I decided to reach out to a wide swath of communications folks over the weekend and asked them questions on best practices, lessons learned and challenges. Will post them as they come this week…starting off with three wise men… Kirk Reynolds, Ray Ridder of the Warriors and Josh Rawitch of the Diamondbacks. Interested form having others who I haven’t hit in this round as well; great strorytellers tell great stories…
Kirk Reynolds
After solid stops at the 49ers, the Pac 12 Network and on his own, Kirk is spending much of his time helping lead the strategy for Intel on the sports projects…he has a great perspective on things from the Bay Area.
Other than the obvious of no games, what has been the biggest surprise you have been dealing with, either as a one off or on a daily basis?
I am not sure it is a total surprise but always eye opening…you see the good and the bad in people during difficult times. For the most part, people are friendlier and supportive, especially in the neighborhood. A lot more waves and smiles than ever before because they all know we’re dealing with the same issue. At the same time, there are the outliers, the folks who have no regard for anyone else. They don’t seem to grasp the “we’re in this together” concept. That can be frustrating/irritating.
Is there a special lesson learned so far in this?
Relationships are so important, especially during tough times. It is so valuable checking in with folks to let them know you’re thinking about them. Everyone deals with these kind of things differently, but we all like hearing from others, no matter how close we might be.
Whats been the biggest challenge in the process?
Not being able to see people face to face. We have been able to adjust a little with Zoom, but nothing truly replaces in person interaction. It’s the greatest way to build relationships.
Who are some of the people you have seen emerge as leaders in this so far?
There are so many examples – government officials, team owners, players, ordinary citizens. There have been some incredible examples across the board. From a personal perspective, Intel leadership from CEO Bob Swan to Intel Sports GM James Carwana has done a terrific job staying connected with employees and providing meaningful updates.
What is the message that you as leaders in your business on the comms side have been able to convey to staff?
My role on the BD side of Intel Sports has led me to communicate externally instead of internally. I have been actively connecting with our various team partners to make sure people are safe and healthy and also seeing how we can help support their business objectives during this unique time.
This job is now more 24/7 than ever before probably, how are you able to break from being constantly on?
You have to take time for yourself and to be connected to your family. Nothing is more important than that connection. So, I make sure to get off the grid for a couple hours a day to go for a walk or run and to get some quality time with my wife.
Raymond Ridder
There may be no more creative, patient and respected person on the team communications side than the Golden State Warriors Raymond Ridder. Whether on the top of the NBA or the bottom, Ray is always looking to storytell and work in a positive fashion. His perspective and leadership are always appreciated and sometimes overlooked.
Other than the obvious of no games, what has been the biggest surprise you have been dealing with, either as a one off or on a daily basis?
The main surprise – or difficulty – has simply been the uncertainty surrounding our seasons and not knowing what is going to happen next and when (the draft, the playoffs, summer league, next season). We are usually creatures of habit and our schedules are defined, but the uncertainly of what is next and when has made it a little strange and difficult. I will say this: we’ve been extremely busy and our work days are full from start to finish from a comms standpoint. Our local media is starving for ideas and we view this as a great opportunity to provide them good stories to tell, whether that be what it’s like for an organization to work from home to what it’s like for a parent to work from home with kids ) to how our Foundation is helping non-profit organizations during this time
Is there a special lesson learned so far in this?
We’ve learned that an organization that is collaborative and engaging, as I believe we are, can still be productive while working remotely. I’d venture to say that I’ve had more interactions with certain folks in our organization over the last five weeks than I would have had had we been in the office. Like most teams, we’ve relied on video conferencing and it has worked really, really well for our entire organization. We’ve had Town Hall meetings with over 300 employees multiple times in recent weeks. And, from a PR perspective, one idea that we will continue to use will be the use of video conferencing for interviews that we’d typically do over the phone. The personal connection will make a standard interview much better in the future (when possible). Any future interview with our President that we’d typically do on the phone will now be done virtually so they can see each other and, possibly, have a better, more engaging conversation.
Whats been the biggest challenge in the process?
Deciding which ideas are the ones that we pursue from an internal and external media standpoint (our social media folks have had many great ideas). We’ve had tremendous success with idea-generating, but we can’t do everything. Which ideas will provide us the most mileage internally (media) and traditional media? How much do we focus on our re-broadcast of historical games or how much do we focus on a “where are they now” series with our local newspaper? I will say this: We’ve had tremendous participation from our coach, President, GM and many players who are willing to do interviews and help do their part during this time. As PR folks, we’re only as good as the cooperation we receive from our leaders and players.
Who are some of the people you have seen emerge as leaders in this so far?
