'Avoid excuses' - Darren Clarke coach tells chief execs
By Michael Taylor, Editor
A life coach from Lancashire who works with businesses and sports stars was the secret ingredient in Darren Clarke’s dramatic win at golf's The Open Championship on Sunday. Speaking to Insider, Mike Finnigan said: "It's been the biggest day of my business life, that's for sure. But what the team achieved with Darren has so many parallels with the chief executives we work with."
Finnigan, who runs his business i2i (from Impossible to Inevitable) from Preston, said he has been able to transform Clarke from a talented underachiever to his first major championship with the same techniques of self belief that business leaders need.
He said: "I first worked with Darren in 1998 and 1999. He got up to number seven in the world and beat Tiger Woods. But he stopped working with me. We've maintained contact ever since and stayed good friends, both with Darren and with his agent Chubby Chandler.
“Back then he hadn't won for three years. Then he started winning. What does that tell you?
"And now, running up to the Open, there was an absolute chasm between his real chances of winning and his perception of him winning."
Finnigan then revealed the techniques he used to help the Northern Irishman succeed.
He said: "I sat him down and said, stop making excuses and make a case for Darren Clarke to start winning again. The only thing stopping him was himself.
"And it's the same with chief executives and leaders in businesses. They line up the excuses 'it’s the market, it's the recession, it's the government, it's globalisation'. It's none of these things and you have to want to win more than you want the alibi for losing. Once you do that, you give yourself a proper chance of winning.
"That's what we did with Darren – and on Sunday you saw the best golfer on the planet."
Finnigan's previous sporting triumphs include snooker star Jimmy White, the South African cricket team and Bolton Wanderers Football Club under Sam Allardyce. He is also close to Everton manager David Moyes.
Finnigan, who has spoken at several Insider events over the years, has now been made part time performance director of the Cheshire-based ISM agency which represents golfers Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Clarke.
He still works with business clients and has a 21-strong team delivering a range of projects.
