Shirt Sponsorships

Why don't American professional sports franchises in the 'major' sports (NFL, NBA, MLB) enter into lucrative jersey sponsorship deals as is common in the rest of the world?

English top-level soccer clubs command as much as $30M per year for such arrangements.

It can't truly be some sort of argument for the 'purity' of the games, every other aspect of the presentation and broadcast of the games themselves is 'sponsored' already.  Next Sunday's Super Bowl game will be played in 'Sun Life Stadium'. And no, 'Sun Life' is not a reference to Miami's carefree, sun-filled lifestyle, it is named for Sun Life Financial corporation, a large financial services company.

Advertising is plastered on most available surfaces in stadiums already, and on television broadcasts everything from timeouts, in-game statistical graphics, and the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows are all 'brought to you by' some (insert from the following, beer, insurance, male impotency drug) company.

But for some reason, corporate sponsorships on the jerseys/uniforms themselves are still resisted, I think mostly from the notion that corporate logos on the players is just too much commercialism encroaching on the sanctity (ahem) of the competition.

To me it is both hypocritical and silly.

Organizations could benefit from the exposure and if they choose the right club; the association with success, or even a team's reputation for a  particular style of play.  In the NBA, a team like the San Antonio Spurs that are known for attention to detail, strong leadership, team play, and excellence would be a good fit for a precision manufacturing firm, or perhaps an accounting and audit services group. Maybe Intel or IBM would be a good fit.

The Los Angeles Clippers, who have a legacy of bad luck, poor management, and unfortunate player injuries, might be a good fit for a personal injury law firm, hospital, or insurance company.  I could see the Aflac Duck adorning the Clips' jerseys.

The funny thing is shirt sponsorships are common in American youth sports, most every kids soccer, baseball, or hockey team has a local shirt sponsor.  The chief function seems to be to the right to post the framed team picture on the wall at the end of the season. 

And when the partnership between the sponsoring corporation and the team is a perfect match, it can strengthen both parties and reinforce their brands.  

It worked for the Bad News Bears right?

So what team would you like to see your organization's name on?

Staff Meetings and Broken Jaws

The head coach of the National Football League's Oakland Raiders team, Tom Cable, was relieved that the prosecutor in California's Napa County declined to pursue charges that Cable allegedly assaulted Assistant Coach Randy Hanson in a meeting this past August.

If you are not familiar with the case the basic events that are not disputed are as follows:

On August 4, 2009 - Cable (the boss effectively), held a meeting with Hanson and three other assistant coaches, John Marshall, Lionel Washington, and Willie Brown.

During the meeting there was some kind of argument and altercation between Cable and Hanson.

The following day Hanson was seen at a hospital and diagnosed with a broken jaw.

What is disputed is the precise nature of the altercation, and whether or not Cable actually assaulted Hanson.  At least according to the prosucutor, there were enough inconsistencies in Hanson's version of events that pursuing criminal charges was not warranted.

But the prosecutors did note that the other coaches in the meeting claimed that Cable became angry and rushed toward Hanson, but Washington stepped between the two. Cable then ran into Washington, who bumped into Hanson and knocked him out of his chair. The witnesses also told authorities that Cable then grabbed Hanson by the shirt but never struck or threatened him.

Ok, so maybe 'rushing' someone, knocking them out of a chair, and grabbing them by the shirt separately or together don't rise to the level of criminal assault, but I am pretty sure they fail any standard of what is appropriate workplace conduct. 

So certainly the Raiders have suspended Cable, perhaps even terminated him, right?  I mean you can't go around 'rushing' and grabbing the shirts of subordinates can you?

Apparently, if you work for the Raiders you can.  No disciplinary action has been taken on Cable by the team or the NFL (although the league has not ruled it out taking some action). He might get fired anyway for performance reasons, as of this writing the Raiders are 2-4 and rank near the bottom of the league in most important statistical categories.

And Hanson?

He was placed on essentially what amounts to paid leave while this gets sorted out.

Five employees go to a staff meeting, one leaves with a broken jaw and he is the only one to suffer any adverse effect in the workplace.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Oakland Raiders!

Succession Planning goes to College

If you are a fan of American college football you likely took notice of Saturday's unlikely victory by Purdue University over the highly ranked and heavily favored Ohio State University.

Purdue was a 19 point underdog in the game but still defeated the Ohio State team 26-18.

In reading some accounts of the game I stumbled across this story, about Purdue's fairly innovative (for major American college sports) succession planning strategy for its sports team head coaches. The Purdue Athletic Director Morgan Burke, hired and named the successors for both the Men's Head Football Coach and the Men's Head Basketball Coach, a full year before the prior holders of these positions both longtime Purdue employees, were expected to retire.

For Men's Football Danny Hope was hired in January 2008 to take over the job in the 2009 season, and in Men's Basketball Matt Painter was hired in 2004, and eventually took over the head coach position in 2005.

