How Academic & Professional Partnerships Work: Baylor S3 Pro Day

How Academic & Professional Partnerships Work: Baylor S3 Pro Day
by Kirk Wakefield – November 2016

If we, will you?

In 2003, the Baylor Sports Sponsorship & Sales (S3) program began the day we walked into the San Antonio Spurs offices and asked Russ Bookbinder, “If we did this, would you help?”

Darryl Lehnus and I then set out to every other team in Texas asking the same question, getting feedback, making adjustments and gaining support to launch the program in 2004 with the first graduating class in 2006. Students will get a kick out of watching the original S3 promo video. The keys, then and now, to make academic and professional partnerships work are simple:


Steps to Build Partnerships Ask/Offer
Identify the unique need. What is your biggest need?
Identify competition. How is this need addressed now?
Ask for commitment. If we, will you?
Ask for referrals. Who else might be interested?
Develop relationships. How can we improve?

We keep asking these questions to maintain position and relevance. In the beginning, and in adding the CRM & Analytics track (2011) to the major, we did not accept more students than industry commitments to help with placement.

Today, with over 210 S3 Alumni, many reaching management and executive levels, our vision is the same: to instill integrity in the business of sports & entertainment. Integrity starts with delivering on what we promise to students and employers. And listening. And learning. A lot.

Listen. Learn. Launch.

Board members began asking for more recruits. Board members moved to new teams, which usually means adding another team to the board. We saw the opportunity to grow, but at the same time maintain Baylor’s goal to keep classes under 20 students. So, in the past three years, the number of qualified students admitted to the S3 major doubled from the original 19 to 38 as we increased the number of sections for each class. We launch a new Sports Sales Management course Spring 2017, with board member Bill Glenn, leading the class. More changes are in the works for the CRM & Analytics graduate program, as we launch a global partnership in the United Kingdom.

For the first 12 years (2004-2016), recruitment was combined with the S3 Board Meeting. The S3 Pro Day was launched based on feedback from board members Alan Aldwell (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Rob Erwin (Dallas Mavericks), among others. After asking others for input, with the support of Patrick Ryan & Eventellect, we launched the first ever S3 event dedicated entirely to recruitment. We moved the S3 Board Meeting to a different date (January 17-18, click here for more information), focused on best practices and developing mentor relationships for career-long impact. We will keep listening and learning.

In the process, we also developed an interview scorecard to help both students and recruiters focus on the values and skills important to us. Feel free to edit and adjust for your own use in developing or recruiting talent. Click here to review and download.

Eventellect S3 Pro Day in Pictures

Thanks to the recruiters from the teams, companies, and leagues that participated in the Eventellect S3 Pro Day!

pro-day-attendees

Here are the S3 Senior Pro Days in pictures.

Night at Vitek’s

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Ticket Sales Interviews

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 Partnerships and CRM & Analytics Interviews

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A Different Kind of Sports Conference

A Different Kind of Sports Conference
by Kirk Wakefield – April 2016

We have all been to sports conferences that focus on best practices at work. But, can we be the best at work while also being the best at home? The Daniel Summit focuses on leadership, personal and character development. We don’t have to choose between being the best at home or the best at work. We can do both!

With that idea in mind, the Daniel Summit was founded in 2013 by several top sports executives across all leagues. The summit gathers men and women within the sports & entertainment industry, committed to excellence personally and professionally. Participants share a common goal of using the platform God has provided to positively influence the personal and professional lives of others. Check out the vision here to learn more.

The goals of the summit

  • To challenge & encourage attendees to use the sports and entertainment platform/influence they have been given for God
  • To equip attendees to be better leaders/executives, spouses and parents
  • To provide attendees a year-round support system of like-minded men and women within the sports and entertainment industries

We expect over 100 people to participate this year. The speaker line up is strong. Below are a few of them:

  • Mitch Barnhart, Athletic Director @University of Kentucky
  • Bobby Evans, SVP/GM @San Francisco Giants
  • Erik Greupner, EVP/General Counsel @San Diego Padres
  • Mark Foreman, Lead Pastor @North Coast Calvary Chapel

Join us!

Do you work in the sports industry? Are you passionate about excellence personally and professionally? We hope you will join us this July 15-16 in Carlsbad, California.

If you have more questions, need more information, or would like to register, please visit www.danielsummit.com. Follow on Twitter to get updates and leadership insights @TheDanielSummit.

Floor or Front Office: It’s all the same at Spurs Sports & Entertainment

Floor or Front Office: It’s all the same at Spurs Sports & Entertainment
by Kirk Wakefield – April 2016

Values-driven

What values drive your organization? What values drive you, personally? If you had to choose one word–one value–to describe what is most important to you, what would it be?

Integrity–doing the right thing–is the most important value of the San Antonio Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) organization. You can’t miss it. The values of the organisse valueszation are posted throughout all the offices, meeting rooms and on the desks of the over 250 employees, which is sure to grow as SS&E recently added a fifth franchise, San Antonio FC, in the USL.

The success of the Spurs on the floor and front office is no accident. From ownership to the coaches and players to the interns, the values are clear. As Frank Miceli, Senior Vice President, Sales & Franchise Business Operations, shared, “They are openly discussed and shape everything we do from our ownership down to every member of the staff. We have a common vision,  engage in transparent communication and everyone has a voice. We are deliberate in our decision-making and are open about questioning everything in an attempt for continuous improvement.”

How do values shape the culture?

