“Efficient To Be Effective.” How We Have To Explain and Adapt To Grow

“Efficient to be more effective” came out of a conversation we were having at West Point on Saturday. It was not about military tactics or even football, it was about the communications issues so many are facing today, as we all have to learn the best path forward.

First, this is not written by AI. It’s me, mistakes and all.

This past week there was a lot of debate and hand wringing and worry when Washington State Athletics  announced that they were partnering with FanWord to come up with AI generated content around sports stories, particularly game stories. The Cougars Sports Communications staff as already down several people with spots to be filled, so was this yet the latest step for a University…or a team…or a league…struggling to make ends meet using tools vs. people?

Well, let’s see. Cougar athletics, amidst all the criticism, there was a pushback from the administration saying the goal of this was to free up staff for other tasks, to save time, and to improve the opportunities for staffers going forward. While it remains to be seen if those spots are filled, in the give and take was a healthy wake up call, and a reminder that the sports communications world is changing and adapting, and those who have skills need to step forward, explain there value, and most importantly, lean in to the future.

This was a big, and very timely topic for our class this week, as we held our first class not on how AI generation can eliminate jobs, but how it can streamline, make us think, and actually get communications folks off their laptops and screens and back into the business they should be in…HUMAN COMMUNICATION.

This week’s class came off of a catchup I had with my longtime friend and colleague Adam Rubin, who is now head of Baseball Communications at the Pittsburgh Pirates, after a few years in the college communications space, and before that, a very long and accomplished career on the media side with outlets like the NY Daily News and ESPN. He made the conscious decision to take his skills covering sports to the communications side, where he has built a reputation as a big thinker, a changer, and a facilitator of storytelling that is both refreshing and important in the volatile world we are in today.

Without going into too much detail, Adam has used the tools at hand…just like anyone would use traditional publishing tools, or social tools (remember when social platforms were going to break the world as well?)…to come up with systems that speed communication, eliminate tedious hours of work, identify media coverage that wasn’t being found, and puts the Pirates…a small market team with a limited size staff…in a position to show, and to lead, sports on every level on how to adapt all the tools available to reframe and reshape the opportunities for communications staff on a daily basis.

I also thought of these challenges as we spent the day at West Point Saturday, listening, watching and learning how colleges may be struggling, but have to adapt to the world we are in from a communications standpoint. The press box, two levels atop the redeveloped and beautiful Michie Stadium, was a quiet space, with staffers doing the tasks needed for games that cannot be replaced, but with a handful of media outlets there on site. At least what may be thought of as “traditional” media outlets. The relative quiet of what I always remembered as a vibrant space on this college level was echoed in a recent, well thought out twitter post by  Leah Lowe on the quiet that now envelopes Friday Night Lights coverage, and how it is evolving from what it once was.

That, along with Rubin’s work and the time many others are putting in to chart a smart path forward, are all vitally important for those who both crave multimedia storytelling and those who are trying to tell those stories on every level.

However for all the pieces to fit together, a few things have to happen. First…and most importantly…is that decisionmakers…athletic directors, CEO’s, CMO…those who have control over staffing and salaries…have to come to the conclusion that those doing the work have to be given the tools to evolve to a changing workplace. That does not mean cutting staff because “AI” can do “work.” What it means is a better understanding of how AI…or any communications tool…can free staffers up to do better, wider ranging relationship building and storytelling. Many complaints I hear from those on the front lines at colleges, teams and leagues is that they don’t have the time to develop relationships with media members…be they lifestyle reporters, content creators or even editors or media members at hometown or multicultural outlets.

Well…if you have tools…if you want to build more bridges…if you want to develop relationships…then you COULD have those skills to grow, which in turn expands your value and helps lift the ROI for the manpower spend.

BUT…and this is a big BUT…those on the communications side have to both build their case internally to show the value they can bring and can expand…and they have to break down the silo’s where they think “social media” or “marketing” aren’t part of their storytelling POV.

The best brands, the best media companies, the best teams, the best organizations, have a strong INTEGRATED APPROACH where everyone understands the goals and contributes. That starts internally with a reset from the top, as another of our amazing speakers, longtime ESPN head of communications Chris LaPlaca told our students a few weeks ago.

  “You can’t go outside with your storytelling until you are aligned internally.”

Getting back to the quiet of the press box. How does that change? Maybe by resetting goals and outreach, which is freed up when you train tools you can use to do tasks at a much more efficient pace, that you can identify new faces and new outlets who would gladly fill those seats and expand the audience. Hoping that the “New York Times” will show up like years past is silly. Making sure you are have all the tools in your toolbox, and showing people how they can bring value, is key for what’s ahead.

Now there is also one other issue that the decisionmakers have to weigh. In a repetitive seasonal business…and sports in many ways has its own cadence year in and year out…people get comfortable doing the same thing year after year. That is going to bring the pain of change for some. But…if you don’t accept the challenge and want to grow and learn…then you may lose the opportunity. That should not come without going through the change exercise, but sports, like every industry, cannot be averse to change especially for those who are the front porch storytellers for the teams, the leagues, the brands, the media companies etc etc.

One last thing on the AI in communications debate. Those who are going down the ‘let’s just get rid of staff and bring on tools to replace humans” are going to be in for a surprise. Why? Humans are still the ones who can understand the nuance, and the surprise, and the little quirks that make live sports so special. Humans also need to be the proofreaders, the fact checkers, the style makers, and the listeners and relationship builders that form the synapse between what content can be made and what goes out into the world.   

Will Washington State keep their word and fill spots? Will organizations better integrate their communications? Will those in the communications field embrace change? Will new jobs open up for those who embrace and grow?

Let’s just see.

One thing is for sure…if you don’t adapt, if you don’t grow, if you don’t explain your value here and into the future, you will lose.

And losing is something everyone in sports understands.