by Kirk Wakefield – March 2013
First Ever
Managers and executives from professional sports met for the inaugural Daniel Sport & Entertainment Leadership Summit the third weekend in February in San Diego. We plan to host this event each year to encourage each other to be leaders in our homes, at work, and in our spheres of influence.[dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”lifted-both” width=”300px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ][slideshow_deploy id=’1443′][/dropshadowbox]
The summit is named after the Biblical character Daniel, who set himself apart from others in the culture by pursuing excellence, being a disciplined man of character, and being confident that God was with him daily. Ultimately Daniel used the “stage” given to him to have influence on his culture.
The idea for the summit sprung from a discussion among a group of executives led by Jeremy Walls and Jason Howard. ” We all had the same vision of encouraging each other in balancing personal and professional lives,” explained Walls.
The summit included attendees from teams/leagues (New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Sacramento Rivercats, NBA, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns) and companies (Sports Sales Consulting, Fan Interactive, Exact Target), as well as faculty from supporting universities (Baylor, Mount Union, and Point Loma). Spouses present participated in a joint Saturday afternoon conference session.
The sessions were led by Mark Foreman, senior pastor at North Coast Calvary Chapel (“Transformed people. Transforming our world.”) and Ryan Pfeiffer, Director, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (San Diego). Some might recognize Mark Foreman as the father of Jon and Tim Foreman, leaders of the band Switchfoot.
Top 10 Takeaways
The week after we asked the executives what stayed top-of-mind. We’ve boiled it down to the Top 10 Takeaways.
[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”550px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Top 10 Takeaways from the Daniel Conference
- Success in my personal life can actually make me better in your professional life. I have always thought of that in reverse and realize how wrong I have been.
- Change my thinking from ” I will invest into my career so I can provide for my family,” to “I will invest time and energy into my family and God will continue to bless my career.”
- Understand what Bob Briner means in his book, Roaring Lambs: Christians can and ought to be the movers and shakers of positive social change — ‘”roaring lambs.'”
- Proactively pursue carving out time with family and then apply this to those I lead, making sure they take time to disconnect from work. This may be one of the greatest witnesses of care and compassion to members of my team.
- There’s no plan B. God doesn’t have a special ops force he’s sending in. We’re it. We need to lead.
- Sabbath: God took a day to rest and reflect, we should too! If the King of the World can take a day off…so can I. I was very convicted regarding how important I think I am sometimes.
- The example of Daniel is “excellence in our personal lives bubbles up and carries over into professional lives.”
- Like Daniel, God has put you on a stage to change culture and influence lives, even years after you are gone.
- Believers should be more “invasive” into the world and less “retreating.” The church is the “locker room” where we prepare; “the game” is the day-to-day living out of our faith.
- Realize “you are” the salt and the light of the earth. We should be “shoveling the salt out as fast as we can!”[/dropshadowbox]
Join Us
Are you interested in becoming a better/more intentional father, husband, and executive? Invitations for next year’s summit are open to managers, directors, and executives in professional sports and executives in agencies and companies serving professional sports. We will announce next year’s Daniel Sports & Entertainment Leadership Summit in the S3 Report and also post in the S3 Report LinkedIn group. If you want to make certain you receive a personal invitation, click here to sign-up!