While it is great the sports, especially team sports, is making the slow turn back to relevance in the Pandemic stricken world, it is still important to note and realize that the world that emerges in sports business on the other side of this for some time will be different.
“We are going to be living in a world of yellow lights, not green ones, maybe forever,” colleague Frank Supovitz told those listening in on our NYVC Sports and Sporthiatus “lunch hour” chat this past Wednesday. “Those who hope we are going back to the way it was are going to have a tough time.”
Tough time is right, and we see it every day. Brands which have been central to sports marketing are going under or restructuring, the latest being Hertz on Friday night. Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, on a video call as part of Leaders Week this past week talked about the fact that his team may LOSE more money if they tried to play this summer than if they didn’t. “Seventy percent of our revenue is based on game day sales. That remaining 30 percent can turn into a loss because the costs of creating an event without fans may be even more expensive than not playing.”
And while there is great emotional and some monetary value in sports without fans, as well as new revenue that could conceivably come in through areas like sports gambling, the reality is that those games will take place as thousands of workers, from some senior management positions to concession workers, will take place with those people on the sidelines.
That has led to more concerns, and even some great bitterness, from people who have lost, and will still lose, their jobs as this unfolds in the coming months. I have spoken to more than a few people; from students looking for internships to senior sales people with nothing to sell, who see games without fans as a personal loss, not a win, because for many, all their years of work, all the sweat equity, and all the emotional and financial ties to a job or jobs will go on without them, and with no hope or idea that a new normal will bring them back as teams, leagues, brands and media companies tighten belts and get by without a large number of staff, or with people willing to work for less, not just for a few months but for years.
Another close friend who has brought millions into teams through sales over the years…he is in his forties…and has survived thus far knows his days are numbered even as things return to normal. “Owners need to run a business that shows ROI. If they can do so with even less head count and have a good product they feel it will sell, and the most vulnerable aren’t really the young people coming in…they are affordable…or the most senior who can manage staff and lead different groups. It is the mid-level employee with just a large enough income and just too many years in service who will be next to go, and then where do we go? That’s what we need to figure out.”
So, to those either in that boat or about to get in, I offer the words of another Renaissance man, Snoop Dogg. During a taping of one of the first episodes of “The Barbershop” on HBO, hosted by LeBron James. He was asked about how he can continue to be important to young people and those in their forties as well. “It’s simple man, you have to find ways to stay relevant.”
As someone who started a form of social distancing and working and learning from home over a dozen years ago, not by choice, but by having consulting choosing me, I agree with Snoop. You have to take time every day to keep learning and finding ways to positively and productively join a narrative. Reinvention of career is not something that is easy; sometimes it is embarrassing, sometimes it brings on great despair, sometimes it is hollow; but being able to pluck lemonade from lemons is part of life that we all go through, and the surprise of what you can learn and accomplish through the people you know, and the experiences that you have and the success that you have achieved personally and professionally is a skill we all have, if we can just let it empower us and not consume us through the negative.
As I listen to many going through difficult times adjusting to this new normal I hear many talking about how busy they actually are in the work/life balance from home…the stress of keeping young kids engaged for a longer and longer time while trying to make ends meet and do their jobs is becoming a growing concern. However, there are also many willing to share little tips on how to make it work…and even without jobs…are finding little joys in seeing kids or siblings…literally grow before their eyes. So many have talked about lessons being learned about eating habits, study habits, reading habits, walking habits that they didn’t know their kids were doing, and how that this hiatus from the routine has created new routines that they slowly have come to enjoy. Much of it is not always rosy, but whatever is?
Part of that discovery on the work side, and the management of time (a critical skill) is taking the advice of Snoop…and others…finding every way to stay relevant to what is going to become a new evolved and very fluid workplace. Also, another area to think about as relevance comes into play…gray. Many areas of business especially tied to sport…have always been pretty clear. You win, you close a sale, you lose, or something doesn’t develop. A zero-sum game. We understood that. However, going forward that middle ground…the gray area…is going to become more relevant and important to embrace. What are the things we need to stay relevant where a win or a loss, an addition to the bottom line, a hitting a sales number, may be less timely or be influenced by things well beyond our control. The idea of, “well I couldn’t do that, but here’s what I can help with” is going to be more key in maintaining and growing a business relationship.
Hence the need to stay more relevant than ever before.
What am I talking about? Taking the few minutes a day to maybe understand what esports and gaming actually is and how it can be valuable to “traditional” business…looking to have a better understanding of cultures in emerging markets and seeing how these markets can integrate into the business you are in. Averse to analytics? Maybe join a call about coding. Don’t understand what Tik Tok is all about? Find a few of your kid’s friends to better understand why its important to them and how it applies to a greater business. Can’t seem to make heads or tales about the value of cause marketing to spur sales? Speak to people who volunteer and see how their passion can apply to what it is you are doing. Had you always wanted to talk to a person in your workplace who came from a different background but never had the time to ask? Force yourself outside of your boundaries for a virtual cup of Joe…or an old-fashioned phone call to listen and learn from them. Averse to social media or a second screen? Join a Facebook group about a topic you love and listen and see how those people are using time to expand relationships and enter into a conversation.
I have often found in times of crisis or a lack of faith that the help, the inspiration comes from the most unexpected places…if you are open to new ideas, open to listening, open to learning, and open to acceptance on all levels. All that comes from finding looking and learning and removing silos and walls you have assembled.
Now one thing I would say NOT to do. Don’t be walking around with your hand out saying help ME. There are several people I know who come around only when THEY need something, several as blatant as sending mass emails to people saying hey, I need a job can you hire me. While that may work for some at the end of the rope, I think it honestly turns many people off…and ironically those people are usually heard from only when THEY need something.
Understanding your skills…telling people what you have learned, using that knowledge and the lifetime of experience old and new…and putting all that in a narrative that helps you stay relevant to people who are looking for help…now with the added skills and ideas and thoughts you have acquired…will help define and open the next chapter. You can’t sit back and hope it comes to you, or that your past work alone is good enough.
We are in a gray, uncharted and very fluid world…so staying relevant for what is needed now, and what is coming soon, combined with the sweat equity of the past…will help chart your future.
And by the way…this is something we should have been doing all along right? And many of the changes were in the distance anyway…this pause in normalcy has really accelerated the changes at a pace no one was expecting or really ready for. It is here now, so understand, accept and get moving forward.
The best companies, the best leaders, the best teams, the best brands, read the room, look toward the door, and adapt in good times and tough ones. Adaptive learning is so key…and it is fun and interesting, and it will keep you relevant and engaged, for the long term, and most importantly keep you going and open new doors.
No matter who we are, where we are, and what we do, we need to always be thinking relevance to those around us. It has never been as important as it is today.
Just like Snoop said.
