Game notes are an essential part of each of our jobs. Every athletics communications professional is putting out some version of a pre-game release packet before each event, but the reality is that very few people actually put out a document in a useable format that is helpful to all media outlets covering the event, or even useable for the communications professional him/herself.
I have seen 50-page notes packages without one tidbit of useful information or information in a useable format. Here’s the thing communications professionals need to keep in mind: It doesn’t matter how good of a notes package you believe it to be, if it’s not effective in helping media personnel do their jobs, then you might as well not have done it in the first place. It’s your job to promote your program and assist those giving you coverage.
Seek feedback from the media on what things are helpful in your notes and what things are not. Check with your team radio personnel, see what things they like from the notes of opponents you play. Ask your local beat writer and student beat writer what is most important to them.
A television broadcast of your game is always probably going to be the medium that draws the most in-game attention for your program. That is where you are exposing your program to fans and recruits alike. So why wouldn’t you want to make your notes the most usable for television talent? That’s two-plus hours of non-stop promotion of your program. Don’t you want the talent and production crew to have easy-to-use information so that they can talk about all of the things you want to emphasize about your program?
One of the most useful things I find in helping TV talent is to get a DVD of each of your games that is televised. Watch it afterwards from start to finish. Make note of what things from your notes television seems to like to use and what things it seems to never use. Make sure you continue to do the things that you find them using and try to include in your notes things you see on the broadcast and aren’t using. This is critical to successful promotion of your program.
Here’s a few keys to great game notes:
CHARTS CONTROL TV GRAPHICS: Have a lot of charts included in your game notes. All-time career lists, national individual rankings, comparisons from last year to this year, improvements, streaks and trends - all that stuff is clutch. What many athletics communications professionals fail to understand is that charts can directly be translated into TV graphics by the font coordinator. The more useful charts you include in your notes (knowing what TV is looking for), the more opportunity you have as your team’s publicist to control the graphics that appear on your game broadcast. Include all useful charts you can think of. Just because someone could extrapolate the data from the conference release or the NCAA data doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include it in your notes - do the work for them and you will find more graphics to your liking during your game broadcast.
KEY FRONT PAGE: Put the absolute most important information on your front page. I suggest a narrative summary of three or so paragraphs setting the stage for the game - sometimes that is something that radio or TV broadcasters can just lift and use in the opening of their broadcast. Gives you a good opportunity to get your message across in those parts of the broadcast as well. Also, I suggest a “quick notes” section based on easy-to-read and highly useful, yet succinct information. This is the MOST important information about your program. Just think - what are the 8-10 most important things about your team for the upcoming game. Make this very stat heavy and very tightly written - these are the most important points you want to get across or watch for. The writers will also find this helpful, as far as things to focus on for their upcoming stories and it will often tip off a note or a record that might happen during the game.
STREAKS AND TRENDS: Make the majority of your notes about streaks and trends. A wishy-washy and very wordy four-paragraph note about someone’s individual performance in one game alone is absolutely useless. It doesn’t apply to the current game, it doesn’t signify any trend in performance, it doesn’t identify any records and, for all intensive purposes, is absolutely useless. Things that people can watch for: trends of the wins, trends of the losses, consistent improvement, trends over the last five games, game comparisons, statistical streaks your team is on. These are the things that will make broadcasts, these are the things that will prove useful in your post-game notes, these are the things that will most help the writers. If you aren’t doing this, start immediately. This is one of the only things that really matters as far as information is concerned.
GET RID OF THE RECAPS IN THE NOTES: I am a big proponent of the “game recaps” section of notes with complete box scores. I think this is essential in helping media looking back at past games for “last-time” type of things and comparing games during the season. But it needs to be in the back section of your notes and it doesn’t need to show up anywhere else in your main notes section. Recapping games or series in the heart of your notes section is both useless and counterproductive. That’s not what TV or radio talent is looking for, especially if it is in lengthy narrative form. This type of information just bogs down your notes and makes it really hard to find the things you really need during the course of a game or broadcast. This is a huge inconvenience and often makes people stop referencing your notes altogether because it becomes too tiring to sift through all the general recap fluff that is weighing down your primary notes section.
ORGANIZATION IS KEY: Think about being on the air trying to look up something really quick. You also have to keep the TV official stats and talent stats personnel in mind when doing your notes. They are going to be looking things up on the fly during the game, with announcers and producers shouting in their ears the whole time. It has to be easy and quick to find. To intersperse series notes, team notes, individual notes, etc., makes it nearly impossible to find anything quickly. Have an order to the notes - I suggest: game information, series information, team notes, individual notes, team almanac, updated bios, game recaps and statistics. Bullet points and charts are key. The easier something is to read on the fly, the more likely it is to find its way into the broadcast. It needs to be easy to access and succinct. Those lengthy narrative paragraphs that are in so many people’s notes are absolutely useless, especially for broadcast personnel during the game.
BIOS, BIOS, BIOS: I can’t get over the number of people who don’t include updated player bios in their notes. This is essential for broadcast personnel AND, maybe more importantly, it helps you as the SID answer questions that the media has about each player and helps you with your own recap and post-game notes. A good bio has an updated season summary (three-dot data …), a couple of key “what to watch for” bullet points, game-by-game stats, career stats, season highs and career highs. This is essential. Also, make sure the first few lines of the player bio are streaks and trends (how many games they have played in/started, and some information like “ranks third on the team in scoring with 13.4 ppg” that summarizes their contributions to the team. Bios that are only a summary of what has happened every game without any beginning summary of why that player is important to the team and what they are doing this season are much less useful. Also, with the summarizing of each game part of the bio summary, be sure to have the most current game near the top and summarize, in reverse order, back down to the first game of the season.
ROSTER, PRONUNCIATION GUIDE, RADIO/TV CHART: These should be a given as to why they are essential and important, but you’d be surprised looking at some notes.
OFF-THE-COURT/FIELD IDEAS: One of many things I have learned from the great Susan Lax - it’s really important to have a section of off-the-court/field story ideas in your game notes. This is stuff that you can start by pulling information from the player questionnaires at the beginning of the year and add to it as you hear interesting tidbits on the bus, in the airport or when you are talking to players. Talk about how your player is a great chef or loves solving algorithms or comes from a family of 13 people, all of whom played some sport at your school. These always get positive reviews from TV types and are often helpful to writers looking for feature story ideas. These should be organized by player and should be in bulleted form.
UPDATED RECORD BOOK: Essentially, your entire record book should be updated in each set of notes. It sounds exhausting, but it’s really less tiring than having to update the whole thing at the end of the year and trying to go on memory. Plus, it helps you out immensely when answering media questions at games and putting together your post-game notes. If you rely on the media guide records, you have to find where the performance in that game ranks all time, then figure out if any performances from earlier in the season also belong on the list, and then re-organize the entire list. When doing this on deadline or in a pinch, it’s easy to make mistakes. You don’t want that to happen, and, really, you don’t need the extra stress or work that not doing this causes.
Those are just some key pointers, in my opinion, in how to put together really effective game notes that assist members of the media, especially broadcast media, in better covering your team. I think you’ll find that doing these things will result in a better job of getting your messages across.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
To Seek a Renaissance
If big-time Division I college athletics is in its Renaissance age, the athletics communications profession has a long way to go. That’s not to say there aren’t Leonardo da Vincis and William Shakespeares among our profession.
In fact there are countless talented athletics communications professionals with great skills who, if put in the right positions and empowered to be their absolute best, could go down as legends in the lore of intercollegiate athletics.
Too often, top athletics communications professionals (not in positions of leadership) are accused of being negative and too quick to complain. While that may be true for some out there, I think what many of those professionals are yearning for is a revolution.
Take the majority of your talented, yet negative athletics communications professionals and empower them. No one in their right mind would do what we do without an incredible passion, but it seems many of us have forgotten our enthusiasm for our chosen profession.
It is a humbling and exciting thought to imagine just what would happen if these skilled communicators were empowered to let their inner light shine and be committed to reforming the profession to bring out the best in everyone involved.
There is nothing more powerful than a large group of individuals who are confident in their strengths, highly skilled in their trades, unwaveringly passionate about their chosen field and dedicated to wake up every day looking to make their profession, themselves and their school the best it can possibly be.
