy from speaking his mind.Grahame CaswellManaging DirectorKelly ServicesCONSOLIDATION IS the key word in the recruitment industry. I'm a new boy in the industry so it's not easy to pick anyone in particular out but Charles Walker from Blue Arrow is an impressive character.