Our President, Rick Welts, has encouraged everyone to use this as an opportunity to think outside the box, be creative and bring new ideas to the table, ideas that can be continued even after this hiatus is over. I’ve been especially impressed with our social media folks, but really, every department has stepped up in an effort to continue to engage with our fans, our season ticket holders and our sponsors. The collaboration has been impressive. As an example, our broadcasting team, our season ticket services team, our IT folks and PR have worked closely to provide content for our Season Ticket Holders…one example here:
What is the message that you as leaders in your business on the comms side have been able to convey to staff?
As noted earlier, now is the time to step up, use your creative juices and figure out ways for our organization to remain engaged and successful, regardless if your idea is for you specific department (like PR) or an idea that is something that will help the greater good of the organization (e.g. another department such as corporate sales or ticket sales and services).
This job is now more 24/7 than ever before probably, how are you able to break from being constantly on?
There really are no breaks in the schedule, even now, unless you are on a vacation.
Josh Rawitch
A few weeks ago Josh was on a Zoom chat hosted by Brian Berger, and he was asked one of the learnings he had picked up during this time. It came from Matt Bourne at the MLB League office…”It’s OK to say I don’t know.” Few words, few more important for a lesson for leadership. Josh has been another of the most creative and proactive communications professionals anywhere, now leading the efforts for the Arizona Diamondbacks after being at the Dodgers for 15 years.
Other than the obvious of no games, what has been the biggest surprise you have been dealing with, either as a one off or on a daily basis?
I think that keeping our group engaged can be challenging, not because they don’t want to be but because everything has changed in our lives overnight and people are homeschooling, watching little ones or just nervous about the world. We have an incredible group of employees who all want to be doing great work and in some cases, there isn’t “great work” available to be done until we come back. In others, the work that has to be done is tedious. Trying to make sure everyone feels like they’re part of the solution has been something I didn’t expect to be thinking about so often.
Is there a special lesson learned so far in this?
I believe we all innately know how important human interaction is but this is the ultimate reminder of that. Just seeing someone’s face on a video screen brings joy to me on a regular basis and I’ve been reconnecting with old friends and past colleagues in a way that reminds me how important those friendships are that were formed in my teens, 20s and 30s.
Whats been the biggest challenge in the process?
I kind of answered that in the first question so for this one, I’ll say that striking the right tone in public comments and on social media has been challenging. People are dying and this is affecting some cities and some families more than others, but we’re still oddly trying to figure out how to keep fans engaged online, which can feel weird sometimes. Similarly, as PR professionals we’re trained to find good stories and share them and sometimes that feels wrong, too, if we’re highlighting how much we’re giving back to the community or the fact that we’re continuing to find ways to pay our full-time and gameday staff. We’re hopeful that in seeing the generosity of our ownership group, it will inspire others to do the same while knowing that most of the world isn’t in the position right now to do that. Trying to figure out if and how to share what we’re doing is a big challenge.
Who are some of the people you have seen emerge as leaders in this so far?
Our Managing General Partner, Ken Kendrick, has repeatedly referred to this as a humanitarian crisis and that’s how he is asking us to deal with it. He’s always been a great leader, but it’s even more evident these days with all that he’s giving and doing. In this article from last week, he references the cliché that leaders usually know the right thing to do – the real test is doing it when required. And he has, as has our President & CEO Derrick Hall. Externally, it’s been great to see a fellow Hoosier like Mark Cuban emerge in the way that is probably changing how many see him. There are tons of others, but these are a few that come to mind.
What is the message that you as leaders in your business on the comms side have been able to convey to staff?
This isn’t really me conveying it, but I’ve heard so many people, inside Communications and outside, talk about the value of communicating. It’s even more evident when we’re not together, but the message is clear – it’s important that others know what you’re doing because it affects what they do. If it means cc’ing a few extra people on an email, sending a quick text or pinging them on whatever chat platform you use just as a heads up, right now we all need to overcommunicate more than ever.
This job is now more 24/7 than ever before probably, how are you able to break from being constantly on?
I’m so fortunate to have my family around so whether it’s sneaking in a quick game of hallway basketball with my son between video calls, listening to my daughter play a song on the ukulele in the room next door or doing a jigsaw puzzle with my wife for 15 minutes during lunch, I feel like we’ve actually done a better job of that than during the regular baseball season. Each night one of the four of us gets to pick an activity for the family to do and it’s been an amazing escape at the end of each day to watch a movie, chalk the sidewalk, go in the pool or on a hike (sorry East Coasters) or bake/cook something together.
So that’s a start…more perspectives to come.