Can you imagine the endless possibility?
But it’s hard. I was having a great conversation with a sports sales representative more than a month ago. I was fascinated in learning about his craft and where it was evolving. He spoke with such passion and was excited about what opportunities lied ahead.
Later into the conversation, he asked - “What are things like in your profession?”
I thought - Wow! I relish the opportunity to talk about the Renaissance I am looking for in the athletics communications profession. I was so excited to be able to share my ideas for reform. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t coming off in a negative tone, so I spoke carefully, as I do when I’m enthusiastically selling my ideas for reform.
“We have a lot of talented people in our field,” I started. “But I think this is a critical time for our profession. We are in need of reform to reverse the growing disenchantment among our professionals and need to find a way to bridge a gap between the ‘new school’ mindset and the ‘old school’ mindset. If we aren’t willing to accept new challenges and solidify our position at the leadership table, with the growing decline of conventional media, our profession could be dying. At the same time, we can‘t get away from the traditional fundamentals and skills on which our success is based.”
I thought - that’s it! I have finally found a way to put together the perfect summary of what needs to happen in our profession and, I was almost inspired by my own words.
Talk about a way to end a conversation.
Change scares people. I knew immediately once I finished saying my piece that the conversation was over. Mine was a call to action and that’s scary to people. Instead of striving to get better, it’s easier to go with the status quo. Even if he thought I was right, it’s too dangerous to make waves.
So, what many people do is not rock the boat. It may be easier in the short term, but it’s devastating in the long run.
At my very first CATSPY Awards at the University of Kentucky, the annual athletics awards show that honors those of most importance in college athletics - the student-athletes, I was an impressionable 19-year-old freshman. In awe of much of the show, I was inspired by the speech given by athletics director Mitch Barnhart at the end of the program.
“There’s no staying the same,” Barnhart told the contingent of student-athletes, coaches, support staff and administrators in attendance. “You’re either getting better or getting worse. There’s no staying the same.”
That stuck with me and, just like many of you, there have been days when I haven’t gotten better. But there are a lot of days I spend trying to get better.
That is exactly what’s happening when we refuse to embrace reform in the athletics communications field. We are refusing to get better and, in the process, we are getting worse.
There is no staying the same.
I’m not saying that I have all the answers. In fact, far from it. One important lesson for any of us to understand is that none of us have a monopoly on wisdom. It does not exist and, while we should always strive to grow, learn and change, we should not strive to monopolize wisdom.
Any mistake I criticize, I openly say that I have made that mistake at some point or another. Sure, I am probably among those listed when negativity among athletics communications is mentioned. But it’s only because people don’t understand the endless possibilities I see in our field and in college athletics as a whole.
I actually consider myself an optimist, who is regularly disappointed because the potential and possibility I see in everything is endless and, almost inevitably, we come up short of that. I can assure you, I am my own worst critic and am harder on myself and my own actions than I am of anyone or anything else.
There is no question I don’t have all the answers. But, what I want to do is discuss the problems. No, not just with the top communicators and not in a formal setting. When we’re honest, we’re all better off down the road, even though it might be hard for some to hear at the time. Let’s get talented communicators together from all levels - I can assure you we would find an answer and a solution to every issue athletics communicators are facing right now.
Why not have an athletics communications Renaissance? Our schools deserve it, our student-athletes deserve it and we ourselves deserve it. If we aren’t the best then we are selling ourselves and everyone else short. Let’s be our absolute best - all at the same time. How awesome would that be?
As Anne Frank wrote “Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!”
Let’s work collectively on a daily basis to bring out that potential - to truly see how good we can be.
But, in conjunction with that, our environments need to be conducive to that - and that’s why there’s need for reform. Surely with that goal in mind, we can all work together to collectively ensure that we are able to put that potential to work - to let our lights shine.
Here are some starting points for change, for opportunity:
-Convert At-Large members of the CoSIDA Board to Elected Positions - Sure there are a number of talented professionals on our profession’s board of directors, but what incentive is there to effect positive change for the majority of the membership? I want the At-Large Board of Directors members to be able to clearly define their position on issues. What are your key causes? Why do you want to be on the board of directors? What is the change you are looking to effect? Additionally, if these positions are elected, that institutes a system of accountability because, just as quickly as you are elected, if you don’t make progress towards what you have promised, you could easily be defeated in the next election. It’s funny how a little accountability makes things get done faster. Make our leaders accountable. I have aspirations to participate in leadership positions with the CoSIDA board of directors. I want to be held accountable by our constituents. If I am just appointed - then I am representing the membership, but they had no say in electing who represents them. Do you want to be represented in the Senate by someone you didn’t have the opportunity to vote for or against? I think not.
-Increase Professional Development Opportunities - I have mentioned these in previous posts. We are in critical need for an accreditation process. There is no formal education process and, thus, no real way to distinguish a talented communicator from someone off the street. Let’s reward those who have invested the time to improving their skill sets and their careers. I’m not saying every SID out there has to be accredited, but let’s have the process available and reward those who commit to it - higher pay, more impressive professional distinction, more respect, better jobs. It’s a no-brainer. Create an Ohio University-like program for athletics communications. I’ve already detailed the curriculum in an earlier blog post. You have to be a certified athletic trainer and a certified strength coach and a registered nutritionist, but you don’t have to have any designation to be an athletics communications director. Think that’s why we have trouble gaining respect in the overall athletics structure? Hmmmm.
-Measure Monetary Effectiveness - If you look in Sports Business Journal, the majority of its 40 Under 40 award winners are marketing professionals. Wonder why? They can prove their worth to the bottom line of the organization. They brought in this much revenue through corporate sponsorships. A coupon for free tickets they bought in the newspaper resulted in so many fans coming to the game. There’s metrics involved everywhere in marketing. Marketing professionals can easily show how they contribute to the bottom line. As athletics communications professionals, we don’t do that. In fact, many of you might be thinking we can’t do that. Just as a Chief Marketing Officer presents his number figures to the boss, so should the Chief Communications Officer. We should be required to submit similar reports. Let’s employ news-clip services. That cover of Sports Illustrated you got your quarterback on for free - how much would publicity have cost you if you bought the cover of Sports Illustrated to promote your program? That three-hour long college football game broadcast on ESPN where they use your notes to speak positively about your program while the game progresses - how much would it have cost your athletics department for a three-hour advertisement from 7-10 p.m. on ESPN during college football Saturdays? We have to help ourselves by proving our worth to the bottom line. It’s definitely there, but people aren’t seeing it. In fact, we contribute to the bottom line more cheaply than the marketing folks - our publicity is free - we don’t purchase any ads or sell any space.
-End the Rising Disenchantment of Professionals - Let’s talk. Seriously - we need to figure out a way to re-inspire the passion that each of you had when you first began the job. What are the main detractors from your happiness? Does most of it ensue from the fact that you aren’t maximized to your full potential? Let’s figure this out. Forget political correctness - do you want soldiers who sit privately unhappy or do you want a team of people who want to be the best? Let’s all be the best. Let’s end the divisions that exist in our profession, whether that be between administrators/coaches and communicators, senior communicators and junior communicators, or communicators and members of the media. We need to find the answers and reform our industry.
I would love to have your suggestions on what we can do to work on the four issues that I have mentioned, and what other issues exist that need to be addressed. I want each of you out there to seek your full potential and reach it. We can’t do this alone - let’s all work together to try to effect positive change.
What could be more fulfilling and empowering than to reach your full potential on a daily basis? There has been no better time - we have all of the resources, all of the new mediums and all of the new technologies. Let’s all work together to create the athletics communications Renaissance.
Will you join me?
In fact there are countless talented athletics communications professionals with great skills who, if put in the right positions and empowered to be their absolute best, could go down as legends in the lore of intercollegiate athletics.
Too often, top athletics communications professionals (not in positions of leadership) are accused of being negative and too quick to complain. While that may be true for some out there, I think what many of those professionals are yearning for is a revolution.
Take the majority of your talented, yet negative athletics communications professionals and empower them. No one in their right mind would do what we do without an incredible passion, but it seems many of us have forgotten our enthusiasm for our chosen profession.
It is a humbling and exciting thought to imagine just what would happen if these skilled communicators were empowered to let their inner light shine and be committed to reforming the profession to bring out the best in everyone involved.
