Revisionist History

"Historical revisionism is the attempt to change commonly held ideas about the past. In its legitimate form it is the reexamination of historical facts, with an eye towards updating historical narratives with newly discovered, more accurate, or less biased information, acknowledging that history of an event, as it has been traditionally told, may not be entirely accurate.

"Historical revisionism" (also but less often in English "negationism"), describes the process that attempts to rewrite history by minimizing, denying or simply ignoring essential facts." (source: Wikipedia)

Since I started teaching undergrads three months ago, I've learned a few of things: 1) I love it! I enjoy being around the students I have. They respond well when I can relate topics to things they see everyday in sports. As I get more comfortable in the classroom, it's going to be even more fun. 2) Teaching and prepping for classes takes a lot more time than I imagined, at least for the first time. I have a feeling it will be easier next year after I've taught these classes once. 3) Undergraduate students are different from graduate students, and the grad students I worked with at Ohio University last year are some of the best. This last part is what I want to focus on for this post, along with the second part of the definition above.

The idea of writing this blog was not to say that I or my peers did all of the things I've written about and have advised you to do when we first started in sports. Some we did, but a lot of them we didn't. If you really pay attention, I often say I learned "x" from someone or a boss advised me to do "y." The point is that I didn't know a lot of this when I started working in sports. The idea of the blog was to pass this info along to current students so they learn it earlier than I did, and therefore, hopefully have an advantage moving forward.

I was talking with one of the grad students at OU when I was in Athens in October. He was telling me about an alumnus who sent a written tirade about everything that a couple of people did wrong during a presentation that he saw. While we were talking, two other students jumped in and were giving additional information. Feedback is always good, but this feedback wasn't necessarily given in the most positive way. It was mostly ripping these students apart from what I could gather. These students took it way better than I did, that's for sure. This feedback came from someone who graduated around the time that I did. (Although the name was not given to the students, they could figure out who it was by references he made to his career.)

I was really annoyed because since I was one of the few alumni in the Athens area last year, I had the opportunity to see these students present on multiple occasions and participate as a judge for those presentations. One of the things that I can definitively say is that they are way better with their presentation skills than we were when we were grad students. And I don't mean just a little. I'm talking off the charts better. Their information is well-researched, the presentations are interesting, their PowerPoint skills are phenomenal, and speaking ability is something that Jim Kahler has made sure they have when they leave Athens. This person who gave the "feedback" was comparing them to what his current ability is. Yes, we're better than we were as grad students (at least I hope we all are), but it's not fair to compare these students to us ten years removed, with ten years of experience and currently in middle and upper management jobs. Experience almost always trumps classroom education, and ten years of it definitely does.

There are a lot of things by which we judge students, but lets remember that they're still students. If we could find someone who didn't need any coaching and development, we wouldn't be paying them an entry level salary of <$30,000/year. We look for students who are very good and only need a little tweaking to become great. If they have the right attitude about learning and their career, chances are that a lot of the things they need to "fix" are ones they'll pick up quickly. The level that grad students at a program like OU have reached is one that is well above most students. Trust me, I work with undergrads everyday. Give these guys a break. Stop with the revisionist history and acting like the skills we have now are the ones we had when we were their age.

Sports Business Journal

One of the tools that anyone wanting to work in the sports industry should utilize is the Sports Business Journal.  I haven't posted about it before as a tool because I guess I was naive and thought that most people who wanted to work in sports knew about it.  What I've discovered since I began teaching last month is that none of my students had ever heard of the SBJ, let alone read it.  After talking to undergrad professors at other universities, I found out that my students aren't that unique.  I actually just heard from a student at another university that one of her sports administration professors had never heard of it until he came to that university. That was truly shocking!  I've already decided to use the SBJ instead of, or in addition to, a text book in my future classes to make sure that students utilize it.

For those not aware, SBJ is a weekly publication that covers the business aspect of sports.  It contains vital information on so many different sports business topics.  It is an important publication for any section of sports in which you may want to work.  For students and professors, they offer a significant discount price on semester and annual subscriptions.  I recommend you read it to know what's going on in the sports business world.  