Both successors effectively served as understudies for a full year, learning the ins and outs of the University, receiving mentoring from the outgoing, veteran coaches, and gaining valuable experience to position themselves for success.

Morgan Burke's approach to succession of high-profile coaches while being copied by a few other large schools is still fairy unique. Some of his key lessons for an effective succession process are:

Have a hard date for the turnover - Other school's have also followed Purdue's lead and hired successors for long time coaches nearing retirement, but have not set a firm date for the hand off, (most notably Florida State).  This can lead to pressure on the incumbent if results on the field start to slip, and frustration and impatience on the part of the next coach.

Tinker not overhaul - Burke feels the 'named successor' strategy really only makes sense of the outgoing coach has a good history of achievement, and that only minor tactical changes, not a major new strategies are needed going forward. Since both programs were in solid shape with the veteran coaches, major house cleaning was not needed. Had major changes been needed, Burke would have likely done more 'traditional' searches for replacements.

Involve the incumbent - Burke made it a point to involve the outgoing coaches in the process, while still supporting them as they completed their contracts.  The key for this 'coach in waiting' arrangement to be most effective is to ensure the more experienced coach could pass on as much of the history, culture, and practical knowledge they had accrued in their careers.  Both outgoing coaches were extremely motivated to do their part to help leave the programs in sound shape and in good hands. 

Challenge the successor - It is important to make sure the coach in waiting is adequately challenged, and not just sitting quietly on the sidelines just waiting.  It makes sense to start transitioning some functions to the successor, particularly ones that they may not have had prior experience with, while the veteran coach is still there, so as to better support and 'coach' the new coach.  The successor has to really start to feel ownership of the position prior to the 'official' transition date.

One more thing, Morgan Burke does not have the typical background of a major college athletic director, which are usually former coaches or long time college administrators. Burke was a VP of Human Resources for 17 years.

Who would have guessed? HR bringing innovative new ideas to a new field.

For Labor Day - An Employee Success Story

Note : - On the cusp of Labor Day weekend, and with news of yet another increase in the US unemployment rate, this story of success, both for the employee and the organization I thought would be a rereshing change from the depressing employment news.

This past Saturday night I attended the Rochester Redwings (AAA Baseball) game.  It was as always a fantastic night, Redwings baseball is great family entertainment, and the organization really knows how to put customers first.

During and after the game the Redwings took time to recognize the service and achievements of their General Manager, Dan Mason, who was celebrating his 20-year anniversary of employment with the club. The image on the right is a commemorative poster that was handed out to fans entering the game. Certainly a wonderful accomplishment and it is apparent  the continued success of the club has much to do with his leadership.

What I found interesting in the brief remarks Mr. Mason made during the on-field ceremony was the appreciation and respect with which he spoke of the team's President (his boss) and many of the former employees and managers of the team he had worked with in the last 20 years.

Mr. Mason made a specific point to mention not just how well he had personally been treated during his time with the team, but also how well the organization had treated his entire family. A stong impression was that the team had really embraced the Mr. Mason and his family and that a deep mutual appreciation and respect had developed.

In minor-league sports, there is a strong undercurrent for players, managers, and executives of a 'move up or move out' mentality. Players are putting in their time, honing their skills to try and reach the major leagues, the ultimate goal for all of them. Front-office staff and management as well are frequently just biding their time in long hour, low pay positions, getting important experience in the sports business that they hope to leverage later in their careers.

A successful executive like Mr. Mason surely must have had many opportunities to move on, perhaps to a larger market, possibly to a major league team.  The fact that he has stayed with the Redwings to me is a testament to the ability of an organization, even a small one with limited resources, can engage and attract talented employees. How do the Redwings do this? Through a combination of genuine care for the well-being of the staff and their families, a clear focus on the organization's mission and goals, and a culture that emphasizes fun, experimentation, and excitement. Perhaps Mr. Mason could have left years ago, but for various reasons he has not, and a minor-league franchise like the Redwings has been able to retain major league talent.

What are some other ways that you have seen successful small organizations find, attract, and retain 'big-time' talent?

HR Happy Hour - Episode 8 - HR and Sports

The wildly popular HR Happy Hour Show is back live, tonight August 28, 2009 8PM EDT

Episode 8 - 'HR and Sports' - August 28, 2009 - 8PM EDT

What are the connections between Sports and HR and Talent Management? Is managing superstar employees at all like managing superstar athletes? What can coaching Little League baseball tell you about management? Are my beloved Jets going to get the Super Bowl? Shauna and I will talk about these topics and who knows what else with scheduled guests Tracy Tran, Todd Kmiec, Lance Haun and Kris Dunn

You can listen to the show using the player below and also via the call in number 646-378-1086. Press '1' after calling if you want to come on the air.

It should be an awesome show and I hope you can listen to the fun.