28 Rules
We all have experienced Murphy’s Law in our sports organization. You have either a big sport competition, seminar or trip, and a small thing happens, and sets off a whole chain of other problems and obstacles. I personally do not believe in superstition, but I have mentioned “Murphy Law” in the past on numerous occasions. The best way to explain this law is like “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. Well, recently I listened to a presentation of Peter Diamandis, who does not believe in such a law. In fact, he wrote 28 Rules who are too good not to share. Read everyone of them, and just remember them next time you fall into a negative spiral. If anything can go wrong, Fix It!!… to hell with Murphy! When given a choice… take both!! Multiple projects lead to multiple successes. Start at the top, then work your way up. Do it by the book… but be the author! When forced to compromise, ask for more. If you can’t win, change the rules. If you can’t change the rules, then ignore them. Perfection is not optional. When faced without a challenge, make one. “No” simply means begin again at one level higher. Don’t walk when you can run. When in doubt: THINK! Patience is a virtue, but persistence to the point of success is a blessing. The squeaky wheel gets replaced. The faster you move, the slower time passes, the longer you live. The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself! The ratio of something to nothing is infinite. You get what you incentivize. If you think it is impossible, then it is… for you. An expert is someone who can tell you exactly how it can’t be done. The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea. If it were easy it would have been done already. Without a target you’ll miss it every time. Fail early, fail often, fail forward! If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. The world’s most precious resource is the persistent and passionate human mind. Bureaucracy is an obstacle to conquer with persistence, confidence and a bulldozer when necessary. Copyright, 1986, 2009, Peter H. Diamandis, All Rights...
The biggest sportmanagement mistake in small organizations
I am sure that you recognize this: A motivated group of people, most of the time headed by an amateur coach (=passionate sports lover), who runs a sports organization like a club, an after-school program or a community sports project. It always starts with just having fun, and then suddenly you want to enter a competition, travel abroad with your athletes, or perhaps affiliate to a national governing body to become eligible for funding. You then realize that you need to have your documents (constitution, member administration, strategic plan) in order, and operate like a ‘real’ organization. The stress is reaching higher levels, because obviously there is a deadline (to travel, to enter a competition or to send your application for subsidy). So what do you do? What I see happening all the time, is that people reach to former athletes in that same sport. Athletes are asked to get on board, and assume the position of president, secretary or worst case the treasurer. “It’s like asking a car mechanic to get in the board of a racecar team” I am sure that majority of the car mechanics (with all respect) do not have a clue of management. The fact that a former athlete had a good career on the field, does not mean that he/she has the ability to work with numbers, think strategically or do the marketing of your sports organization. It would be of course tremendous if you can get an athlete who also have the most important characteristics of a sports administrator, but what are the chances? There is one situation though, where it would be excellent to have a former athlete in your team. Situations where you need (public) attention for your sports or event, are ideal to attract former athletes. So you are not using any of his/her theoretical knowledge, but you are benefitting from his already established positive image. I consider this more as a temporary task, than a longterm decision in favor or the growth of your sports organization. What do you think? Do you see any other big mistakes in sports management? I would appreciate it if you could share them in the comment section...
Make your goals S.M.A.R.T !
If you are part of a sport organization, you are probably participating in meetings. I want to ask you to analyze the next couple of meetings you attend, and count the number of ideas that are being brought forward. We all have ideas about how the development of our athlete, team, club, association or federation should take place, but one idea is definitely better than the other. Goals often start with brainstorming. This is not always necessary, but it stimulates the interaction between your colleagues. Basically there is only one rule with brainstorming, and that is that as long as everybody stays within the topic “there are no limitations to the ideas”. You just shoot off any idea, and do not allow small thinking taking over. It is fun, and one impossible idea will lead to another, which may seem more realistic to achieve. But what is next? Your sports organization has a good idea, but how do you make it really happen? What happens a lot is that a commission is installed to realize the goal or project. But then people get busy with their daily lives, don’t have the time for this idea or perhaps blame others for not having followed up on the goal…..does this looks familiar? In my opinion this is lack of making the goals S.M.A.R.T. ( introduced by G. T. Doran 1981) SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-sensitive. I will explain SMART goals with the example of a sport organization aiming to get a sponsor. Don’t make the common mistake by asking a student to make a marketing plan, or start sending sponsor requests immediately! My advice to you is to start asking yourself the following questions: Is your goal SPECIFIC? What do you want to accomplish with a sponsor? What kind of sponsor do you want. Do you only aim for financial sponsoring, or would Value in Kind, give you the same benefits? What kind of business areas will you target for this sponsor and why? If you have specific answers on these questions you can move to the next aspect. Is your goal MEASURABLE? If you do not make your goal measurable, you will never know whether you are making progress towards the successful completion of your goal. What sponsor budget are you aiming for? Would you also take two smaller sponsors for 50% of the budget? How big/popular should the sponsoring organization be? Regional, national or international...