There is nothing more powerful than a large group of individuals who are confident in their strengths, highly skilled in their trades, unwaveringly passionate about their chosen field and dedicated to wake up every day looking to make their profession, themselves and their school the best it can possibly be.
Can you imagine the endless possibility?
But it’s hard. I was having a great conversation with a sports sales representative more than a month ago. I was fascinated in learning about his craft and where it was evolving. He spoke with such passion and was excited about what opportunities lied ahead.
Later into the conversation, he asked - “What are things like in your profession?”
I thought - Wow! I relish the opportunity to talk about the Renaissance I am looking for in the athletics communications profession. I was so excited to be able to share my ideas for reform. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t coming off in a negative tone, so I spoke carefully, as I do when I’m enthusiastically selling my ideas for reform.
“We have a lot of talented people in our field,” I started. “But I think this is a critical time for our profession. We are in need of reform to reverse the growing disenchantment among our professionals and need to find a way to bridge a gap between the ‘new school’ mindset and the ‘old school’ mindset. If we aren’t willing to accept new challenges and solidify our position at the leadership table, with the growing decline of conventional media, our profession could be dying. At the same time, we can‘t get away from the traditional fundamentals and skills on which our success is based.”
I thought - that’s it! I have finally found a way to put together the perfect summary of what needs to happen in our profession and, I was almost inspired by my own words.
Talk about a way to end a conversation.
Change scares people. I knew immediately once I finished saying my piece that the conversation was over. Mine was a call to action and that’s scary to people. Instead of striving to get better, it’s easier to go with the status quo. Even if he thought I was right, it’s too dangerous to make waves.
So, what many people do is not rock the boat. It may be easier in the short term, but it’s devastating in the long run.
At my very first CATSPY Awards at the University of Kentucky, the annual athletics awards show that honors those of most importance in college athletics - the student-athletes, I was an impressionable 19-year-old freshman. In awe of much of the show, I was inspired by the speech given by athletics director Mitch Barnhart at the end of the program.
“There’s no staying the same,” Barnhart told the contingent of student-athletes, coaches, support staff and administrators in attendance. “You’re either getting better or getting worse. There’s no staying the same.”
That stuck with me and, just like many of you, there have been days when I haven’t gotten better. But there are a lot of days I spend trying to get better.
That is exactly what’s happening when we refuse to embrace reform in the athletics communications field. We are refusing to get better and, in the process, we are getting worse.
There is no staying the same.
I’m not saying that I have all the answers. In fact, far from it. One important lesson for any of us to understand is that none of us have a monopoly on wisdom. It does not exist and, while we should always strive to grow, learn and change, we should not strive to monopolize wisdom.
Any mistake I criticize, I openly say that I have made that mistake at some point or another. Sure, I am probably among those listed when negativity among athletics communications is mentioned. But it’s only because people don’t understand the endless possibilities I see in our field and in college athletics as a whole.
I actually consider myself an optimist, who is regularly disappointed because the potential and possibility I see in everything is endless and, almost inevitably, we come up short of that. I can assure you, I am my own worst critic and am harder on myself and my own actions than I am of anyone or anything else.
There is no question I don’t have all the answers. But, what I want to do is discuss the problems. No, not just with the top communicators and not in a formal setting. When we’re honest, we’re all better off down the road, even though it might be hard for some to hear at the time. Let’s get talented communicators together from all levels - I can assure you we would find an answer and a solution to every issue athletics communicators are facing right now.
Why not have an athletics communications Renaissance? Our schools deserve it, our student-athletes deserve it and we ourselves deserve it. If we aren’t the best then we are selling ourselves and everyone else short. Let’s be our absolute best - all at the same time. How awesome would that be?
As Anne Frank wrote “Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!”
Let’s work collectively on a daily basis to bring out that potential - to truly see how good we can be.
But, in conjunction with that, our environments need to be conducive to that - and that’s why there’s need for reform. Surely with that goal in mind, we can all work together to collectively ensure that we are able to put that potential to work - to let our lights shine.
Here are some starting points for change, for opportunity:
-Convert At-Large members of the CoSIDA Board to Elected Positions - Sure there are a number of talented professionals on our profession’s board of directors, but what incentive is there to effect positive change for the majority of the membership? I want the At-Large Board of Directors members to be able to clearly define their position on issues. What are your key causes? Why do you want to be on the board of directors? What is the change you are looking to effect? Additionally, if these positions are elected, that institutes a system of accountability because, just as quickly as you are elected, if you don’t make progress towards what you have promised, you could easily be defeated in the next election. It’s funny how a little accountability makes things get done faster. Make our leaders accountable. I have aspirations to participate in leadership positions with the CoSIDA board of directors. I want to be held accountable by our constituents. If I am just appointed - then I am representing the membership, but they had no say in electing who represents them. Do you want to be represented in the Senate by someone you didn’t have the opportunity to vote for or against? I think not.
-Increase Professional Development Opportunities - I have mentioned these in previous posts. We are in critical need for an accreditation process. There is no formal education process and, thus, no real way to distinguish a talented communicator from someone off the street. Let’s reward those who have invested the time to improving their skill sets and their careers. I’m not saying every SID out there has to be accredited, but let’s have the process available and reward those who commit to it - higher pay, more impressive professional distinction, more respect, better jobs. It’s a no-brainer. Create an Ohio University-like program for athletics communications. I’ve already detailed the curriculum in an earlier blog post. You have to be a certified athletic trainer and a certified strength coach and a registered nutritionist, but you don’t have to have any designation to be an athletics communications director. Think that’s why we have trouble gaining respect in the overall athletics structure? Hmmmm.
-Measure Monetary Effectiveness - If you look in Sports Business Journal, the majority of its 40 Under 40 award winners are marketing professionals. Wonder why? They can prove their worth to the bottom line of the organization. They brought in this much revenue through corporate sponsorships. A coupon for free tickets they bought in the newspaper resulted in so many fans coming to the game. There’s metrics involved everywhere in marketing. Marketing professionals can easily show how they contribute to the bottom line. As athletics communications professionals, we don’t do that. In fact, many of you might be thinking we can’t do that. Just as a Chief Marketing Officer presents his number figures to the boss, so should the Chief Communications Officer. We should be required to submit similar reports. Let’s employ news-clip services. That cover of Sports Illustrated you got your quarterback on for free - how much would publicity have cost you if you bought the cover of Sports Illustrated to promote your program? That three-hour long college football game broadcast on ESPN where they use your notes to speak positively about your program while the game progresses - how much would it have cost your athletics department for a three-hour advertisement from 7-10 p.m. on ESPN during college football Saturdays? We have to help ourselves by proving our worth to the bottom line. It’s definitely there, but people aren’t seeing it. In fact, we contribute to the bottom line more cheaply than the marketing folks - our publicity is free - we don’t purchase any ads or sell any space.
-End the Rising Disenchantment of Professionals - Let’s talk. Seriously - we need to figure out a way to re-inspire the passion that each of you had when you first began the job. What are the main detractors from your happiness? Does most of it ensue from the fact that you aren’t maximized to your full potential? Let’s figure this out. Forget political correctness - do you want soldiers who sit privately unhappy or do you want a team of people who want to be the best? Let’s all be the best. Let’s end the divisions that exist in our profession, whether that be between administrators/coaches and communicators, senior communicators and junior communicators, or communicators and members of the media. We need to find the answers and reform our industry.
I would love to have your suggestions on what we can do to work on the four issues that I have mentioned, and what other issues exist that need to be addressed. I want each of you out there to seek your full potential and reach it. We can’t do this alone - let’s all work together to try to effect positive change.
What could be more fulfilling and empowering than to reach your full potential on a daily basis? There has been no better time - we have all of the resources, all of the new mediums and all of the new technologies. Let’s all work together to create the athletics communications Renaissance.
Will you join me?
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Creating a Dream Team and Being the Best
During my recent visit to Chapel Hill, N.C., on Wednesday, I ventured over to the school’s bookstore and bought a book on North Carolina head women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
I knew very little of Dorrance other than what the numbers tell – 21 NCAA Championships, numerous All-Americans, countless student-athletes who have become mainstays on the U.S. Olympic Team. But I bought the book because I love reading about leaders, especially those who have proven themselves to be among the best.
