welcome to Better Business : Better Golf
James Donnelly is the CEO and founder of Better Business Better Golf. He has 18 years experience of working with and developing senior executives around the world including the US, Europe and Australasia. He has worked with companies across the spectrum of industry, including Microsoft, HSBC and Schlumberger.
He was born in the United Kingdom and graduated from Strathclyde University with a BA(hon.) in Business Studies. He began his career at IBM, then going on to become a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. On leaving the Service he gained valuable experience in Sales Management with AT&T.
His exposure to these vastly different corporate cultures triggered an interest and an insight into how organizations worked, what made them successful, how one management style compared to the next. This led to a passionate commitment to helping leaders create environments in which others could excel.
He has learned that people can only be as good as their leaders allow them to be and that unleashing the full potential of a business is paramount to ‘securing the future’. “ Be proud of everything that you do” is central to his thinking.
Links between golf and business have always been around. Links between great performance, common to different disciplines, are much rarer. Having been a keen student of golf for a number of years he started to watch his golfing friends more closely and found he could predict the flight and direction of their ball based on how they set up at address. He also realized that these same people had not improved or changed their golf swing in 10 years. The same can be seen in business. It becomes possible to predict results based on the culture and habits of organizations and managers, many of whom have the same style and approach as when they took their first step onto the management ladder. Whether it’s a golfer or a manager, they are often the last ones to know what the result of their actions will be.
The conclusion made was…. ‘Fundamental skills underpin superior performance in any discipline’ and there are close relationships between the fundamental skills for one discipline and another. It is not enough to ‘know’ what those fundamentals are; one has to understand them to use them effectively.
Jason Birnbaum
PGA Teaching Professional
A BA graduate in Business Management, Jason began his teaching career as an apprentice for Golf Magazine "Top 100" golf instructor Mitchell Spearman, who himself developed under David Leadbetter. With this pedigree behind him he has developed a deep and extensive understanding of how to help others improve their golf game. He currently works with PGA Tour professionals, Senior Executives as well as being responsible for the running of Junior Golf programs designed to provide select young athletes with the highest level of individual instruction available in the New York metropolitan area. These programs are in their fourth successful year and sponsored by Nike Golf and Powerbar.
As well as traveling extensively at home and abroad, catering to his clients needs, Jason is also the director of golf instruction at the Manhattan Athletic club in New York City. The instruction takes place indoors and utilizes state-of-the-art video and computer technology. He believes strongly in the use of technology to provide intelligent, immediate feedback to help bring about step-change break-throughs for his pupils.
Use of technology to assist in learning all areas of the game features strongly on the Better Business Better Golf program. Jason has developed a comprehensive and innovative series of golf clinics that beginner and experienced player alike will find essential. As with the Management part of the BBBG program, the Golf element embeds the core foundations for success that will stay with you long into the future.
He is an excellent communicator, which enables him to transfer words into pictures and feelings, vital in helping others develop their game. His attention to detail and commitment to his client’s needs, both during and after teaching sessions, sets him apart.