10 Management lessons from the Olympics
During the beginning of August I attended the Olympic Games in London, which were my second Olympics. My first experience were four years ago in Beijing (China), which ended like a nightmare as our best athlete was disqualified on the 200m, and therefore lost his silver medal. After a week he got the medal from the USA runner who didn’t feel that he deserved the medal. If you want to know more about this story you can watch this short video. It is an experience that I will never forget in my life. Obviously there are millions invested in the Games, and as such it is one of the most professional events that you’ll ever see. My attendance at the London Games gave me the possibility to: analyze different aspects of the Olympic Games and compare it with other (inter)national events that I attended as part of my profession. Looking back I would like to share the following 10 points, which are valuable for any sport organization to think about. 1. Re-evaluate your logo You can divide the people taking pictures during the Olympics in three general groups: it is either with an athlete during a competition it is standing next to the Olympic Rings I was wondering what exactly the reason is for people to take pictures with the brand. They were definitely not taking pictures with the Coca-Cola or McDonalds logos, so that got me thinking! The following reasons are possible: People want to have proof that they were really at the Olympics People identify with the brand and the Olympic philosophy The scarcity of the visibility of the rings gives the Olympic logo more value compared to other logos Without really knowing the reason, it is a fact that the rings are one of the most recognized brands in the world. At the Olympics of 1932 (Los Angeles) the rings were used for the first time. So this brand has been gaining popularity over the last 70 years! Now what can you take from this for your own sport organization? Re-evaluate your logo (as part of your brand) and ask yourself whether it stands for something. Is it a lot of clutter with many colors, or is it simple and modern? The most important aspect is that it should be recognizable, and you should use it everywhere……on your letters, in your emails, on your flyers, press releases…EVERYWHERE! Can you imagine how powerful your sports and organization...
Readers Interview: Martin Gleeson (Cricket)
In order to create an online platform to exchange information between our readers, we’ve started with biweekly interviews with our readers. They all work in sports, and therefore have experience to share with all of us. Name: Martin Gleeson Country: India Function within your sport organization: Chief Executive Officer, Sports Education Development India Ltd. A sports education specialist Current profession/ job: Level 3 Cricket Coach from Australia Company profile:Cricket India Academy established three years ago in 2009 has a strong hold today, in the field of sports education. Cricket India Academy came up with this unique concept of offering a cricket education program to budding cricketing talent in a nation which eats, drinks and breathes cricket. The program, currently being run in 16 centres across Mumbai, Pune and Jaipur with over 800 participants, is set to begin its innings in Chennai and Surat very soon. 1. How did you come involved in your sport organization, and what kind of tasks/functions do you have? I started my professional career in retail as the Manager for Sportsco Northland before entering professional cricket administration in 1999. I spent almost five years at Cricket Victoria, firstly as Regional Cricket Manager for the Inner East Metro region before earning promotion to Youth Programs Manager. From Cricket Victoria, I was the East Asia – Pacific Development Officer for the International Cricket Council developing cricket structures, high performance programs and astute governance in countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, etc. before being recruited by Cricket Australia as Senior Officer – Coach Education & Training. Within ten months, I was promoted to Coaching Services Manager managing Cricket Australia’s coach education programs, activities and over 10,000 accredited members. After 12 months in this role, I stepped into the newly created role of Coaching Program Manager for Cricket Australia’s International Development Program servicing Cricket Australia’s agreements abroad. Having project managed the development of the Cricket Education Program (CEP) in this role, I was recruited in February 2010 by Sports Education Development India Ltd to implement and grow the program across India. Cricket Education Program is a six level curriculum-based sequential cricket development program for 9-14 year old boys and girls. I am a Cricket Australia accredited Level Three coach with a strong cricket, coaching and teaching background. I am also a faculty member of the Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Management at the International Institute of Sports Management at Jai Hind College in...
