Email Strings and CYA

We've all done it in our jobs. We write an email, maybe copy a number of people, and proceed to work out the details for a specific aspect of an event or project. It usually leads to several back and forth emails, questions, answers, etc., when the easiest thing to do would have been to simply walk over to that person's office or pick up the phone and talk to them. So why is it that we don't just take the simple route? CYA (Cover Your ***).

We've all been burned at one time or another. We go over things with people, agree on what's going to happen and who's going to do what, and then BOOM! Someone throws us under the bus. Someone basically saves their own skin when something doesn't go as planned, and we don't have anything to show what was agreed on. From this point on, we put everything in writing. We shut down on verbal communication and rely on written communication.

The easiest way to work with other people, and the best way in my opinion, is to talk to them, whether face to face or on the phone. I understand the need to CYA. I put things in writing, too. What I would recommend, though, is this: develop relationships with people. This is an important part of any job. Talk with people to plan and work out the details. After the meeting, send an email (a single email) summarizing the details of what was agreed on. "Per the discussion we had about staffing/registration/sponsor deliverables/whatever...." This email will serve the purpose of documenting the details and making sure that there isn't any confusion.

This is advice I've given to the people who currently work for me. We had some contentious times between departments in the past, but the relationships have gotten a lot better, simply by increasing the direct communication. Relationships are personal. Email, too often, is not, and if that's the only way you're communicating with people, it could make your job all the more difficult.

Adaptability

In addition to my own thoughts, I've been asking a lot of colleagues for their opinions on what they think people entering the sports industry should know, things that they've seen newer employees struggle with. Recently, I had a conversation with my friend Ann. She's been working in sports for nearly twenty years. Ann currently is the head of a sponsorship department of fourteen people, many of them with less than two years of work experience. Her insight is definitely pertinent.

One of the most important things, regardless of whether you're working in events, sales, marketing, ticketing, etc. is adaptability. What you learn about a situation or the rules for the way something works may not apply to every situation. In fact, they rarely will apply across the board. You need to be able to ascertain the specific situation and the background of the people involved to best adjust your thinking.

I've had people who have worked for me who had a real problem with this concept. The best advice I can give to people is not to think of too many things as "rules," even if that's the word that is used. When someone gives you a rule for something, think of it more as a guideline. Guidelines are flexible. They give you a foundation knowledge, an understanding of the basics, but then rely on your judgment from there.

An example where I've seen this, and experienced it myself when I was younger, is with contracts. The first major event I worked on once I was hired full-time at DWWS was the National Senior Games. The contract was something like fifty-eight pages long. Ridiculously detailed. I practically had it memorized with respect to what deliverables we owed them and what they owed us. When we would have meetings with the NGB (national governing body), my boss and other executives would (I felt at the time) cave in on requests that they made of us that weren't in the contract, things that often cost us money. No one ever sat me down and explained why they would do this in general. They would explain specifics--we're giving up "x" so we can ask them for "y" in the future. Often times we would give up items without anything foreseeable to gain. I don't recall anyone having a conversation with me about the overall concept of handling contractual relationships. Maybe they thought it was common knowledge or that I understood. Not sure, but I can say without a doubt that it's not common knowledge. I've seen that first hand from people who have worked for and with me. Ann is the person who has best been able to verbalize the explanation. I use her explanation quite often when I'm teaching someone about contracts and why it's important to be open-minded. Her description is that a contract is the best understanding of the agreement at the time it was signed. Other things come up during the life of the contract that require changes. It's inevitable that it will happen. The more adaptable you are and understand that things aren't written in stone, the faster you're going to learn and move through the organization.

Plug for Ohio University Sports Administration and Some of Its Alumni

Although I grew up in Ohio and received my master's degree in Sports Administration & Facility Management (SAFM) from Ohio University, I received my undergraduate degree in business from the University of Florida. I'm a very happy fan and proud alumna after Florida's defeat of Ohio State on Monday night. In looking at the men's Final Four, I'm also a very proud alumna of the Ohio University SAFM graduate program. Why?

University of Florida - Athletic Director Jeremy Foley and three other staff are alumni of Ohio's SAFM program
Georgetown - Athletic Director Bernard Muir is an alumnus of Ohio's SAFM program
Ohio State - two of the athletic department's staff are alumni of Ohio's SAFM program

Pretty good statistics for one program, I'd say, especially considering that's only looking at the schools in the Final Four.

For anyone planning on going to graduate school for Sports Administration, Ohio University is definitely one of the first places you want to apply.

Note - News is all over about the University of Kentucky trying to recruit Billy Donovan to come to Lexington to coach. The Athletic Director at UK, Mitch Barnhart, he's also an alumnus of Ohio's SAFM program.