Sometimes success is dumb luck, a fortune of one’s environment or circumstances. But when success is maintained for a long period of time, there’s often numerous intangible elements that separate those who succeed and those who don’t. Following a successful plan that someone else has used is not going to work for you, necessarily, but by extended study into the lives of a number of leaders, I believe it’s possible to acquire the various elements of success that will make you successful.
One of the stories in the book – The Man Watching by Tim Crothers – that most hit home with me was one of Dorrance’s player conferences with superstar Mia Hamm before her sophomore season. He asked her what she really wanted out of her career and, though it took some time, she eventually blurted out “To be the best.” Dorrance then tells of how he flipped the light switch off and the two sat in darkness for a minute. The then flipped the light back on and said “It’s just a light-switch decision. That’s all it takes, but you have to make that decision every single day.”
I think there’s many great people in the athletics communications profession who have the potential and talent to be the best, but aren’t turning on that light-switch because they haven’t been empowered to. For many, the effort to turn that switch on day after day without the encouragement or empowerment to do so, becomes too much.
Dorrance stresses the importance of making “being the best … something tangible, no longer abstract.” That’s what should be happening in the athletics communications profession. I feel confident in what I’m about to say: If an athletics communications professional walks into a job interview for his or her first full-time (assistant SID) job and when his or her goals are asked, he/she responds “I desire to be the best,” I can say that 75 percent of the time, that person is NOT going to get the job.
It’s too much work. If you hire someone who wants to be the best, they’re going to be needy. They’re going to want added responsibility, they’re going to want constant feedback on how to improve their skill sets. But, most importantly, they’re going to cause problems. Here’s why: In their quest to become the best, that SID will start providing services for their coaching staffs or the media and then – EVERYONE else will want it.
EVERYONE ELSE WILL WANT IT.
That is the phrase of disempowerment in college athletics. You can’t create this Web page for your softball coach, because then the volleyball coach will want it. You can’t travel with the golf team because the tennis coach is then going to want his/her SID to travel with their squad.
That kind of mindset – prevalent at many schools in college athletics – is what limits our programs and limits ourselves as professionals. In reality, each of us should only be limited by the reach of our own imaginations.
When I run my own office one day, it is my aspiration to create the athletics communications version of the “Dream Team.” To create a championship culture to provide first-class media services. We will be regularly recognized as the best within our conference and in the nation.
I want the best women’s basketball SID, the best baseball SID, the best golf SID, the best water polo SID and on and on to be on my staff. My last post was about identifying the best in each respective sport. I want my entire staff to consist of the best, both individually, and collectively as a team.
Here are the key factors I look for in identifying personnel talent to fit into the “Dream Team” environment:
1. Desire to be the best: This is the defining factor in creating an effective athletics communicator. This can’t really be taught and it can’t be faked. Each person has to want to be the best. I know with some of the workplace environment that some SIDs are in, it’s difficult to flip on that light switch every day, but the key is – In the right environment, is this a person who is willing to flip on the light switch to be the best on a daily basis? I want people who are willing to clearly define their goals and evaluate their progress towards those goals. I also want people who are committed to professional development – active in CoSIDA, active in PRSA, pursing an advanced education. As a leader, I want to know – where do you want to go, how can I help you get there, and how does it support the group mission?
2. Desire to push others to be the best: So, everyone else will want it? Great! I want a staff that pushes each other to be the best. You’re doing it, so I now I need to be doing it. Let’s create an environment with a free-flow of ideas – how can we get better? What did you see another school doing that we can adopt in our department? What did you see in my work that I can improve on? We all bring different talents and different perspectives to the table. Why not benefit from that instead of shunning it? If one person is doing it, let’s all do it. And let’s help each other accomplish that goals.
3. Ability to fit into championship culture: It’s all about getting the right people in place in order to be successful. It doesn’t mean having a staff full of best friends (although that would be nice), it means having a staff that works incredibly well together and all supports the mission. I have seen staffs where everyone alone is an All-Star, but no one works well together and it doesn’t work. You can’t create a championship culture with a staff full of individuals, you have to do it as a team. It doesn’t mean hiring all your friends either – the most important goal is that everyone works well together. I have plenty of friends out there who I might not hire. I have some friends who are great SIDs, who I might not hire. The culture I propose does not fit everyone and that’s okay. It’s not a criticism of anyone – it’s perfectly fine. We all have expectations of what we want and they’re not all the same.
4. Willingness to be a 24/7 SID: I don’t care when you come in the office. I don’t care what your hours are. I don’t care if you aren’t at work and don’t take leave. Just get the job done and do it better than anyone else in the nation. In fact, I don’t want you in the office all day. As a communicator, you should be out building and strengthening the relationships with the media, your coaches, your student-athletes and your colleagues, attending meetings in your local PRSA chapter or doing committee work for CoSIDA. But what I do expect is that when your coaches call you, you answer and attend to their requests no matter what time of day it is. If the student newspaper requests a photo at 11 p.m., send it to them. If your coach wants stats at 7 p.m., send it to them. When I call, answer. Don’t want to get into the office until 1 p.m.? Fine with me.
5. Talent: How good is your skill set? Are you a good designer, a good writer, a good communicator? This is critically important, but this is the one thing that can be learned. Notice, I mention this last. While top-notch talent is important to the success of a championship communications office, the other four factors are what define members of a “Dream Team.”
The question then becomes, how does the athletics communications profession morph into one in which its professionals want daily to flip on that light switch and be the best. I think many of us have that potential deep within us – it is for us, as a profession, to determine what is causing the gap between that ability and its reality.
Maybe during these summer months, we would all be well to sit down and determine what holds us back from being the best.
Which of these things can we change and which can’t we? Some things aren’t even directly related to our profession, but hinder us. Do we need to get our finances in order? Do we need to drop a few pounds to give us more energy? Do we need to be more organized? Are we taking enough time for ourselves? How can we recapture our competitive bite to become the best in the business?
It’s hard to evaluate these things and make slight adjustments, but I hope each of you will join me in making these evaluations and tweaks during your offseason. Maybe you too will find yourself blurting out your desire to be the best.
I knew very little of Dorrance other than what the numbers tell – 21 NCAA Championships, numerous All-Americans, countless student-athletes who have become mainstays on the U.S. Olympic Team. But I bought the book because I love reading about leaders, especially those who have proven themselves to be among the best.
Sometimes success is dumb luck, a fortune of one’s environment or circumstances. But when success is maintained for a long period of time, there’s often numerous intangible elements that separate those who succeed and those who don’t. Following a successful plan that someone else has used is not going to work for you, necessarily, but by extended study into the lives of a number of leaders, I believe it’s possible to acquire the various elements of success that will make you successful.
One of the stories in the book – The Man Watching by Tim Crothers – that most hit home with me was one of Dorrance’s player conferences with superstar Mia Hamm before her sophomore season. He asked her what she really wanted out of her career and, though it took some time, she eventually blurted out “To be the best.” Dorrance then tells of how he flipped the light switch off and the two sat in darkness for a minute. The then flipped the light back on and said “It’s just a light-switch decision. That’s all it takes, but you have to make that decision every single day.”
I think there’s many great people in the athletics communications profession who have the potential and talent to be the best, but aren’t turning on that light-switch because they haven’t been empowered to. For many, the effort to turn that switch on day after day without the encouragement or empowerment to do so, becomes too much.
Dorrance stresses the importance of making “being the best … something tangible, no longer abstract.” That’s what should be happening in the athletics communications profession. I feel confident in what I’m about to say: If an athletics communications professional walks into a job interview for his or her first full-time (assistant SID) job and when his or her goals are asked, he/she responds “I desire to be the best,” I can say that 75 percent of the time, that person is NOT going to get the job.
It’s too much work. If you hire someone who wants to be the best, they’re going to be needy. They’re going to want added responsibility, they’re going to want constant feedback on how to improve their skill sets. But, most importantly, they’re going to cause problems. Here’s why: In their quest to become the best, that SID will start providing services for their coaching staffs or the media and then – EVERYONE else will want it.
EVERYONE ELSE WILL WANT IT.
That is the phrase of disempowerment in college athletics. You can’t create this Web page for your softball coach, because then the volleyball coach will want it. You can’t travel with the golf team because the tennis coach is then going to want his/her SID to travel with their squad.
