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Last week’s blog, Professional Sports vs. Olympic Sports, examined a variety of topics surrounding sports and generated some great comments. I’d like to take it a step further this week. Let’s examine some of the same questions as before but from a slightly different angle…how does society embrace or reject the values of sports in BUSINESS?
Last week I compared professional sports with Olympic sports and commented, “In today’s world, with free-agents and the reality of ‘sports as a business’ there can be something lacking in terms of player and fan loyalty…the Olympics seem to have a sense of innocence or purity that doesn’t exist in professional sports…we could all use a little of those qualities [pride, dedication, sacrifice, work-ethic and honor] in our everyday life, regardless of the profession in which we work.”
While most people are painfully aware of the need to work in order to pay the bills it seems as if many businesses have forgotten about the high cost associated with compromising a company’s integrity and reputation. We all know that we should be thankful to have a job during tough economic times. However, many business leaders and administrators seem to have forgotten that not everyone is willing to sell their soul in exchange for their paycheck. In fact, some people are even willing to get paid less money if it means they can be happier in their work environment!
Maybe Bryan Heasley is correct in noting, “…players play with more pride and joy when they are playing for their countries…players know that the Olympics are only a couple weeks and you can be eliminated with one loss.” Over time, people tend to slack off, not work as hard or simply change their focus from achieving new goals to maintaining the status quo.
As Matt Altemose posted, “Although professional athletes grow up wanting to play in the big leagues…once they reach that level…they tend not to play for the team or are just all about themselves.” Even Tiger Woods’ recent actions seem to indicate a greater concern for individual wants/needs then a commitment to the ideals and standards which brought him into the limelight in the first place.
It is not much different in the field of business. There is an old saying that you have to “pay your dues” and “work up the ladder” until you have earned the right to receive certain benefits. Many professions have periods of apprenticeship or training where the newly hired must do more than a fair share of the “grunt work” before earning the privilege to delegate undesirable tasks to others.
But does this make such behaviors right? Isn’t it our professional obligation to teach the “young ones the ropes?” Don’t we WANT people within our own organizations to be successful and contribute to the overall well-being of the company? Why are some people so absorbed with their own careers that they can’t see the big picture, the idea that the entire TEAM wins when individuals are able to achieve? Isn’t Matt’s other statement also true in that, “professional sports players understand that it [winning] requires…the me-first attitude…take a backseat?”
What do you think? In what ways do we apply the lessons of sports to the real world? Is it possible to use professional sports in America as a vehicle to inspire others towards attaining excellence in ways other than competition, prestige and profits? How can we take some of the focus away from a company’s bottom line and put the emphasis on recognizing the value of an individual’s contribution to the total organization? Again, maybe I’m wrong and nothing needs to change. However, it seems to me that if a company expects the employees to “do the right thing” and “work in the organization’s best interests” then it is inevitable that employees must be given a reasonable amount of responsibility and freedom. As Grace Hooper Murray is credited for saying, “leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up, and loyalty down. Respect for one’s superiors; care for one’s crew.” I think it is morally wrong to demand loyalty from your employees if the organization itself is not providing employees with respect…what do you think?
March 29, 2010 at 1:04 pm
After reading this blog post, I go back to thinking about how sport is really a microcosm of American Society. By that, I mean that the American society is a me-first society in and of itself. Because of that, I do not think that professional sport or professional athletes are going to change any until there is a change made by the American people and society as a whole. I am not a big fan of “reality” television; however one show that has caught my attention the last couple of months has been Undercover Boss. These high ranking C.E.O.’s go undercover in their own company and have found some genuine people that really work hard for not only themselves, but for the company. Yet, even these hard workers tend to have a me-first attitude or feel underappreciated because they feel that “upper management” does not respect them and puts policies in place that hinder the worker. Many of the C.E.O.’s of these companies have said something to the sort of wow, I really had no idea how what I do affects others in my company, or that I put these policies in place because it is what I believe and do not look to how it affects the others in the company. Essentially, these C.E.O.’s have that me-first mentality. Also, many Americans grow up being taught that they have to think about themselves first and foremost or else they will not be able to get anywhere in life. Because of that, many Americans bring that attitude with them whether they are playing professional sports or are janitors at a local high school. However, sport is more publicized than janitorial work so that may be an irrelevant comparison, but it gets the point across. Anyway, in my opinion, until American society and societal values change and the emphasis is placed on the team and not the individual, then American sport will not change, and the high-paid athletes will continue to bask in the glory for themselves and not for the team. To answer one of the questions posted in this post, yes, it is possible to use American professional sports as a vehicle of excellence because people can see how hard an athlete works to succeed, and they too can attempt to work hard for success. Overall, though, professional sport athletes in America are not going to change the me-first attitude until society says that the me-first attitude is no longer acceptable.