Check out the Sports Business Daily, too.  It compiles all of the sports business news from various newspapers and websites around the country.  I actually read this even more religiously than the SBJ.  The same company produces both, and like SBJ, the SBD also offers student and educational discounts.  

360 Degrees of Feedback

One of the things that many companies offer is what is called 360 degrees of feedback.  With 360 degrees of feedback, people receive feedback from their leader, their peers, and their direct reports.  It is something that is invaluable.  It's an opportunity to find out how others view you with regard to a number of things based on pre-determined questions from the company.  It's a written report telling you where you need to improve in others' eyes.

Although this is written feedback, it's a specific type of written feedback.  For individual feedback, it's best not to put any constructive feedback in writing.  Tone and intention don't come across well in written form.  Plus, the basic fact is that anything in writing can be kept by the other person forever.  If you're writing something positive about someone, copy others, especially that person's boss.  Copy the person's peers, others on the team, etc.  If it's your direct report, copy your boss.  It's parallel to the idea that you give praise in public (team meetings, for example), but give feedback in private (behind closed doors or one-on-one).  

Feedback - Giving and Receiving

I've had parts of this blog saved in draft form since October, 2007.  The topic is feedback.  I've been trying to figure out how best to write it in a relatively short form.  This topic was a multi-hour class when I worked at Disney.  These are just a couple of key points.  By no means is it the end-all, be-all on this topic, but hopefully it will be a helpful start and encourage you to read-up on the subject for more details.

Feedback isn't easy to give properly and it's even harder to hear.  I know, sounds like I have a firm grasp of the obvious here.  In working with the grad students at OU, even at their age it wasn't something that I ever saw any of them able to give without getting personal.  It's even less likely that younger students are going to figure it out without some coaching.  I don't think it's something that is taught at school.  In the workplace, it's only taught in companies with well-established training programs.  

One of the things that I learned was to first ask, "Do you mind if I give you some feedback?" The idea is that no one is going to say "no."  (I've never had anyone answer "no" to this question.)  We all want to receive feedback, or at least we think we do.  When the person answers "yes," she's given you permission.  Remember, though, that it's permission to give feedback, not permission to attack her.  

When giving feedback, you can't get personal with it.  The feedback should be about the person's actions, not the person.  It's not an opportunity to attack the other person, make her feel bad, or show how superior you think you are to her.  Whatever it is that the person did or didn't do, it likely wasn't malicious.  Often, people honestly don't know that they've done something wrong or annoying because no one has ever told them.  One way you keep the feedback from being a personal attack is by relating it back to yourself and using non-accusatory phrases.  What I mean by this is that you use phrases such as "I felt like" and "It seems like" and "I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but..." rather than using accusatory phrases and saying that they "did" such and such.  An example:  

"I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but when you made that comment in front of the staff, I felt like you were undermining my position."  

If you've watched "The Last Lecture" by Dr. Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon (and if you haven't, you should), he tells a story about one of his mentors giving him feedback.  Dr. Pausch acknowledged that he was quite arrogant as an undergrad.  Instead of his mentor telling him that he was being a jerk and isolating people, his mentor told him, "It's a shame that people perceive you as so arrogant.  It's going to limit what you're able to do in life."  He didn't say you're an arrogant jackass, but he said the same thing without trampling all over his emotions. Not many of us have a real idea of how people perceive us.

In order to receive feedback, you truly have to be open to it.  When it's given properly, you can't take it personally, either.  You can't get defensive and try to defend your position or offer excuses, especially if you've asked for feedback or said yes to receiving it.  Feedback is a gift, and it's a scarce one.  You have to let that person speak, absorb it, and thank them for the feedback.  Remember, it's not about what you meant to do or say, it's about what others perceive you meant.  This is also not the time for you to turn around and give them feedback.  

Unfortunately, one of the things you're inevitably going to face is people to whom you give feedback, but who will perceive any feedback as an attack.  To this I can only say that at least you're trying.  Just be the bigger person and don't let it escalate.

I'll have more on feedback in the next posting.

University of Charleston (WV) - New Job

Sometimes things happen to force us down a path we know we should have been on already. Back in May, I was laid off from my job at GamePlan Technologies.  It wasn't a surprise.  I was pretty sure it was coming and had started looking for another job in spring.  I looked at various teaching positions for sports admin programs and/or jobs at universities or in college towns so that I could pursue my PhD.  Teaching full-time is something I've been saying I wanted to do for the last three years.  