That kind of mindset – prevalent at many schools in college athletics – is what limits our programs and limits ourselves as professionals. In reality, each of us should only be limited by the reach of our own imaginations.
When I run my own office one day, it is my aspiration to create the athletics communications version of the “Dream Team.” To create a championship culture to provide first-class media services. We will be regularly recognized as the best within our conference and in the nation.
I want the best women’s basketball SID, the best baseball SID, the best golf SID, the best water polo SID and on and on to be on my staff. My last post was about identifying the best in each respective sport. I want my entire staff to consist of the best, both individually, and collectively as a team.
Here are the key factors I look for in identifying personnel talent to fit into the “Dream Team” environment:
1. Desire to be the best: This is the defining factor in creating an effective athletics communicator. This can’t really be taught and it can’t be faked. Each person has to want to be the best. I know with some of the workplace environment that some SIDs are in, it’s difficult to flip on that light switch every day, but the key is – In the right environment, is this a person who is willing to flip on the light switch to be the best on a daily basis? I want people who are willing to clearly define their goals and evaluate their progress towards those goals. I also want people who are committed to professional development – active in CoSIDA, active in PRSA, pursing an advanced education. As a leader, I want to know – where do you want to go, how can I help you get there, and how does it support the group mission?
2. Desire to push others to be the best: So, everyone else will want it? Great! I want a staff that pushes each other to be the best. You’re doing it, so I now I need to be doing it. Let’s create an environment with a free-flow of ideas – how can we get better? What did you see another school doing that we can adopt in our department? What did you see in my work that I can improve on? We all bring different talents and different perspectives to the table. Why not benefit from that instead of shunning it? If one person is doing it, let’s all do it. And let’s help each other accomplish that goals.
3. Ability to fit into championship culture: It’s all about getting the right people in place in order to be successful. It doesn’t mean having a staff full of best friends (although that would be nice), it means having a staff that works incredibly well together and all supports the mission. I have seen staffs where everyone alone is an All-Star, but no one works well together and it doesn’t work. You can’t create a championship culture with a staff full of individuals, you have to do it as a team. It doesn’t mean hiring all your friends either – the most important goal is that everyone works well together. I have plenty of friends out there who I might not hire. I have some friends who are great SIDs, who I might not hire. The culture I propose does not fit everyone and that’s okay. It’s not a criticism of anyone – it’s perfectly fine. We all have expectations of what we want and they’re not all the same.
4. Willingness to be a 24/7 SID: I don’t care when you come in the office. I don’t care what your hours are. I don’t care if you aren’t at work and don’t take leave. Just get the job done and do it better than anyone else in the nation. In fact, I don’t want you in the office all day. As a communicator, you should be out building and strengthening the relationships with the media, your coaches, your student-athletes and your colleagues, attending meetings in your local PRSA chapter or doing committee work for CoSIDA. But what I do expect is that when your coaches call you, you answer and attend to their requests no matter what time of day it is. If the student newspaper requests a photo at 11 p.m., send it to them. If your coach wants stats at 7 p.m., send it to them. When I call, answer. Don’t want to get into the office until 1 p.m.? Fine with me.
5. Talent: How good is your skill set? Are you a good designer, a good writer, a good communicator? This is critically important, but this is the one thing that can be learned. Notice, I mention this last. While top-notch talent is important to the success of a championship communications office, the other four factors are what define members of a “Dream Team.”
The question then becomes, how does the athletics communications profession morph into one in which its professionals want daily to flip on that light switch and be the best. I think many of us have that potential deep within us – it is for us, as a profession, to determine what is causing the gap between that ability and its reality.
Maybe during these summer months, we would all be well to sit down and determine what holds us back from being the best.
Which of these things can we change and which can’t we? Some things aren’t even directly related to our profession, but hinder us. Do we need to get our finances in order? Do we need to drop a few pounds to give us more energy? Do we need to be more organized? Are we taking enough time for ourselves? How can we recapture our competitive bite to become the best in the business?
It’s hard to evaluate these things and make slight adjustments, but I hope each of you will join me in making these evaluations and tweaks during your offseason. Maybe you too will find yourself blurting out your desire to be the best.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Willingness to Learn From The Best
Perhaps one of the most intimidating obstacles in the athletics communications profession is being assigned to a sport that you have no experience working with, or no knowledge of the sport, its rules and its culture at all. Inevitably, that is going to happen to everyone in this field at one point or another, often early in a career.
Whether its track and field, field hockey, swimming and diving, lacrosse or synchronized swimming, odds are, each athletics communications professional will be assigned to serve as a primary contact for a sport that he or she is unfamiliar with.
The natural human instinct - which is probably exacerbated with the growing disenchantment among talented athletics communications professionals - would be to use your inexperience and lack of knowledge of that sport as a crutch. That is - blame any failures on your lack of knowledge of that sport and your inexperience as a chief communications contact for that sport.
Excuses or actions like that are one of the things that are wrong with our profession.
Instead, look upon your new sport as an opportunity to learn and get better, which each of us should be striving to do on a daily basis.
I have given this advice several times over the past few months, so I felt it would be prudent to write a blog post about how to handle this type of situation. I am delighted that I’ve had the opportunity to give this advice and that there are so many new-to-sport SIDs out there who are eager to learn.
Upon being assigned said new sport, the first task that an athletics communicator should undertake is to find out who the best communications director for that sport is across the country. Ask your friends in the business who they feel the best contact in that sport is, search the web - see what communications directors in that sport have earned recognition, check the CoSIDA publications contest results - see which SID or school is consistently among the leaders in the annual contest. The best method is asking any communications professional in that sport - “Who is the best SID in your sport?”
Once you have identified that person, start studying their work as much as possible. How do they write their releases? What information is most pertinent in that sport? What charts do you like in their game notes and how can you adapt that information? Start modeling your work off of that person - if you need help on a post-game recap, find a recap that person wrote in a game situation very similar to your game and try to use their release as a template.
I’m not saying to be a copy-cat, but there’s no better way to learn (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?). Really, it doesn’t have to be just one person - it can be three of the nation’s top communications directors in that sport - with you taking what you like from each.
As the games/meets/matches go on, you will slowly develop your own style. It will be a combination of the expert communicator’s way of doing things, plus your own personal touch and style that you probably used with other sports that you have covered in the past.
Another great thing to do would be to reach out to that athletics communicator that you are modeling yourself after. Introduce yourself, say you are new to the sport, admire their work and look forward to meeting/working with them down the road.
More times than not, these “experts” are more than willing to talk the sport with you and, you will probably find that they will become a friend along the way. From time to time, if you have a question, your mentor would likely be willing to help in any way that he or she can.
There is no better way to become one of the best than to study and learn from the best. I am fortunate to have learned from the very best in the different sports I have covered and am so much better for the experience. Odds are, if they care that much about their sport, they’re going to be as much of a caring person in real life and you two will likely be great friends and colleagues for years to come.
From the minute you take on a new sport as the team’s athletics communications contact, immediately begin asking “Who is the best SID in your sport?”
And remember, it’s never too late to learn. Just because you have been a communications contact for a sport for several years, doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the opportunity to learn from the best. We need to be constantly growing and evolving.
For instance, I was introduced the best athletics communications director in the sport of track and field at a chance meeting at the very first track and field meet I ever covered for the University of Kentucky in 2007.
But, in volleyball, I had been either a primary or secondary contact for the sport for five years at both Kentucky and Florida before I had the opportunity to interact (via e-mail) with the best athletics communications director in that sport. And those interactions, five years into it, have made me that much better.
We can always learn from people, no matter how long we have been doing that sport.
I urge each of you to embrace your new sport and strive to be one of the best in the country. Embrace and be thankful for your mentor relationships each day. Who knows, you may develop a keen understanding of that sport and find a deep passion for the beauty of that particular sport, and you may make life-long friends.
I know I did.
Whether its track and field, field hockey, swimming and diving, lacrosse or synchronized swimming, odds are, each athletics communications professional will be assigned to serve as a primary contact for a sport that he or she is unfamiliar with.