April 1, 2010 at 2:55 pm
The me first attitude in sports in more present today than ever before. Never before has there been a generation where athletes are holding out their contracts until a team pays them what they deem acceptable. Not only is this true for veteran athletes who may have more credibility within the league, but look at all the rookies heading into the NFL who feel just because they are a first round pick, that they should be getting paid the big bucks (cough, couch… Michael Crabtree). Imagine if non-athletes in the sports industry displayed the same behavior. Picture having a student who just finished their undergraduate degree, experienced an internship, and is now looking for an entry level job. Lets say that person applies for a job with the New York Yankees as Director of Public Relations, goes in for an interview, and two months later is offered the job. I cannot even imagine how ecstatic I would be if this was offered by way, but imagine if that person were to have the same mentality as a professional athlete and responds to the job offer with the response of, “Ya know, I think I am going to have to wait this one out until you offer me some more money. I have an undergraduate degree in sport management and I think I am more valuable than indicated by the salary you are offering me.” Are you kidding me! Just imagine if non-athletes in the sports industry approached their jobs with the Michael Crabtree mentality.
April 1, 2010 at 4:25 pm
I firmly believe that the lessons that people learn in sports are lessons which they carry over into their everyday lives, not only with competition, prestige, and profits. Yes, sports thrives competition in the work force because people hate to lose, sports also makes people want to get “noticed” this is their prestige and what will make them more money just like athletes, if they get noticed then they get more money in their next contract. However, sports also generates teamwork and passion for something. When a person plays a sport they are part of a team and have to work together to achieve a championship, this doesn’t differ from the workforce. When a company is trying to create business they work together to do so, the teamwork within the workforce is the same teamwork within athletics. Sports develops passion for something and you have to have passion when you go to work, if you don’t have passion then you will not like your job as much and you may dread going to work everyday.
April 1, 2010 at 5:54 pm
I think that selfishness is one of the defining characteristics of the human species, and it is biologically impossible to get rid of. We tend not to think about it in these terms due to the general comfort of our lives, but as recently as several hundred years ago people actually had to worry about their own survival. Selfishness, or “the me-first attitude” as it was referred to as in the blog entry, is the natural survival adaptation to remedy this problem. Failure to think about yourself first would most likely result in death. While this isn’t really true anymore due to things like Social Security, Welfare, and now Universal Health Care, the concept still applies. If you aren’t thinking about yourself first, it could easily mean the “death” of your particular career or status.
Because of this, I don’t think that selfishness is a bad thing at all, and I don’t think society has to change. Selfishness drives competition, which most people in a capitalistic society would agree is necessary to identify the best of the best. With that being said, I think it is better to be “passively” selfish rather than “overtly” selfish, because other people tend to react negatively to overtly selfish people. Basically, being selfish in an obvious way undermines the whole point of being selfish, because it can quicken the “death” of your career, status, etc.
To further my point, I will even go as far as to say that it is impossible not to be selfish or have a me-first attitude. Even the person who donates $1,000,000.00 to a charity is being selfish. This selfishness could be wanting to have a tax write-off or receive recognition, but it could also be as simple as wanting to feel good about himself/herself. Most people don’t think about it like that, but when you do, it makes it kind of hypocritical to criticize other people for being selfish. The truth is, they either just want something different or they aren’t good at hiding their selfishness. So whether in sports or business, it’s not a matter of selfishness or unselfishness, it’s a matter of what you are being selfish about and how good you are at hiding it. There’s nothing “wrong” with this, it’s just how our minds work.
April 12, 2010 at 5:06 am
I think that lessons learned in sports do assist you in the business world. There are many things in sports you learn that will be used in the business world. These include: teamwork, devotion, and fairness/sportsmanship. In the business world you will be asked to work as a team to achieve a certain goal. By developing teamwork in sport participation, you will be prepared to work together to achieve your goal. Also, your devotion to your team in sports could lead to your devotion to the organization you work for. In the business world you need to treat everyone with respect, Through sport experience you learn to be fair with one another and this is a key aspect in the business world. To be respected as an individual you need to first treat everyone else with respect.