Strategy is imperative

Leadership is quickly becoming a commodity. Look at every job posting and somewhere in the qualifications you will find a bullet point about effective leadership and or team management. The more this notion of leadership is being cooked into every job qualification, the less it becomes a personal quality worth hiring for. Soon leadership will be minimized as an effective tool for change and growth inside a corporation. 


In order to stand out among the vanilla leaders among a company's corporate structure, we must redefine what it means to be a leader and truly bring value to the company we represent. 


Therefore leadership must be rooted in these strategic principles. 


Anticipation: Look for game changing ways to improve the business or the way the company operates and search beyond the scope of the business for different ways of solving problems. 


Critical Thinking: Re-frame problems, a different way of thinking about some issue may bring a whole new set of answers. Critical thinking will also destroy any political game that is being played inside the organization. 


Decide: As a leader, many fail when it comes to pouncing on an opportunity or making a risky decision when the outcome may be unknown. Understanding the risks yet being able to go with gut instinct is one thing Steve Jobs did that made Apple a leader in the business world. 


Learn: A pitfall of leaders today is that many think their way is always the right way. Great opportunities can come from taking a step back and 
re-evaluating the options. Accepting failure and learning from it by researching why and how the failure occurred can have more of an impact than any successful outcome. 


These principles of strategic leadership are invaluable for anyone who has the goal of inciting action within the walls of an organization. 

NBA Pen Palls

I found this story today as I perused my long list of sports blogs. As a fan of the NBA and someone who always roots for the underdog, this story caught my attention. Word has it that the newly appointed coach of the Portland Trailblazers, Kaleb Canales, wrote a letter to a tenured NBA coach once a week for an entire year asking for an opportunity. If you need an example of perseverance and doing whatever it takes to reach dreams, this is it.

Turns out that Kaleb never got that opportunity to intern with the Heat but by never giving up and waking up each morning with a goal to achieve, he is now living out his dream of coaching an NBA team.

Unfortunately, his tenure won't last long as the Blazers are one of the worst teams in the NBA and just dumped a crap load of talent at the trade deadline. Along with the fact that it appears as though giant big man Greg Oden will never don a Blazers uniform again. Swing and miss on that draft choice.

But you must give credit to the coach. If he showed that much effort just to get an internship with a team imagine the work and heart he will give to the Blazers as they finish out the season. Hopefully he can get the players to buy into his system and play for the pride of the Rose City.

Hoop it up with.....Nautica?

If you haven't noticed yet, my favorite topics to write about are at the intersection of advertising and sports. Today I came across a vintage hoops ad from the late 90's that sparked my interest. Anyone remember Glen Rice? The stealthy three point shooter from the now defunct Charlotte Hornets? Fresh off his All-Star game MVP selection he inked a lucrative deal with a apparel company to promote their new line of hoop kicks. What makes this so fascinating is that the deal was with Nautica. When I think of Nautica I think of white men sailing the rough sees with water spraying their face all while they enjoy a nice glass of champagne. Not helping basketball players with a killer crossover.

I am sure wherever Glen Rice is, hopefully enjoying the fruits of his labor and not broke, he can look back at this part of his life and laugh. Because that's what I am doing.

A few thoughts on the clothing. Looks like they ripped the design straight from FILA. How original. I can't take Glen seriously as he poses in the Nautica tank trying to be a hard ass. Just imagine all the heckling he got when he showed up to the Hornets locker room wearing his Nautica Kicks. I bet gold tooth Larry Johnson and shorty Muggsy Bogues went to town. 

Add Nautica Competition to the list of apparel brands that tried to enter the sports category and completely whiffed. I am surprised they didn't try and outfit the entire NBA with warm-up jerseys. More like warm up khakis and sweaters tied around the neck.


Check it out yourself and let me know what you think.

A man with a true passion

I came across this article today while reading the NYT and wanted to share about it. A lot of times I discount people who chose to be homeless or nomads by calling them crazy or whack jobs. But this man is neither. He could be the most passionate sports fan and calls himself by one name only, Sabas. Watch out Dos Equis, I think Sabas could be in the running for the most interesting man in the world.

Not only does this man live off the land and sleep in the caves of upper Manhattan but he can talk with you for hours about sports. He may not have a home but he would be damned if he missed the BCS Title game. Among his prized possessions are his sleeping bag, a few necessities and his small transistor radio which is always turned to ESPN/Sports Talk radio.

As a passionate sports fan myself, I find this man very intriguing. His love for sport outweighs everything else in his life and he won't let anything get in the way of missing the game. A brave and unpretentious bar in the NYC area should adopt this man and do what they can to make sure he doesn't miss the games. Maybe give him a free meal when he shows up once in a while.

You show me Sabas sitting next to a beautiful girl at the bar and guess who I would rather talk to? You got it, Sabas all the way. I am sure we could all learn a thing or two about living life to the fullest as well as what it is like to devote your life to a passion, sports that is. O yea and I forgot to mention this guy is 79 years old. Awesome.

NYT Link