The natural human instinct - which is probably exacerbated with the growing disenchantment among talented athletics communications professionals - would be to use your inexperience and lack of knowledge of that sport as a crutch. That is - blame any failures on your lack of knowledge of that sport and your inexperience as a chief communications contact for that sport.
Excuses or actions like that are one of the things that are wrong with our profession.
Instead, look upon your new sport as an opportunity to learn and get better, which each of us should be striving to do on a daily basis.
I have given this advice several times over the past few months, so I felt it would be prudent to write a blog post about how to handle this type of situation. I am delighted that I’ve had the opportunity to give this advice and that there are so many new-to-sport SIDs out there who are eager to learn.
Upon being assigned said new sport, the first task that an athletics communicator should undertake is to find out who the best communications director for that sport is across the country. Ask your friends in the business who they feel the best contact in that sport is, search the web - see what communications directors in that sport have earned recognition, check the CoSIDA publications contest results - see which SID or school is consistently among the leaders in the annual contest. The best method is asking any communications professional in that sport - “Who is the best SID in your sport?”
Once you have identified that person, start studying their work as much as possible. How do they write their releases? What information is most pertinent in that sport? What charts do you like in their game notes and how can you adapt that information? Start modeling your work off of that person - if you need help on a post-game recap, find a recap that person wrote in a game situation very similar to your game and try to use their release as a template.
I’m not saying to be a copy-cat, but there’s no better way to learn (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?). Really, it doesn’t have to be just one person - it can be three of the nation’s top communications directors in that sport - with you taking what you like from each.
As the games/meets/matches go on, you will slowly develop your own style. It will be a combination of the expert communicator’s way of doing things, plus your own personal touch and style that you probably used with other sports that you have covered in the past.
Another great thing to do would be to reach out to that athletics communicator that you are modeling yourself after. Introduce yourself, say you are new to the sport, admire their work and look forward to meeting/working with them down the road.
More times than not, these “experts” are more than willing to talk the sport with you and, you will probably find that they will become a friend along the way. From time to time, if you have a question, your mentor would likely be willing to help in any way that he or she can.
There is no better way to become one of the best than to study and learn from the best. I am fortunate to have learned from the very best in the different sports I have covered and am so much better for the experience. Odds are, if they care that much about their sport, they’re going to be as much of a caring person in real life and you two will likely be great friends and colleagues for years to come.
From the minute you take on a new sport as the team’s athletics communications contact, immediately begin asking “Who is the best SID in your sport?”
And remember, it’s never too late to learn. Just because you have been a communications contact for a sport for several years, doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the opportunity to learn from the best. We need to be constantly growing and evolving.
For instance, I was introduced the best athletics communications director in the sport of track and field at a chance meeting at the very first track and field meet I ever covered for the University of Kentucky in 2007.
But, in volleyball, I had been either a primary or secondary contact for the sport for five years at both Kentucky and Florida before I had the opportunity to interact (via e-mail) with the best athletics communications director in that sport. And those interactions, five years into it, have made me that much better.
We can always learn from people, no matter how long we have been doing that sport.
I urge each of you to embrace your new sport and strive to be one of the best in the country. Embrace and be thankful for your mentor relationships each day. Who knows, you may develop a keen understanding of that sport and find a deep passion for the beauty of that particular sport, and you may make life-long friends.
I know I did.
Monday, January 25, 2010
SID Network helps in Crisis Communications
I've often compared facets of the athletics communications profession to that of a lawyer. That is never more true than when managing crisis communications.
Our effectivness as a communications professional almost always depends on our past experience in dealing with a situation. We are more effective when we are able to relate the crisis we are facing with one we have dealt with in the past, and then reflect on the successes and the failures of that communications plan to help direct us in how to handle our current situation.
But the thing is (and this is a good thing), we likely haven't dealt with every crisis out there, or one similar enough to draw knowledge for our current crisis. I was speaking with a friend and colleague this evening about how to handle somewhat of a crisis situation he was facing.
After being briefed on the situation, I offered my advice and then was quick to say "But, you know who would know ..." and quickly rattled off the name of an SID at a fellow BCS school who had faced a similar situation that I had read about on the NCAA.org Web site.
As fellow athletics communicators, we are all in this thing together. While we may not have the experience of facing a certain crisis, I guarantee you there is an athletics communications director who has faced an identical situation or, at least one that is comparable. That's the power of the athletics communication network.
Keep up with crises that occur in collegiate athletics at schools across the country. One of the best ways to maintain your mental database of crises in college athletics is to read up daily on NCAA.org to see what schools have been penalized, reprimanded, etc., and also keep up with the stories in the daily newspapers and Web sites.
Know the crises that happen in college athletics to build your mental library. Just like a lawyer - they may not know all the facts of the previous case (often ones that set precedents) or its decision, but they know the cases exist and where to find them in their legal books. You know the past crisis and have a general understanding of how it relates to your crisis, and you know where to look (meaning who to call who went through a similar situation).
When you keep up with current crises in sports, make sure you're aware of who the "SID on record" is, meaning that you know who the athletics communications director was for that particular crisis and know who to call, even when that person has moved onto another job and another school.
For instance - if you want to find out how to handle a situation where your coach has committed recruiting violations, call JD Campbell of Indiana. If you want to find out how to handle a situation where a player dies and you have players harming fellow teammates, call Scott Stricklin who was at Baylor during a terribly difficult time for that school. If you want to find out how to handle a situation where a coach is suddenly terminated for violating university policies, contact Brian Miller who was at LSU when Pokey Chatman was fired. If you want to find out how to handle an athletics program that is going through a natural disaster, contact Donna Turner, who was at Tulane during the Hurricane Katrina crisis ... and the list goes on and on.
More than likely, a fellow athletics communications director will be willing to help you out. And if you're in the situation where you can help someone out with a crisis you have gone through, please be willing to do so. Remember, they didn't have to have handled the situation perfectly to be of help to you. If they can do an honest evalutation, they can mention their mistakes in the similiar crisis that will help you not to make them in your situation - you're benefitting from their experience.
Remember to keep tabs on crisis communications in college athletics and be willing to reach out and ask for advice. In crisis situations, experience really is the key, whether it's your experience or an experience that was shared with you.
Our effectivness as a communications professional almost always depends on our past experience in dealing with a situation. We are more effective when we are able to relate the crisis we are facing with one we have dealt with in the past, and then reflect on the successes and the failures of that communications plan to help direct us in how to handle our current situation.
But the thing is (and this is a good thing), we likely haven't dealt with every crisis out there, or one similar enough to draw knowledge for our current crisis. I was speaking with a friend and colleague this evening about how to handle somewhat of a crisis situation he was facing.
After being briefed on the situation, I offered my advice and then was quick to say "But, you know who would know ..." and quickly rattled off the name of an SID at a fellow BCS school who had faced a similar situation that I had read about on the NCAA.org Web site.
As fellow athletics communicators, we are all in this thing together. While we may not have the experience of facing a certain crisis, I guarantee you there is an athletics communications director who has faced an identical situation or, at least one that is comparable. That's the power of the athletics communication network.
Keep up with crises that occur in collegiate athletics at schools across the country. One of the best ways to maintain your mental database of crises in college athletics is to read up daily on NCAA.org to see what schools have been penalized, reprimanded, etc., and also keep up with the stories in the daily newspapers and Web sites.
Know the crises that happen in college athletics to build your mental library. Just like a lawyer - they may not know all the facts of the previous case (often ones that set precedents) or its decision, but they know the cases exist and where to find them in their legal books. You know the past crisis and have a general understanding of how it relates to your crisis, and you know where to look (meaning who to call who went through a similar situation).
When you keep up with current crises in sports, make sure you're aware of who the "SID on record" is, meaning that you know who the athletics communications director was for that particular crisis and know who to call, even when that person has moved onto another job and another school.
For instance - if you want to find out how to handle a situation where your coach has committed recruiting violations, call JD Campbell of Indiana. If you want to find out how to handle a situation where a player dies and you have players harming fellow teammates, call Scott Stricklin who was at Baylor during a terribly difficult time for that school. If you want to find out how to handle a situation where a coach is suddenly terminated for violating university policies, contact Brian Miller who was at LSU when Pokey Chatman was fired. If you want to find out how to handle an athletics program that is going through a natural disaster, contact Donna Turner, who was at Tulane during the Hurricane Katrina crisis ... and the list goes on and on.
