Winning in Business in Cork
Sport for Business was an official media partner of the Bord Gáis Energy Winning in Business event at Cork’s Clarion Hotel this week with special guests Roy Keane, Donal Óg Cusack, Fiona Coghlan, Enda McNulty and more entertaining and education a business focused crowd of over 100 leaders from across the Munster region.

Roy was obviously the main attraction and he certainly delivered making no bones about a desire to return to mainstream management not just longer term as Conor Brophy put to him in the Question and Answer session but “in the shorter term as well.”

We couldn’t imagine the possibility would arise within the 60 minutes Keane was on stage but with news breaking that Celtic were parting company with manager Ronny Dellia at the end of this season Keane was put on the spot.

“Ive already got two jobs, with ITV and Ireland” he said though without ruling out interest in a role he turned down two years ago at the outset of his role with Ireland.

He might be up against his current managerial partner Martin O’Neill for the job, or possibly Northern Ireland’s Michael O’Neill but the issue created an extra frisson of excitement around a room that was already buzzing.

We got to ask who was the most influential character in each of the trio’s development and each was unequivocal in their answer.

“My first coach Ian Costello at UL brought me into the game and is still someone I turn to,” said Fiona Coghlan.

Donal Óg Cusack paid warm tribute to his Dad as being the biggest influence by far on his career, even to the extent of learning a few Clare songs in keeping with his new role as mentor alongside Davy Fitzgerald on the senior hurling panel.

The last word went to keane who while paying tribute to having learned something from every manager he had worked with from Rockmount through the Sir Alex Ferguson days to O’Neill plumped in the end for Brian Clogh on the basis of having given him his first big break.

The morning started with an upbeat presentation from Enda McNulty on the attributes of leadership being the need to “work the soles off your shoes in trying harder than everybody else and looking into your soul to determine what kind of leader you should be.”

Dr Colm Foster brought a more cerebral as well as ‘Hollywood’ approach to the theme of the day using the Gladiator movie as a template for some of the key lessons to be learned on the road to being a strong leader.

Bord Gáis Energy boss Dave Kirwan needed to be persuaded to take up a position on stage among such strong presenters but he was a persuasive interviewee on the balances that need to be struck between leading from the front and taking in the views of others.  We will catch up with Kirwan later this year as part of a series of interviews with business leaders on the impact that sport has had on their management styles.

Here are some of the social media posts that capture some of the energy in the room on what was certainly a winning morning for those in attendance.