2-3-10 Executive Lessons in Sports

I am a sports fan. Okay, I don’t love all sports. And I don’t follow sports so closely that I can tell you stats about them. But I do love watching many sports. And I did suffer withdrawal last weekend because the football season is over. And yes, I do actually watch golf on tv. Go figure.

In watching all the publicity (some would say hype) about the Superbowl, I got to thinking about what the executive could learn from sports. I realized that there is a lot to be learned, but three things stand out in my mind. Interestingly, they correlate with my favorite sports. Imagine that.

First, is football. There was a ton of discussion in the media (and I’m sure at the water cooler) about Brett Favre this past football season. The general consensus is that he was REALLY old to be playing football. And while he didn’t take his team to the Superbowl, he did lead his team to the post season. Think that’s not a big deal? Well, look at how many teams didn’t make it to the post season. It IS a big deal.

So what can an executive learn from Favre’s and the Vikings’ example? Don’t forget your “older players”. All you have to do is look around you and you will know who I’m talking about. It is that first-level manager that has been there 25 years and has very low turnover in his/her organization. Or it is that mechanic that has been there 40 years -- still doing the same job, reliably, every day. Or it is that programmer that has been there 30 years, who seems to intuitively know where the bug is hiding. Well, you get the idea. It is easy to overlook these fixtures in your business. But believe me, when they are gone, you will fell the full impact.

The second sport that teaches me a lesson in executive management is baseball. I adore baseball, but I sure do hate many things that are happening in the sport. The biggest beef I have is with the abuse of the fan trust in the sport at the professional level these days. Recent news about Mark McGuire is a prime example. First he denied drug use and then he came out and said that he lied about his lies. Good grief.

The lesson for the executive? If you make a mistake, man up and admit it. Don’t try to cover it up. Don’t try to slide it off onto someone else. Don’t overplay your admission, but don’t underplay the impact. And then realize that how people treat you and how they interact with you will change, at least for a while. You have to rebuild the trust that you violated.

The final sport is golf. The kickoff last week of the pro tour season got me to thinking about what the executive can learn from golf. Of course, the sport is not without its controversies --- Tiger and his mess or the square groove controversy. But my initial thought when I consider golf is honesty. It is the only sport (that I’m familiar with) where the player calls penalties on him or herself. Of course, on the pro tours, there are rules officials. But they only come into play AFTER the player calls the penalty on him/herself.

For us hackers, yea, we can omit that penalty stroke or improve our lie, but most of us don’t. The integrity of the game depends on each of us being honest about our individual game. And while we don’t always like it, most players tell our playing partners about our mistake when it happens. It goes back to the executive trait of being honest, ethical, and credible.

So this weekend, when you are watching your favorite sport, take the time to ask yourself….. What can I learn about executive skills and traits from this sport? How can apply it to my everyday life? Oh yea, and take time to enjoy the game!

Cheers!