I found a posting for the University of Charleston (www.ucwv.edu) in February, but didn't post for it at that time.  In May, I did post for it and was called in for an interview the next week.  I fell in love with the program and the staff!  It's a practical, real-world program that has a huge amount of potential, and a lot of the staff have had a great deal of entrepreneurial success, which I love.  I have a lot of ideas for the program and how I would like to see it grow.  I've also already started speaking to people in my network about internships for the students, ideas for projects, and information for class content.  

I'm very excited to start my new job on Friday as a professor and program coordinator for the University of Charleston's sports administration program.  If I hadn't been laid off, I wouldn't have pursued my dream of teaching full-time for several more years.  Sometimes the things that happen in our careers that seem unpleasant are really serendipitous.  We just need to make sure we're receptive to those moments and take advantage of them. 

Meet and Greets

When you first arrive for an internship or a new job--especially a new job--schedule "meet and greets" with various people at the company.  They don't have to be long, drawn out meetings.  It might only be fifteen or thirty minutes long.  The purpose is simple and just what it sounds like--to meet the staff and introduce yourself.  Ask them what their department does, how it interacts with your department, and how you can best work together.  It's just a little thing, but it shows that you have initiative, that you want to learn about the big picture, and that you understand that your department does not operate in a vacuum.  

One of the new employees at NYRR who is a friend of mine has been going through her meet and greets.  She's in the marketing department, but one that she's scheduled is with the warehouse and logistics manager.  He is a former employee of mine and is still a good friend.  I can tell you that the fact that she contacted him to schedule a meet and greet was huge.  Second, she offered to go to the warehouse to meet him.  The first was huge.  The second was monumental!  His team is responsible for physically delivering the sponsor activation items her department needs, and they're often a victim of the "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome since the warehouse is in a different location.  It makes sense for them to meet and talk, yet few people have done that when they've arrived (actually, I don't know of anyone else who has).  Even fewer have taken the time to go to the warehouse in the Bronx (the office is in Manhattan).  She's doing it because she's a good manager and a good person, but it's going to pay huge dividends down the road.   Things being equal, we prefer to work with people we like.  Things not being equal, we still prefer to work with people we like.  

Mistakes

One of the many things that is so important in life is to learn from our mistakes, but in order to learn from mistakes, we first have to be willing to make them.  Mistakes aren't made and lessons aren't learned by those timid souls who sit idly by and wait to be told exactly what to do.  When you start in a job, you may not quite know enough to do a lot of things on your own. If you don't, be proactive in asking your boss what you can help with next.  Don't sit and wait for her to come to you.  If you learn quickly, hopefully you have a boss who will encourage you to make decisions and will give you the authority to make them.  Know this though, eventually, you are going to make a decision that is a mistake.   

When you make your first major mistake, I hope you have a boss who works through it with you, who explains why it was a mistake and what might have been a better option.  Enlightened bosses will know that you're going to eventually make a mistake.  They hope they can catch you before you make it, but that isn't always possible.  

An important piece after you make a mistake is how you communicate it. When you do make a mistake, own up to it. Don't blame someone else if you know that you screwed-up.  None of us wants to think that we're the ones at fault, but when we really think about it, we might be.  It wasn't done on purpose, but it was our fault.  Our knee-jerk reaction is to blame someone/something else.  I've worked in organizations where the first thing out of people's mouths when they screw up is "such and such was supposed to ________, that's why it happened."  They also love to tell everyone else that same thing.  Please don't do that.  Be an adult.  Don't start telling others that it was someone else's fault.  Be willing to say, "It was my fault.  I screwed up.  It's a lesson I've learned and it won't happen again."  Seriously think about what you learned from the mistake--you should have followed up with someone or you should have gotten the price quote in writing or whatever.  

The next key is not to let it happen again.  Making mistakes isn't career killing, but making the same mistakes over and over is.  You don't want to become known as the person who always screws up.  You also don't want to be known as the person who doesn't take responsibility for her actions.