More than likely, a fellow athletics communications director will be willing to help you out. And if you're in the situation where you can help someone out with a crisis you have gone through, please be willing to do so. Remember, they didn't have to have handled the situation perfectly to be of help to you. If they can do an honest evalutation, they can mention their mistakes in the similiar crisis that will help you not to make them in your situation - you're benefitting from their experience.
Remember to keep tabs on crisis communications in college athletics and be willing to reach out and ask for advice. In crisis situations, experience really is the key, whether it's your experience or an experience that was shared with you.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Athletics Communications Opportunities with Kindle
So you think they've come up with every possible means to promoting our programs through athletics communications? After all, we're Twittering, Facebooking, blogging, Covering it Live and much more.
I think there's another medium we're not taking advantage of that could spread the word about our programs and also potentially generate a new revenue stream.
Looking at the holiday issues of the Sports Business Journal, one of the main questions that was asked of major executives in the sporting industry was what they were hoping to receive for Christmas. An overwhelming number of executives mentioned that they were really looking forward to receiving a Kindle, the wireless reading device that can download books and subscription-based newspapers and magazines through WiFi or a non-wireless-based 3G network.
What a great invention - especially for frequent travelers like me who read quickly, but can't lug a sackful of books onto a plane (I have to carry too many pounds of media guides to worry about adding to my load with books to read for pleasure). Although, I do fear that this is getting us one step closer to doing away with printed books.
Scary stuff, considering that I love being able to read books and newspapers without having to be on my computer screen. I'm on a computer enough as it is and it's tiring to the eyes. I like hard copies and I don't want them to go anywhere. There's something soothing about looking through a book store. There's a certain aura and a certain smell that is sterilized by the Kindle and its brethren. My philosophy on all of the new inventions - I think they're tremendous, but I don't think any of them should replace the old methods, especially when it comes to the printed piece. But that's another story for another day.
Bottom line is, sports executives (and presumably sports fans, who often have at least some amount of disposable income) are using Kindles in their daily lives, but not getting the sports fix they could with regard to their favorite teams.
The sports world needs to reach out to the Kindle to promote its programs. More and more teams are relying on their own athletics communications office to serve as its news outlet. Essentially, teams are "breaking" their own news on their own Web sites. A lot of schools have hired bloggers and commentators, more news-reporter based than public-relations based, to to write for their own athletics Web sites.
Have your athletics communications department create subscription-based content, similar to ESPN.com's insider, that is directed solely at the Kindle. Maybe you have your free blog on your athletics department Web site with special "Insider" content to subscribers of the subscription-based Kindle component.
Here's another thought - many of you, like me, probably receive the Sporting News Today e-mails or view the online edition. It's essentially a national newspaper sports section that's completely online. Maybe you produce one of these daily for your athletics department. Your athletics communications directors are the beat writers. Essentially, it is a more "fluffy" re-write of their standard game recap or advance, your blogger is your columnist and your student assistants are your feature writers (great experience for them). This "newspaper" is produced completely by your athletics communications department for subscribers to receieve exclusively on their Kindles or similar devices.
Does your department produce its own monthly magazine? When I was at UCF, our athletics communications office, in conjunction with ISP Sports, produced KnightVision, a monthly subscription-based magazine that featured magazine-length writing, features, creative elements and much more directed at the fanbase. Put your monthly magazine on Kindle and offer a discount for this subscription, as compared to having a paper subscription (but never do away with the printed option). It makes sense, after all, it costs you less (both money + labor/time) to submit the copy electronically than to mail, meter and process the magazine.
Cover It Live fits perfectly with Kindle. Look at the orientation of the Kindle device and the orientation of the Cover It Live module. The shape and size is almost identical. Maybe you have a subscription-based way to access Cover It Live from your Kindle. Maybe you have premium chats. I.E. - Your chat with your tennis star is covered live for free on your Web site, but think of the revenue you could generate with a subscription-based live chat via Kindle with fans communicating with that Heisman-winning standout quarterback who is on ESPN on a daily basis.
Just because you're Twittering and Facebooking doesn't mean you're doing everything you can to promote your program. There's always something more that can be done.
Now, here's the clincher, though - we need to fight for these things to become a reality. The apathy in this profession needs to go away. We need to fight for these positions. Every athletics communications department needs at least one person whose entire job is devoted to social media/new media.
Let's be strategic about this - telling your athletics director that you need this position isn't often going to get you very far. Remember what I have been emphasizing - make this a science, make it strategic. Do your research using PRSA and other outlets - come up with a well-researched strategic plan for why these positions need to be created and how they can contribute to your bottom line. Maybe it doesn't change anything, especially if the money's just not there, but maybe it does.
Continue to promote your champions like a champion. There are always new and innovative ways out there, this is just an example of one untapped resource for athletics communications promotion.
I think there's another medium we're not taking advantage of that could spread the word about our programs and also potentially generate a new revenue stream.
Looking at the holiday issues of the Sports Business Journal, one of the main questions that was asked of major executives in the sporting industry was what they were hoping to receive for Christmas. An overwhelming number of executives mentioned that they were really looking forward to receiving a Kindle, the wireless reading device that can download books and subscription-based newspapers and magazines through WiFi or a non-wireless-based 3G network.
What a great invention - especially for frequent travelers like me who read quickly, but can't lug a sackful of books onto a plane (I have to carry too many pounds of media guides to worry about adding to my load with books to read for pleasure). Although, I do fear that this is getting us one step closer to doing away with printed books.
Scary stuff, considering that I love being able to read books and newspapers without having to be on my computer screen. I'm on a computer enough as it is and it's tiring to the eyes. I like hard copies and I don't want them to go anywhere. There's something soothing about looking through a book store. There's a certain aura and a certain smell that is sterilized by the Kindle and its brethren. My philosophy on all of the new inventions - I think they're tremendous, but I don't think any of them should replace the old methods, especially when it comes to the printed piece. But that's another story for another day.
Bottom line is, sports executives (and presumably sports fans, who often have at least some amount of disposable income) are using Kindles in their daily lives, but not getting the sports fix they could with regard to their favorite teams.
The sports world needs to reach out to the Kindle to promote its programs. More and more teams are relying on their own athletics communications office to serve as its news outlet. Essentially, teams are "breaking" their own news on their own Web sites. A lot of schools have hired bloggers and commentators, more news-reporter based than public-relations based, to to write for their own athletics Web sites.
Have your athletics communications department create subscription-based content, similar to ESPN.com's insider, that is directed solely at the Kindle. Maybe you have your free blog on your athletics department Web site with special "Insider" content to subscribers of the subscription-based Kindle component.
Here's another thought - many of you, like me, probably receive the Sporting News Today e-mails or view the online edition. It's essentially a national newspaper sports section that's completely online. Maybe you produce one of these daily for your athletics department. Your athletics communications directors are the beat writers. Essentially, it is a more "fluffy" re-write of their standard game recap or advance, your blogger is your columnist and your student assistants are your feature writers (great experience for them). This "newspaper" is produced completely by your athletics communications department for subscribers to receieve exclusively on their Kindles or similar devices.
Does your department produce its own monthly magazine? When I was at UCF, our athletics communications office, in conjunction with ISP Sports, produced KnightVision, a monthly subscription-based magazine that featured magazine-length writing, features, creative elements and much more directed at the fanbase. Put your monthly magazine on Kindle and offer a discount for this subscription, as compared to having a paper subscription (but never do away with the printed option). It makes sense, after all, it costs you less (both money + labor/time) to submit the copy electronically than to mail, meter and process the magazine.
Cover It Live fits perfectly with Kindle. Look at the orientation of the Kindle device and the orientation of the Cover It Live module. The shape and size is almost identical. Maybe you have a subscription-based way to access Cover It Live from your Kindle. Maybe you have premium chats. I.E. - Your chat with your tennis star is covered live for free on your Web site, but think of the revenue you could generate with a subscription-based live chat via Kindle with fans communicating with that Heisman-winning standout quarterback who is on ESPN on a daily basis.
Just because you're Twittering and Facebooking doesn't mean you're doing everything you can to promote your program. There's always something more that can be done.
