the monetary transactions related to sporting events fail to fully capture the scope and influence of sports in the United States. Every day, millions of office and break-time conversations center on the local team's most re- cent performance, an upcoming game, the impending draft, the current coach, or the future coach. Still, these conversations only begin to scratch the surface of the time devoted to sports-oriented topics. Daily, millions of people pour over televised, print, and online media sources to check out game outcomes, interviews, and opinions—not to mention the money and time spent on sports gambling or managing "fantasy" teams. Just as other aspects of American culture, business is heavily influenced by sports. The vocabulary of sports and business share many terms in common such as competition, rival, teamwork, strategy, efficiency, pro- duction, and others that are just as easily used in one setting as the other. As Green Packer Hall of Famer, Jerry Kramer, noted in his reflections on his playing days, the legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, "compared the Packers to a large corporation, like GM, IBM, or Chrysler."1 Lombardi's viewpoint concerning the overlap of sports and business management not only expressed his own opinion but that of many corporate leaders who shared his view of the intimate connection between coaching and manag- ing a corporate enterprise. During the Green Bay Packers dynasty of the late 1950s and 1960s, Lombardi's popularity as speaker before top indus- try leaders soared. His presentations ventured well beyond the specifics of football strategy into general advice about leadership, motivation, person- nel relations, and other matters related to managing a business. Other coaches and sports figures preceded Lombardi and a truckload have followed him into the field of management consulting. For instance, John Wooden, who supervised the UCLA dominance of college basketball from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s, made many speaking appearances before business groups but had to turn away many others because of time constraints. In more recent years, long-time football coach Lou Holtz's straight talk and one-liners have made him popular on the business speak- ing circuit. In addition to speaking appearances, successful coaches, general man- agers, and players now routinely publish their wisdom concerning various aspects of management. For example, Holtz authored Winning Every Day: The Game Flan for Success as well as other similar titles. Joe Torre, the popular manager of the New York Yankees, authored foe Torre's Ground Rules for Winning: 12 Keys to Managing Team Flayers, Tough Bosses, Set- backs, and Success. Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski of- fered the lessons of his experiences in Eeading with the Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Fife. Bill Russell, the leg- endary player for the Celtics who also served as a coach and general man- 2
Previous Page Next Page