The three values of integrity, success and caring are the basis for daily operations. The same respect you see on the court you see in the offices, as employees are encouraged to collaborate, display humility and demonstrate a team orientation where no one person is more important than the team.

As Mr. Miceli points out, “Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but of strength, to utilize the many talents and resources of SS&E.” Employees are more likely to ask for help and achieve personal and professional growth in a place where they know caring, respect, sincerity, support and compassion are part of the DNA of ownership and management.

Success is important at SS&E, but the process is as important as the outcome. An individual may have great personal success, but it must not come at the expense of the team. Rather, the team achieves targeted goals together, each pulling together and demonstrating care for others in the process. It’s not all about work for the sake of work; employees are encouraged for being creative and innovative and having fun along the way as they enjoy the journey together.

Baylor S3 success stories

Thanks to the leadership which began with Russ Bookbinder and continued thanks to Rick Pych, Frank Miceli, Joe Clark, Tim Salier, and Lawrence Payne, SS&E has hired the most graduates from the S3 program than any other partner.

Lindsay Beale (S3 ’10) started as a summer intern her junior year and joined SS&E after graduation as a group sales account executive. Mlindsay bealer. Miceli observes that Lindsay consistently exhibits all of the traits valued by the organization and climbed the ladder with patience and humility from account executive, to senior account executive, and now Group Sales Manager for all the SS&E properties.

Stephen Gray (S3 ’10stephen gray) joined the SS&E inside sales department after graduating from the S3 program. Stephen’s hard work led to a promotion with the organization’s AHL team, the Rampage. Stephen did very well selling, setting Rampage individual sales records. But, more importantly, as Mr. Miceli points out, “Stephen really understood the sales process and how to motivate others. He became Manager of Ticket Sales for our NBA D-League franchise in Austin and has really helped turn the franchise around.”

True Partnership

Many of the teams and companies who partner with the Baylor S3 program do so because of shared values. The relationship between the Baylor S3 program and SS&E operates as a true partnership, where the values of both organizations closely match. Issues and opportunities are discussed with transparency. Each is concerned for the welfare of each other, but most importantly, for the welfare of the young people entering and growing in the industry.

As Mr. Miceli shares, “We are honored to be members of the Baylor S3 Board. The relationship with the program and students has been very valuable for us from the standpoint of meeting(and hiring many) well-trained students ready to join the sports world in sales and customer data management.” In return, Baylor is deeply indebted to the leadership of the SS&E organization and their contributions to the school and the program.


The Baylor Sports Sponsorship & Sales (S3) program is the only academic program housed in a business school with a complete major focused entirely upon sports sales & analytics. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about the Baylor S3 program by visiting www.baylor.edu/business/S3

Cover photo courtesy of Chris Covatta, SS&E and USL Soccer.

 

The Daniel Sport & Entertainment Leadership Summit

The Daniel Sport & Entertainment Leadership Summit
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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.”
  3. 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.'”
  4. 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.
  5. There’s no plan B. God doesn’t have a special ops force he’s sending in. We’re it. We need to lead.
  6. 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.
  7. The example of Daniel is “excellence in our personal lives bubbles up and carries over into professional lives.”
  8. Like Daniel, God has put you on a stage to change culture and influence lives, even years after you are gone.
  9. 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.
  10. 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!

 

Leading: Popping the Self-Delusion Bubble

Leading: Popping the Self-Delusion Bubble
by Dan Rockwell – February 2013

Waking up

I woke up this morning disturbed at the subtlety of self-delusion. The trouble with delusion is illusion.

What do you call someone who believes they’re:

  1. Supportive but demanding, instead.
  2. Humble but in reality, arrogant.
  3. Listening when they’re talking.
  4. Able to do everything “right” while others fall short.
  5. Informed when they don’t know.

You call them deluded leaders.

Deluded leaders falsely believe intentions automatically translate into behaviors. You intend to be supportive so you must be supportive, right?

Deluded leaders believe they’ve mastered the things they tell others to do. Consider the pursuit of excellence, for example. Are you always improving the work of others but doing things the same yourself?

On excellence

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Mike Mahoney
Mike Mahoney

“When you get feedback on your performance remember that it is business, not personal, so don’t get defensive. It is hard for people to bring up negative things so appreciate they cared enough to help you correct your behavior and make the necessary adjustments.”
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How do you respond to:

  1. Suggestions about your behavior?
  2. Criticism about the way you handle tough conversations?
  3. Improvements suggested by underlings that impact you personally?

Excellence is the gradual result of always striving for better. Can you name one thing you’re striving to improve in your leadership? Can you name three things you’re doing to improve it? Do those under you know and participate? Or, are you deceived by intention.

You pursue excellence for others but not for yourself. The discomfort others feel in telling you the truth says you aren’t approachable. When was the last time you invited someone to speak into your frailties?

Get real

Leaders serve.

You’re not special, better than, or more important. Thinking you are deludes you.

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  1. Conform to them rather than demanding they conform to you.
  2. Focus on them; stop expecting them to focus on you.
  3. Their success is your success.
  4. Fuel their passions not yours.
  5. Serve them; they don’t serve you.[/dropshadowbox]

Leaders who don’t serve rely on authority and coercion. They pressure rather than enable. Saying and telling aren’t serving.

I don’t know how you feel. But, I feel better. I needed that reminder and I bet you did, too.

Discuss with your team

How can leaders address the self-delusion issue?