The UCD Smurfit Executive Development Leading High-Performance Organisations with Leinster Rugby programme explores the achievement of excellence and the drivers of success at the intersection of business and elite sport. Delivered in partnership with serial champions Leinster Rugby and designed for senior leaders, the three-day programme gives participants unique insights into the systems, culture and mindset that sustain success on and off the field with UCD Smurfit faculty translating these lessons int actionable strategies for business.
Big Red Cloud founder Marc O’Dwyer says the programme “touched all the bases” for him. “I played under-20s for Leinster, and I still bring my mother to matches,” he says. “It was great to get insights into their success. John O’Gorman, the programme director, linked that to business. That was massively appealing.”
The timing was right as well. “I did the programme in February, just as we were going through the due diligence process to sell Big Red Cloud,” he explains. “I was thinking about life after Big Red Cloud and that I might want to do something else with the knowledge I had. I was well placed to help people with consulting and advice after 33 years in business and I’m now able to help them implement high performance strategies in their business. That’s priceless.”
The programme surpassed his expectations. “I didn’t realise Leinster would give an open door view of how they had been so successful,” he says. “The management deliver the game plan to the players on Monday and let them get on with it. That’s like what I do in business, I let people get on with it.”
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That game plan is based on in-depth research and analysis of opponents, referees, linesmen, the location, weather conditions and so on. “Everything is researched. They hand the game plan to players who have responsibility to deliver it on the day.”
Post match analysis is vitally important as well. “They have a performance analyst who stays up until 3am running data analytics after matches. She looks at metres gained, line outs, scrums and so on. That’s all delivered to the team the next day for the match review. They look at what went right, what went wrong, and what they can do to improve and beat the competition. You have to look at the competitive landscape to be a winner.”
It’s not all rugby. “The COO, Guy Easterby, was there as well to discuss things like managing the logistics of moving between the Aviva and Croke Park while the RDS is being redeveloped. We also looked at the HR aspect, about players being on two-year contracts, contract negotiations, budgeting, preparing players for life after rugby. To get that level of detail on what goes on was way over my expectations.”
Ireland’s most decorated athlete Jason Smyth also participated in the February programme. His motivation was slightly different. “I’ve always been fascinated by and interested in high performance sport and all those skills you need to develop for high performance,” he says. “Having experienced success in my own space, I was interested in learning about different sporting environments. I was also interested in learning how that connects with business. If you can get people to improve on their individual performance, collaborate as a team, and build a resilient mindset, that results in improved performance for the business. That connects with my own experience.”
That experience is one of truly outstanding success. Up to his retirement in 2023, Smyth went 18 years unbeaten in Paralympian sprint events taking multiple Paralympic Games golds along the way. Post-retirement he has been working with Paralympics Ireland to drive strategy and help the organisation to broaden its societal impact.
He also found time to be crowned RTE Dancing with the Stars champion in 2024.
“I retired from competition two and a half years ago,” he says. “When you’re competing, you’re in the moment and focused on what’s next. Only since I’ve stopped, have I been able to pause and reflect on what an incredible journey I’ve been able to have. Dancing with the Stars was a completely different experience. But it’s often not until we put ourselves in uncomfortable places that we learn to adapt and thrive – that’s often a great place for growth and learning about yourself.”
The Leading High-Performance Organisations programme offered valuable learnings as well. “What people take out of the programme will be personal and connected to them,” he says. “I was coming at it from a different angle. I was coming from sport to see how it relates to business. I wanted to understand different sports and if it differs from sport to sport. One of the things I’ve reflected on since doing the programme is that I have greater confidence that learnings from sport are transferrable to business. The same underlying or overarching principles apply, the difference is how they are applied within the space.”
That difference in application is very important. He points out that there is no standard formula for success in either sport or business. “So often in sport, people are looking for a success formula. The more complicated it is, the more likely they are to feel it’s right. But the best of the best do the smaller things consistently well over a period of time. Something too simple can seem too easy and can often be overlooked.”
Access to Leinster Rugby’s inner workings was very valuable. “Looking at the performance end of Leinster, chatting to the head coach Leo Cullen and different people, and learning about the business side was all very useful. It was also interesting to see how they reconcile the business and sporting performance sides. That comes into business as well. Alignment between different departments and spaces is key.”
Peer learning was another important aspect of the programme for him. “Discussing things with people on the course, there were lots of ways I could connect my sporting experience to business. They introduced me to new ways of thinking about things. There are lots of opportunities to connect what’s going on in business right now to some of the things going on in sport. But there is no one right way, you need to understand the principles and how they connect to you and your own environment. That mix of people in the class is great. You get to learn from other people’s experiences. You need to go into it open minded and to learn, if you’re not going to come and challenge your own thinking and the way you see things, you are missing the opportunity.”
O’Dwyer also points to that collective experience as one of the standout aspects of the programme. “Having C-suite level executives from different industries with different perspectives all in the same room, I learned so much from them,” he says. “There are group challenges where the group discusses a topic, gets the collective knowledge from the table, and one member is nominated to present the answers. It’s not an exam. It’s an exercise in calling on each other’s brain power that you learn a lot from. It’s always great to listen and to listen more than you talk.
“John O’Gorman is a really excellent lecturer,” he adds. “The sessions are hugely relevant, especially if a business has got to a point where it has gone a bit stale and you want to inject a bit of je ne sais quoi. The programme opened my eyes to a different way of thinking. The time spent away from your own business along with 20 to 30 senior leaders, access to Leinster Rugby and teaching from Smurfit on how that relates to business. It’s priceless. I would recommend it to businesses of any size. Every business needs to perform and the course shows you a different way of performing.”
The next intake of the Leading High Performance Organisations Programme takes place from November 12th-14th 2025. Visit the webpage for more information.