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Sport Management resources
This Mastermind Sports Management is an online international group of professionals. On a monthly basis they will share their opinion on a certain topic. You can look at the background of each mastermind by going here. February 2012 topic: Sport Management Resource You are never too old to learn, and it is a fact that to stay at the top of your game, you need to read and educate yourself on a continuous basis. Our members of the...
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3 Tips for bringing bad news in Sports
Sports are fun, we laugh, play, compete and enjoy……..BUT NOT ALWAYS! As an administrator or sports manager, in charge of management (on any level) it is very important to know some different ways of communication. Whether you are the president or the one in charge of laundry, communication is important especially if it concerns bad news or difficult decisions. In firsts instance we all are evaluated by the way we communicate, and not immediately by our message. If somebody...
Read More5 Tips for Time Management in Sports
This post is about a topic I honestly am having difficulties with. Each and every day the management of my time is a challenge, and I nearly close every week and month, with things I didn’t accomplish. Somebody once said that it is not about managing time, but it is all about managing yourself. What is your focus on, how long can you stay focused and how do you block all external distractions? To work in sports (whether you’re...
Read MoreMotivate volunteers in sports
Many people do not realize the impact volunteers in sports have on other people every year. Many life lessons can be taught in a sports setting. Some people volunteer because their own children are involved with sports and the parents want to be good role models. Others volunteer to be role models for other children in the community. Still others may volunteer because they are big fans of the sports organization, so they want to play a small role...
Read MoreHow To Find Sponsors For Small Sport Organizations
Let’s face it, as sport administrators of small Sport Organizations we are in constant search for sponsorships. There are lots of companies and individuals out there who are willing to spend their money on sponsorship in sports and no doubt some sports get more sponsorship than others. But how do you position yourself so that you are able to attract the right kind of sponsors who have the money and services you are looking for? Here are some things...
Read MoreOne year sportmanagement.cc
They say “Time flies when you’re having fun”…..and I must say, I’ve had some fun with this website. It is already one year ago that I started with this specific one, and my main aim was (and still is) to reach out to all those voluntary sport administrators out there. They struggle on a daily basis to get their sport organization and their athletes on a higher level, and I have much respect for you all, who have your...
Read MoreCharacteristics of a Sports Manager
This Mastermind Sports Management is an online international group of professionals. On a monthly basis they will share their opinion on a certain topic. You can look at the background of each mastermind by going here. This month’s topic: Characteristics of a Sports Manager Greg Harney (USA) Sports administrators in today’s society must possess a number of characteristics and skill sets particularly within the Olympic world that most of us live and work in every day. To begin...
Read MoreWhy Sports Sponsorship is better than Advertising
Sponsorship and advertising are both marketing tools that strategically apply to different situations. There are however usual times when a company is faced with choosing between both tools. These times usually are a point of exposure as to which tool can give more and help increase a brand’s visibility. This arena is where sponsorship takes over, and where you as sports manager should be stepping in. What sponsorship accomplishes better than advertising is in the establishment of qualitative aspects....
Read MoreHow to win GOLD
As a Manager in sports, I’ve now experienced twice from very close by, what it is to win a medal on a very high international sports platform. My first experience was during the Olympic Games of 2008 (Beijing-China) where Churandy Martina won the silver medal on the 200 meters Track & Field. It was very unfortunate though that after the race it seemed that he stepped on the line and then was disqualified. Nevertheless his preparation was optimal, and...
Read MoreWhat is your sports management backup plan?
For three weeks in the month of October 2011 I am staying in the Mexican City Guadalajara for the Pan American Games 2011. This is the biggest Olympic event of the Pan American continent, with more than 6000 athletes representing 42 countries. There are millions invested and the organization is obviously huge. Here I am with our Olympic athletes in Mexico. I am the 2nd from left on my knees I’ve been attending...
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