Be ruthless, be humble, take risks - Cody tells Limerick audience keys to success

WIN with dignity. Banish excuses. Trust your gut. Take risks.

At 7.30am on a Tuesday morning in April, 300 people from across Limerick city and county are tucking into sausages, rashers and a poached egg in the Castletroy Park Hotel.

And by 9.15 they will depart the ballroom, not quite waltzing, but certainly with a spring in their step after listening to a succinct, thoughtfully-worded address by Kilkenny hurling boss Brian Cody.

For just over half an hour the retired primary school principal who is regarded as the greatest manager in the history of hurling speaks of the parallels between sport and business which, he says, “are absolutely massive”.

Cody is speaking as the special guest at the University of Limerick GAA Club business breakfast morning.

To be successful or to try to be successful, he says, “you have to have a mental toughness to close out the deal”.

“In sport, we talk about it, that killer instinct that nothing is going to stop you - same thing in business, it’s a competitive world out there and you have to have that drive, that desire, that determination, the killer instinct,” says the 64-year-old who is now in his 21st season as Kilkenny senior hurling manager.

“And we would always have had that killer instinct, within the rules of the game of course, we’d be gentle about things,” he says, prompting fits of laughter.

He tells attendees who include GAA players, auctioneers, solicitors, retailers, advertising executives, teachers, gardai and members of the media “you should banish excuses”.

“If you don’t win, it you’re not successful, if you don’t achieve what you want to achieve, if you don’t reach your targets in business or whatever it is, then I would suggest you don’t start making excuses for it because it’s an easy way out. And if you do start making excuses, I think the only thing you will start getting good at is making excuses.”

When speaking about Limerick’s All-Ireland success last year, Cody, who has won 11 All-Ireland hurling titles as manager over the last two decades, says one of the lessons he has learned during his tenure is “what wins for you last year doesn’t win for you this year”.

“What gets you success in business this year won’t be enough next year. Why? Because they are queuing up behind you to do away with you. And that’s the great thing about sport, that’s the great thing about business - maybe not so great but that’s the reality of it. That’s the way it should be, that’s the way it has to be. So you just can’t stand still - it’s always about raising the bar, getting to the next level.”

In terms of qualities he looks for in players, Cody, who is seen as one of the toughest taskmasters in the business - cites humility as being “vitally important”.

“I couldn’t emphasise enough the importance of humility because when you don’t have humility, when you have people thinking they are a sort of know-it-all, or when you have people thinking they are more important than the next person... in any group if you don’t have that humility, if you don’t work for the team, everybody is putting their best foot forward to drive on for the company, not for myself, that sense of humility, that we are all in this together, because when you don’t have that, ego takes over and that’s dangerous territory.”

Ego, he says, “essentially infects the whole group, corrupts the whole group”.

“It just takes away from the group dynamic. Like I said, it infects it, it drags it down.”

Reflecting on his years in charge of the Cats and the outstanding players who wore the black and amber at different periods, there was, he says, “certainly a terrific humility about them”.

“They deserve great credit for that,” he says. “I’m talking about the Henry Shefflins, the Tommy Walshs, all these fellas, super players and they always went out to work. You go to work for the team, that’s your job, that’s your responsibility, and when you have that, you’re in a good place when you have that.”

While he says that every group will have “natural born leaders” who can stand up and take centre stage and go to the middle of the dressing room or floor and take over and drive a thing forward and inspire, “I would say leadership can be shown in many different ways - it doesn’t always have to be vocal, it doesn’t always have to be the people with the ability to stand up and speak, the quiet ones can show terrific leadership as well.

“I’m sure you will all have seen that, by their body language, by the way they carry themselves, by their personality, by the way they just see things that need to be done and just go and do it. They are selfless in every thing they do, and when you have workers in your company like that, it is very, very inspiring - that’s terrific leadership  which should always be recognised, cultivated and encouraged, to give them the sense of the value they are bringing to the group.

“Maybe even encourage those people to be a little bit vocal at times to let them see how strong their leadership is. I would say that every single person within your group has leadership qualities and that should never be underestimated.”

His advice to those in leadership roles? Be yourself!

“Have a confidence in your own ability to do whatever it is you are doing. If you don’t have that  really there is no point in your being there and putting yourself forward as a manager or as a leader or whatever it is.

“Bring yourself to it - bring your own personality. Have confidence in the kind of person you are - your strengths, your talents, the things you are good at. Also the things you are not so good at because none of us are good at everything that’s for sure. None of us have all the answers to everything, but not to worry about that, don’t fear that, just go in there and have confidence, trust your gut instinct.

“As long as your motivation is right, as long as you are doing things for the right reasons, you trust your gut instincts and I think you won’t go far wrong.”

Risk taking, he feels, is “essential” in becoming a success at what you are doing.

“You have got to trust your gut instinct. If you are in a leadership role, if you’re in charge, you can never be afraid to do what you honestly think is the right thing to do. It’s essential to do that.”

He spoke of entering the joyous Limerick dressing room last July after the men in green and white ended a 45-year wait to beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship after a pulsating quarter-final in Thurles.

“We were gone out of the championship, Limerick were going ahead to a semi-final. I wanted to go in and represent Kilkenny in a proper way and represent myself and all the players and the people I was representing,” he explains.

“I didn’t make any magnificent speech, what they did was absolutely down to themselves. I spoke just from my heart about the things I believed. I wanted to wish them the best of luck, they were in a terrific place. I was duty bound to represent ourselves and what we stand for. It is sport, you don’t win all the time. You have to be able to lose with dignity but you also have to - and it can be more difficult actually - win with dignity as well. And Limerick have proven that they have won with dignity and that’s a terrific thing to see.”

Another crucial element of success, Cody emphasises, is setting standards.

“What kind of standards do you inspire? 

“You have to be talking about standards of excellence all the time - absolute excellence in everything you do in your working day,” he says.

 “Obviously in sport you will be spending much of your time on the training pitch, in training situations so your training centre has to be a centre of excellence - your work situation, your office, wherever you are, has to be a place of excellence.

“When you go into it, when you walk in, you get that sense that this is top class. You can see it a mile away. You walk into a place and immediately you get a sense of what they’re at.

“I walked in here this morning and met some people from the UL GAA club and straight away I know it’s brilliant. There’s a real sense of spirit, obviously it’s a good place to be and that’s hugely important. When those standards are strong, players and workers and everybody buys into it quickly, very, very quickly.”

While he says that everybody talks about “being the best you can be, Cody challenges that “and reminds people that it’s a place that you actually should  never think you’ll ever get to because if you ever think you’ve now reached the ultimate of where you can go, I would say you’re putting limits on what you can do.

“I would say put no limits on what you can achieve, none.

“The sky’s the limit in what you can do and achieve, provided you keep that drive and motivation.

“Some of the great players I would have dealt with over the years, the Henry Shefflins and these fellas, until the very, very last minute he talked about trying to get better, trying to get to another level. And that’s the kind of attitude to have in work and in life.”