Darren Finkelstein, known widely as The Accountability Guy®, is a beacon of transformation and inspiration in the realms of accountability, leadership, and personal development. Darren’s story is about resilience, reinvention, and how he’s channelled accountability into his superpower.
With an illustrious career that spans across continents and industries, Darren stands as a formidable international accountability coach, advisor, mentor, and captivating author/speaker whose narratives and methodologies have empowered high-performing individuals and teams from Australia/New Zealand to the far reaches of Latin America, Europe, Asia, the United Kingdom, and the United States through his coaching programs.
The foundation of Darren’s methodology and teachings is based around his bestselling book, “The Accountability Advantage – Play your best game,” and his newest book, ‘NO’ – Building a life of choice without obligation.
The heart of Darren’s international focus is to Get Clarity and know what to do first. Get Started, know what to do next, and Get Sh*t Done knowing what to do more of. Darren works with high-performing individuals and teams to help them realise their wildest dreams and smash their goals like glass pinatas!
Before etching his name in the annals of coaching and mentorship, Darren was an integral part of the Apple legacy during the transformative Steve Jobs era. As the Manager of Commercial Markets for Apple Australia, his innovations, sales performance, and leadership were recognised with the prestigious Golden Apple for Asia Pacific, symbolising his influence in shaping the future of technology and business strategy. His journey from the suburbs of Melbourne’s Doncaster to the echelons of Silicon Valley embodies a story of relentless ambition and the pursuit of dreams against all odds.
Post-Apple, Darren embarked on a genuine ‘sea-change’, transitioning from the tech giant to co-founding a boutique lifestyle business in the marine industry alongside business partner Andrew Rose, which they successfully sold and exited the business to follow their own dreams.
This venture not only scaled new heights but also led Darren to become a revered figure in the marine community. His literary contributions, including the bestselling and much-publicised trilogy “Honey, let’s buy a BOAT!”, “Honey, let’s go BOATING!” and “Honey, let’s sell the BOAT!” further cement his status as an industry luminary and a visionary thinker.
Darren’s voice resonated beyond the printed page and into the Melbourne airwaves as a seasoned radio presenter on 3AW, where he delivered engaging ‘Beach N’ Bay Reports’, blending his passion for the outdoors with his expertise in lifestyle and the marine environment.
His entrepreneurial journey continued to flourish with accolades such as the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award from the Dent Global ‘Key Person of Influence’ program, where he currently serves as a Dent Coach, nurturing the next generation of business leaders.
Despite his towering professional achievements, Darren’s heart beats for the simple joy of golf, and working on his small farm, embodying his philosophy of embracing life’s challenges with enthusiasm and resilience, even if it means struggling to hit them straight on the golf course with consistency.
Not only does Darren Finkelstein’s story teach us about achieving the pinnacle of success, but it also imparts lessons about resilience and reinvention. He inspires change, transforms concepts into reality, and assists others in creating extraordinary narratives by channelling their passions and dreams. It’s common knowledge that Darren often says to his family, “What you imagine, you create; now let’s get going.”
With Darren by your side and in your corner as your coach, advisor, and mentor, the road to accountability and beyond is not just a route but a magnificent trip that is just waiting to be discovered. “Accountability is your superpower.”
Being ‘The Accountability Guy®’, naturally, he’s focused on making a business work by eliminating any obstacles or distractions standing in the way of reaching the goals that have been set.
Darren is confident that with his knowledge, experience, and the support of his community and mentors, he can make a business succeed.
As an entrepreneur, he realises every circumstance, event, and the situation is a potential business opportunity. This means there is a constant flow of ideas about workflows, efficiency, people skills, product ecosystems, and potential new business prospects. He is great at looking at everything around him and focusing it all on his goals.
If something needs to be done Darren gets in and starts it himself, as there is no better time than the present to ‘just do it’. He sets clear parameters and makes sure projects follow their projected path. Being proactive and intuitive, he doesn’t like waiting for permission, so prefers to ask for forgiveness instead.
