Managing the Business of Sports

by Chris Wendel

Every Wednesday I have the opportunity to sit in on a local talk radio show for 20-40 minutes to discuss the area's small business climate. The host Vic McCarty is a sports anchor by trade and as much as we should talk about business we too easily delve into sports. You see I'm a true sports fan myself. Someone once introduced me by saying that I had the "dominant sports gene". My wife is understanding and although she doesn't get too much into sports she is amazed of my ability to spout detailed trivial sports facts and retain mostly useless information.

A few weeks ago on the air, Vic asked me about the management style of Al Davis the owner of the Oakland Raiders. For once the two worlds of sports and business meshed together and I was able to compare Davis' old school top down management style to a autocratic railroad executive of the 1950's. I reminded Vic and the audience that sports franchise owners come in two forms; the ones that dominate and make major decisions themselves and the ones who can delegate and trusts others to collectively make major (and minor detail) business choices.

This weekend I watched a college football game on TV between Missouri and Oklahoma State that took this idea of management delegation even further. In the tight second quarter of the game the Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy left the sidelines when his team was on defense and spent almost 12 minutes sequestered on the bench totally absorbed in charting offensive plays for the next Oklahoma State offensive possession.

Although I've never been a big fan of Gundy (that's another story), I was amazed how he was able to pass the steering wheel and complete trust to his defensive staff while he focused on his strengths; making adjustments, attacking his competitor's weakness, and forming a solid strategy for the rest of the game. Sure enough Oklahoma State quickly scored when their defense held and Gundy's team went on to upset #2 ranked Missouri.

Missouri's coach Gary Pinkel played the more traditional role of a corporate CEO, staying on the sidelines and making coaching moves obviously with the input assistant coaches. Gundy's management style is more in line with a progressive Silicon Valley IPO , but also requires a tremendous amount of trust to the people around him.

Speaking of trust, Stephen M.R. Covey will be in town next week with a dinner/speaking engagement at the Grand Traverse Resort. Covey's book "The Speed of Trust" had been on the very top of national business best sellers list for the past year. The book describes how trust is a vital commodity in running a business and in business relationships. There aren't many opportunities to see a nationally recognized business speaker in Northern Michigan and Covey is a sought after ticket in most parts of the country so call 231.922.3780 for ticket information.