The first episode of 2026 on AIBF Business Talk sets a clear and intentional tone for the year ahead. Rather than adding to the usual January noise, this episode focuses on what genuinely sustains performance in business and leadership over time.

Our guest, Gerry Duffy, brings a perspective shaped by endurance sport and high-performance coaching. His experience offers a grounded counterpoint to the idea that motivation is the primary driver of success. Instead, the conversation centres on commitment, discipline and the systems leaders rely on when motivation inevitably fades.

January often encourages leaders to believe that change happens through enthusiasm and intention alone. New plans are made quickly, expectations rise and momentum is assumed. Gerry challenges this thinking by highlighting a simple reality: motivation is inconsistent, while commitment is dependable.

Progress, he explains, is built through small, repeated actions that are maintained even when energy is low or conditions are imperfect. For business owners, this distinction matters. Motivation may initiate action, but commitment is what sustains it.

A recurring theme throughout the episode is leadership as it exists outside the spotlight. Not in moments of recognition or high visibility, but in routine decision-making and follow-through. Leadership, in this context, is demonstrated through consistency, reliability and the ability to act with clarity when distractions are at their highest.

Gerry reflects on how discipline often replaces enthusiasm in moments that truly matter, and how leaders who perform well over time understand this trade-off. The emphasis is not on intensity, but on steadiness.

The conversation also explores focus as a strategic advantage. In an environment where leaders are managing multiple demands, priorities can easily become diluted. Gerry emphasises the importance of reducing complexity, choosing fewer goals and protecting attention as a means of improving execution.

Rather than viewing focus as a limitation, it is framed as direction. Like steering a business with intention rather than simply accelerating activity, clarity becomes the mechanism through which progress is sustained.

Many leaders begin the year carrying unresolved pressures from the previous one. This episode does not promise rapid transformation or dramatic resets. Instead, it offers perspective, structure and a reminder that long-term performance is built quietly, through consistent behaviour and deliberate choices.

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The All-Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF) is an autonomous national accreditation body tasked with enterprise development and the promotion of best-in-class Irish businesses.

As the accreditation body for the Business All-Star mark, the AIBF recognises companies that merit distinction through an independent audit of their performance, reputation and customer-centricity.

Business All-Star Accreditation is the nation’s symbol of trust.

Currently, over 750 companies hold AIBF accreditation. Since 2014, more than 5,000 businesses have participated in AIBF programmes. The Foundation also hosts the annual All-Ireland Entrepreneurs Summit and monthly gatherings to promote peer learning and collaboration across its community.

For more information, visit www.aibf.ie.