Darren has formed businesses where he could see a growing opportunity to do something better than it was being done before. Tick Those Boxes is a perfect example. There are plenty of ‘Business Coaches’ in the market, however, rarely do they focus on ‘Accountability’. This is why Darren works with clients of business coaches, to offer hands-on implementation of what has been agreed upon by the client and their coach.
Darren formed Tick Those Boxes because he knew with his knowledge, experience, and energy he could do a better job of solving a client’s real problems, making a quantifiable difference through the delivery of a much better outcome. He’s incredibly competitive and respects his competition, knowing their role is to largely keep him accountable, and this makes him even better.
Darren is great at making connections between seemingly unrelated events or situations. He does so in a creative and commercially focused manner. As an entrepreneur, he often comes up with solutions that are the synthesis of other items. He’s also known to repurpose products to market them to new industries and clients.
Darren looks at defeat as an opportunity for success and a learning experience. He’s determined to make all of his endeavours succeed, so he tries and tries again until they do. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you cannot believe anything is impossible, and one should at least try so many times that every opportunity has been explored.
We must understand the importance of people, as they are an asset to any business. Darren has strong communication skills and likes to motivate employees as they work together towards a common goal. This ensures the business grows. He’s great at highlighting the benefits of any situation, naturally coaching others to their own success.
Darren leads from the front. He’s often the first person to arrive and the last one to leave the office. He’ll go in on his days off to make sure an outcome meets (or exceeds) expectations. His mind is constantly focused on delivering products to fix customer problems.
Passion and Energy are one of Darren’s most important traits. Genuine love for the work is why he’s willing to put in extra hours to make the business succeed. This passion goes beyond making money. He’s constantly reading and researching new ways to make businesses better.
Having worked in both BIG business (Apple Inc.) and as an entrepreneur, Darren has built several businesses throughout his career. Largely in the service and lifestyle industries, he also acquired businesses as part of a strategy to achieve growth and market share.
He knows what you’re going through, has walked in your footsteps, and has also been a ‘solopreneur’, so is aware of the rollercoaster journey ahead of you.
Based on my story and my life’s journey, here are five key life lessons that can be condensed from my journey:
“Bite off more than you can chew, and keep chewing”
My wife, Suzi, and I are lucky enough to live half the week in Melbourne and the other half on a small acreage in the Goldfields district of Central Victoria. We both run successful businesses in these locations. Together with my love of golf, it has taught me the value of combining ambition with personal fulfilment, as well as approaching life’s problems with excitement and resilience.
My life lessons and my own journey capture the spirit of creating a life of choice, founded on accountability and the pursuit of one’s passions.
As an entrepreneur, I will be judged not by how much I succeed, but by how often and how well I pick myself up, brush myself off, learn from my failures, and continue to try. Being a key person of influence in your industry forces you to stand out from the crowd and take ownership of your greatness, expertise, and credibility.
If you don’t take ownership of your position in your industry, your opposition will – and you’ll be left wondering why you didn’t.
Dent Global develops entrepreneurs who stand out, scale up, and make a positive impact in the world.
Dent has worked directly with 3,500 + businesses around the world to help them become more visible, valuable, and scalable.
Dent Global is a leader in strategy and technology for entrepreneurial businesses. Since 2010 they have opened up Head Offices in London, Sydney, and Toronto. Their company values are to be brave, have fun, and make a ‘dent’.
As a Dent Coach Darren works with current student intake groups to ensure students stay on track and successfully implement and execute Dent’s processes and frameworks. He also privately coaches many Dent alumni.
He delivers on what he promises:
Over the 12-month period from 1/2/19 to 30/1/20 these amazing results were achieved:
Darren Gets Sh!t Done!
– RADIO 3AW ~ NINE MEDIA (2014 to 2020)
– LIFE’S BETTER WITH A BOAT
– MIRVAC
– ALL ABOUT BOATS for Ch7 and Foxtel
– DENT GLOBAL ~ Key Person of Influence
* iTunes Top 5 bestseller and industry award-winning title.
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I was excited to join Tia Harmer on The Work in Progress: The Personal Productivity Science Insights Podcast! We dive deep into the science of goal setting and the power of accountability—two cornerstones of business and personal success.