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 Mastermind have some tips for you:

Dennis Miller (Fiji)

I attended the USA Swimming “Golden Goggles” Awards in 2011, and one of the guest appearances at the Awards was Louie Zamperini. He has an amazing story of survival after being shot down in the Pacific during World War II. I consider this a must read (Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption) and therefore recommend it for any aspiring athlete who reckons he or she is having a tough time!

Keith Joseph (St. Vincent & the Grenadines)

I have read many books and it is difficult to say which one has encouraged me to get involved in sport or to stay with sport.
I recently read in rapid-fire time the book, Sprinting into history - Jamaica and the Olympic Games, written by Delano Franklyn. It is a most interesting document that chronicled the achievements of Jamaican athletes beginning with their participation at the Olympic Games of London 1948.
As a Caribbean person I felt moved by the achievements of athletes from a fellow Caribbean nation yet immensely challenged by the fact that somehow in our Caribbean region this country and that which we see as the next in line in terms of sporting achievements, Trinidad and Tobago, have been either unable or unwilling to facilitate regional integration and collective endeavour in sport for the good of the region.
Surely, as a region of a mere handful of people with a relatively common history and ancestry we could use or talents and achievements to advance the cause of the collectivity. That is my cause.

Phil Bush (USA)

The Movie would be Field of Dreams Field of Dreams and Rocky.  I have always enjoyed stories of Underdogs.  People who work hard to overcome obstacles against all odds are my personal Heroes.  Its much better than the most real like stories.  They are also inspirational.  It is a testimony to the Human Spirit that people overcome Odds all the time!

Remco Tevreden (Curacao)

Until a couple of years ago I wasn’t really a reader of books (more magazines), but with the discovery of a couple of authors, I picked up this habit. One of those authors is Stephen Covey, whose book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” made a great impact on me. The book teaches basics of life, how we look at things, and especially at ourselves. It then takes it to a higher level and goes into detail of important aspects like Time Management, Leadership and Personal Management. These topics are also of great importance in the world of sports, on any level. This book is not one to read and then book it on your bookshelf….this is one to pickup frequently and to live the content day by day.
According to Covey, a habit is “the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire“. My question to you is what kind of “habits” do you have during your daily job in Sports Management? If you’re not succeeding with one of your goals, look at these 3 dimensions and most probably you can conclude that at least one of them is not on the level it supposed to be.

Eline Andersen (Denmark)

Who moved my cheese? ( Spencer Johnson - 98 pages)

Changes are many ALSO within sports management and sports event management. Reacting to changes are human – and essential. Thus talking about humans, this wee story about mice really impressed me – and even if it is some years now that I first read the book – I still return to the basic story of it – when being confronted with changes:

WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? is a brief tale of two mice and two humans who live in a maze and one day are faced with change: someone moves their cheese. Reactions vary from quick adjustment to waiting for the situation to change by itself to suit their needs.

This story is about adjusting attitudes toward change in life, especially at work. Change occurs whether a person is ready or not, but the author affirms that it can be positive. His principles are to anticipate change, let go of the old, and do what you would do if you were not afraid. Listeners are still left with questions about making his or her own specific personal changes.

Greg Harney (USA)

When I was younger, with visions of being the next great NBA and Collegiate basketball player (for which I had no chance!), I read several John Wooden books, the former coach of the UCLA men’s basketball team that won several national titles in the sixties and seventies.   He was truly an inspirational coach and when you read his books you instantly became aware that basketball was actually secondary in his life compared to life’s values in general and the development of his players for future professional careers whether in basketball or business.  This always impressed me that here we had an unbelievable coach who at one time won 88 games in a row and he was more concerned about his players welfare than the outcome of any game.   Maybe that is why they had to rent an arena last year to host his memorial service and hopefully more coaches of his stature and character will surface in future generations!

Henk Doest (Netherlands)

Mary Jane Ramirez (the protagonist in the book Fish!) has been made the manager of a “toxic energy dump”, a department in crisis that is feared and hated by everyone. Here everything gets stuck or is delayed, the employees are always discouraged and uninterested. Ramirez must find new solutions or she will fail just like her predecessors.

On her lunch break, Mary Jane discovers a small fish shop which has a completely different working atmosphere to her own office. The employees enjoy themselves, the customers are happy and as a result they sell more fish than anyone else.

The fishmonger-consultants help Mary Jane to discover the 4 secrets to creating positive and productive working environments. It is a philosophy for life: to be successful we don’t have to give up having fun and we can enjoy what we do. This philosophy can be applied on many levels: personal, family, school and work.

Do you have any resources to share? Leave them in the comment box below.

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