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05th Feb 2019

Dublin hurler Liam Rushe on how sport prepares you for the working world

JOE

Brought to you by gradireland

Acting like a GAA star in work doesn’t mean bringing a hurl into the boardroom.

If there’s one thing that makes hurling a particularly good sport to compare to the business world, it’s how competitive it is. As last year’s championship showed, the standard of the game is only on the rise.

Much like any competitive business, you can be certain that Dublin will be analysing counties like Limerick and Galway ahead of the championship. They’ll be looking for chinks in their armour, and working on every aspect of their own game.

As Dublin full forward Liam Rushe said himself, a team of good hurlers will run like a successful business. Both worlds are constantly spinning, but having the right attitude can make it a seamless transition from one to the other.

Liam was talking ahead of the gradireland Live! event, where he’ll be on the main stage discussing the topic of “What Does Success Look Like?” in partnership with PwC Ireland on Thursday, 7 February. As a veteran inter-county hurler and Assistant Manager for Transaction Services at PwC, you’d be hard set to find someone better suited to answer that question.

Moving from one world to another

“There are a lot of traits you can carry over from sport, certainly in my field,” Liam said.

“That experience in sport; dealing with people and learning how to get along is very useful. As well as that, communication would probably be next,” he said.

It’s one thing to have a good understanding of a business or sport, but communicating effectively with teammates is how you become a problem solver. In a sport like hurling, the pressure to quickly convey a message is greater than even the most intense meeting.

“Be it in training before games to be able to talk tactics and technique or during a game under pressure, communication is absolutely vital. That’s something you can easily carry into the business world.”

“So many mistakes are made through a lack of communication or not being able to understand each other,” he said.

All in all, maybe the only difference between competitive hurlers and business people is the attire. At least in hurling, they give you a helmet for when things get a bit out of hand…

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Brought to you by gradireland