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Quick Links and Good Ideas, July 2010

 

Do Sports Imitate Life Or Does Life Imitate Sports?
Over the last several days, we have had the opportunity to witness some amazing events in sports. We can’t help but join the chorus in talking about a few of these.

Until 8:27 PM on Wednesday, July 7 if you had dropped in from another planet and tuned into almost any media outlet, you would have thought that a new emperor of the universe was being named. In fact, it was just the LeBron James spectacle. The lead-up was fascinating in terms of marketing lessons. The follow-up was even more fascinating in terms of team and personal dynamics. While James did not “owe” the people in Cleveland anything, it might have been more palatable if he had informed them more than a few minutes before he was to go on the air to announce his decision. While the owner of the team gave what he thought was his best shot, coming out afterwards and saying that James was a quitter (the same person on whom he was willing to lavish millions of dollars) seemed like sour grapes.

On Sunday, July 11, much of the world watched as Spain defeated the Netherlands for their first ever World Cup title. It was indeed a great game. However, earlier in the day, Lance Armstrong fell, or more appropriately crashed, out of contention in this year’s Tour de France. Leading up to this year’s race, Armstrong and his new sponsor, Radio Shack, had assembled a strong team and had hoped that he would be able to have one final shot at a top finish in a race he dominated for several years. With the dismal results from Sunday, it now remains to be seen whether he can be a good team player as well as a good team leader.

James and Armstrong are both superstars in their respective sports. In both cases, time will tell how well they will support the team goals as opposed to their individual goals.

Our question for our readers: Do you and the superstars on your team know how to be both team leaders as well as team players?

In Search of Mediocrity
Neither James nor Armstrong nor any of the teams that competed for the World Cup aspire to anything less than excellence. However, in Why Have Excellence When You Can Have Mediocrity? we shared some thoughts from Business Week on how to go about decreasing your organization's performance level. The good news is that the behaviors that will take you to mediocrity are reversible and can be eliminated from your organization if you are paying attention.

The Customer-Centric Threshold
We also shared some thoughts last month from one of our colleagues who attended a presentation by Ranjay Gulati regarding his book, (Re) (Organize) For Resilience. In When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Become Customer-centric, Stuart Baum shared some of Gulati's ideas. Two of the main themes of the discussion were the “good-enough threshold” and its impact on innovation and how to keep customers satisfied without discounting price. In all cases, being customer-centric starts with an open line with both current and former customers about what satisfies and dissatisfies them. Opening and continuing a dialog with your customers should help you learn more about what they need and don’t need, and what they like and don’t like, and should enable you to better serve their needs.

Summer is hard upon us in Chicago as the temperature hovers between 80 and 90. However, we have not yet reached summer’s midpoint as the back-to-school sales have not yet started. We hope that, even in these uncertain economic times, you can find a few days to refresh and recharge your personal batteries.

Sincerely,

Barry Cain, former Managing Director, Strategic Services
David Spitulnik, former Director, Strategic Services 

This publication is part of Blackman Kallick’s marketing of professional services, and is not written tax advice directed at the specific facts and circumstances of any person and/or entity. Contents of this publication are of a general nature, and you should not act on this information without obtaining professional advice from your business advisor that is appropriately tailored to your individual needs and circumstances. This written advice is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.