Championship Points

Small but growing businesses, regardless of ownership structure, evolve in stages and work their way through the business life cycle. They survive infancy, and make it to the go-go stage prior to reaching adolescence and then, with a little luck and a tremendous amount of hard work, they reach their prime. Throughout it all, businesses and business people must do the following:

  • Appreciate and pay keen attention to your business life cycle and the strategic vision required to ensure success, as did Vince McMahon and WWE, and Bill Rasmussen and ESPN.

  • Create, monitor, and refine the strategic plan as necessary. Along the way, be sure to revisit and, if necessary, alter organizational goals and the approach to business as demonstrated by Jerry Colangelo and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

  • Identify all the key people who are driving the business and create incentives for each of them to grow your business for you. These could be season ticket sellers or broadcast TV partners.

  • Focus on leadership. Make sure you have a Howard Schnellenberger around someone who has a tradition of starting from scratch and is willing to work hard to deliver the same magic for your company.

  • Once you've reached the top, continue to evolve and determine what it will take to always stay there. Don't become Converse or Polaroid; think Arm & Hammer.

  • Have owners or top executives who are willing to transition themselves into the role of master strategist, especially if there are people in the organization who know more about key areas than you do.

  • Work to solve your moments of crisis by turning them into solutions for your business future. Realize when your own Daytona 500 is unfolding in front of you.

  • Refine senior management much like you refine the attributes of your organization's product or services. Recognize the need for your Mike Helton and capitalize on the timing of managerial transitions.

  • Be prepared to address growing pains head-on; a failure to promptly do so will result in lost opportunity.

An organization's ability to build a successful business and work its way through the four phases of the business cycle will be compromised if it lacks the keen ability to attract and retain customers. To attract customers, many businesses rely on sports marketing, usually enlisting the aid of advertising and sponsorship of sports teams and leagues, as well as specific events.

Accordingly, the issue of reaching customers through the use of sports marketing is the focal point of Chapter 2.



On the Ball. What You Can Learn About Business from America's Sports Leaders
On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From Americas Sports Leaders
ISBN: 013100963X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 93

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