Now, here's the clincher, though - we need to fight for these things to become a reality. The apathy in this profession needs to go away. We need to fight for these positions. Every athletics communications department needs at least one person whose entire job is devoted to social media/new media.
Let's be strategic about this - telling your athletics director that you need this position isn't often going to get you very far. Remember what I have been emphasizing - make this a science, make it strategic. Do your research using PRSA and other outlets - come up with a well-researched strategic plan for why these positions need to be created and how they can contribute to your bottom line. Maybe it doesn't change anything, especially if the money's just not there, but maybe it does.
Continue to promote your champions like a champion. There are always new and innovative ways out there, this is just an example of one untapped resource for athletics communications promotion.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Why Don't We Discuss Goals?
"What are your goals and how can we help you achieve them?"
How often have your leaders asked you that question and how often do you direct that question to those you lead? Chances are, not often.
It seems simple enough - everyone operates based on motivation. Motivation can come from any number of sources or ideas - maybe your motivation is that you want to become the best softball athletics communications director of all time. Maybe your motivation is that you want to get in and get out of work as quick as possible to pursue your on-the-side musical career. Motivations come in many forms and fashions.
The form of motivation that is most powerful is goals-based motivation. Essentially, this means that every decision you make is based on the goals you have set for yourself. Goals-based motivation drives the most successful of people to reach the highest levels of the areas in which they want to achieve.
So, why are we so afraid to talk about goals? From the standpoint of the individual, maybe you are just plodding along and don't have any specific goals, maybe you have incredibly large goals and are embarassed that others will find them laughable.
For employers, some are afraid of hearing an employee's goals. Your goals give you power. They set a clear course for something to achieve and, if you are dedicated enough, make you unstoppable. If your goals are loftier than your current position, then they're often afraid you will leave to go somewhere else, and then there's a position to fill. If they're hiring you and you have lofty goals, that becomes a problem because a lot of leaders just want the golf contact to do golf - anyone who is hired who aspires to the CoSIDA board, aspires to create change and innovation, improve the program, etc., then becomes a problem. Just doing golf turns into doing golf and trying to reform the whole office and the profession. For some leaders, that then becomes a headache they aren't willing to deal with.
Research has proven that leaders who both give their employees the opportunity to express and vocalize their goals, and allow them the opportunity to work towards those goals are more likely to retain their employees than those who don't.
I think it's so easy for us as athletics communications professionals to get off track from our goals, or not even consider them. The work-load is so sizeable and the hours are so irregular that task-based motivation often takes the place of goal-based motivation.
One would logically think that task-based motivation, while not allowing us to focus on our long-term goals, would at least be more effective in the present. After all, it allows us to complete the tasks at hand, meeting their approaching deadlines. But, actually, in addition to hurting our long-term goals, it compromises the effectiveness of the project at hand. If we fail to consider the long-term goals of the particular project or our four-year plan for that specific sport or athletics department, the task loses focus and isn't as good as it could be. Just like you aren't as good at your job as you could be if you operated on goal-based motivation, the job itself isn't as good if it isn't driven by goal-based motivation.
I'm sure this sounds like a situation that many of you have encountered. Here's what you need to do to get started on the process to realizing your goals:
* Write down your goals. These are going to be different for everyone. Some may be professional goals, some may be personal goals. It's great to have long-term goals and I think everyone should have these to strive for. The best thing you can do is create a four-year plan for your career. It may not even be the positions/jobs you want to have, maybe it's a list of skills you'd like to acquire by then or experiences you would like to have. Print it out. Keep a copy in your briefcase.
* Work on verbalizing these goals. Read them in front of the mirror - maybe you do it on a daily basis. Read them to family members and close friends - get their reactions. Maybe there's something here or there that you need or want to tweak that they can help you with.
* When the opportunity presents itself, discuss the goals with your leader. Perhaps that opportunity comes during your annual evaluation. Let them know what your goals are, where you believe yourself to be in achieving those goals and where you see yourself progressing in the future. If they are interested in your development, you will have their attention.
* Don't fear discussing goals in job interviews: Don't fear discussing your goals in job interviews. Bring them up when asked, even discuss your four-year plan. If the employer is threatened by those goals or don't appreciate you discussing them, you know the job's not for you anyway.
There is nothing more powerful than you making goals-based decisions in pursuit of your goals. That drive, that determination is unmatched. With no goals or no clear course in mind to achieve those goals, it's hard to get where you want to be.
Set your goals, verbalize them, look at them daily and use those goals as the basis for your decision-making. I think once you do that, you'll realize how powerful goals can really be and how they get you where you want to go.
How often have your leaders asked you that question and how often do you direct that question to those you lead? Chances are, not often.
It seems simple enough - everyone operates based on motivation. Motivation can come from any number of sources or ideas - maybe your motivation is that you want to become the best softball athletics communications director of all time. Maybe your motivation is that you want to get in and get out of work as quick as possible to pursue your on-the-side musical career. Motivations come in many forms and fashions.
The form of motivation that is most powerful is goals-based motivation. Essentially, this means that every decision you make is based on the goals you have set for yourself. Goals-based motivation drives the most successful of people to reach the highest levels of the areas in which they want to achieve.
So, why are we so afraid to talk about goals? From the standpoint of the individual, maybe you are just plodding along and don't have any specific goals, maybe you have incredibly large goals and are embarassed that others will find them laughable.
For employers, some are afraid of hearing an employee's goals. Your goals give you power. They set a clear course for something to achieve and, if you are dedicated enough, make you unstoppable. If your goals are loftier than your current position, then they're often afraid you will leave to go somewhere else, and then there's a position to fill. If they're hiring you and you have lofty goals, that becomes a problem because a lot of leaders just want the golf contact to do golf - anyone who is hired who aspires to the CoSIDA board, aspires to create change and innovation, improve the program, etc., then becomes a problem. Just doing golf turns into doing golf and trying to reform the whole office and the profession. For some leaders, that then becomes a headache they aren't willing to deal with.
Research has proven that leaders who both give their employees the opportunity to express and vocalize their goals, and allow them the opportunity to work towards those goals are more likely to retain their employees than those who don't.
I think it's so easy for us as athletics communications professionals to get off track from our goals, or not even consider them. The work-load is so sizeable and the hours are so irregular that task-based motivation often takes the place of goal-based motivation.
One would logically think that task-based motivation, while not allowing us to focus on our long-term goals, would at least be more effective in the present. After all, it allows us to complete the tasks at hand, meeting their approaching deadlines. But, actually, in addition to hurting our long-term goals, it compromises the effectiveness of the project at hand. If we fail to consider the long-term goals of the particular project or our four-year plan for that specific sport or athletics department, the task loses focus and isn't as good as it could be. Just like you aren't as good at your job as you could be if you operated on goal-based motivation, the job itself isn't as good if it isn't driven by goal-based motivation.
I'm sure this sounds like a situation that many of you have encountered. Here's what you need to do to get started on the process to realizing your goals:
* Write down your goals. These are going to be different for everyone. Some may be professional goals, some may be personal goals. It's great to have long-term goals and I think everyone should have these to strive for. The best thing you can do is create a four-year plan for your career. It may not even be the positions/jobs you want to have, maybe it's a list of skills you'd like to acquire by then or experiences you would like to have. Print it out. Keep a copy in your briefcase.
* Work on verbalizing these goals. Read them in front of the mirror - maybe you do it on a daily basis. Read them to family members and close friends - get their reactions. Maybe there's something here or there that you need or want to tweak that they can help you with.
* When the opportunity presents itself, discuss the goals with your leader. Perhaps that opportunity comes during your annual evaluation. Let them know what your goals are, where you believe yourself to be in achieving those goals and where you see yourself progressing in the future. If they are interested in your development, you will have their attention.
* Don't fear discussing goals in job interviews: Don't fear discussing your goals in job interviews. Bring them up when asked, even discuss your four-year plan. If the employer is threatened by those goals or don't appreciate you discussing them, you know the job's not for you anyway.
There is nothing more powerful than you making goals-based decisions in pursuit of your goals. That drive, that determination is unmatched. With no goals or no clear course in mind to achieve those goals, it's hard to get where you want to be.
Set your goals, verbalize them, look at them daily and use those goals as the basis for your decision-making. I think once you do that, you'll realize how powerful goals can really be and how they get you where you want to go.
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