7th Work Anniversary - About Building a Professional Sports Franchise

It has been seven years. And it’s not like time flew by, no. Because the amount of work put into building the foundation of a professional sports team is so tremendous, that it exponentially multiplies any notion of traditional or even non-traditional working hours very quickly. So I feel like it’s actually been 10 or 14 years already. That’s how much learning, planning, executing, experimenting, analyzing, regrouping, adapting, reshaping, reporting, celebrating, failing, rethinking went on.??

When I first joined this organization, back in 2014, I left behind a 13-year on-camera career at its prime with the second largest private TV network in annual revenue worldwide for an idea. Yeah, Orlando City SC, one of the most exciting soccer clubs in North America these days, was nothing more than a flame back then. And that’s what I’m talking about. That’s what I’m mostly proud of.

Because each step of the process meant a number of young professionals being developed for the US soccer entertainment business. Helping and watching them grow fulfills the utmost goal of any senior leader in any industry. Except that when I got started with this club, there weren't virtually many people to be led. A lot of what I preach today, I literally had to do on my own not long ago. A daily ego exercise as great as a yoga session, because it works your mind - or mindfulness I should say. The things that I enjoy the most at work nowadays are in this process I’m trying to describe as the team journey. I feel immense pleasure in watching everything we planned for smoothly taking shape. It means that we’ve embodied certain behaviors that trigger our systems’ queues and practices. That’s supporters chants to my ears. It means the most important thing in the existence of an organization. It means culture.

Coming up with strategies to accomplish greater goals and then having to personally track and follow your own strategies should happen to everyone everywhere. But it turns out it actually doesn’t. Those are often two or multiple different people in an organization, having to deal with multiple issues caused by overload, miscommunication, conflicting agendas, lack of care - you name it - before someone notices that they may not have been told about a vision, it’s goals. Or maybe one of them did, but it all got lost in a drawer somewhere. “Strategies? Are they not the same as goals?”.

But when you’re building a professional sports franchise, you need a steady terrain to build on. Stadiums are heavy and have enormous footprints. So your only option is to go back to the basics, make sure you find out what your local community wants and needs from a sporting organization, that’s supposed to carry their flags, positively impact their lives and make them proud before asking for anything in return. And all that I just described takes a lot of time, energy and dedication. It should be an everyday thought, a mindset. Or you should not be in business at all. If you’re true to this process, you’re going to find out so much about not only the business, but about yourself.?

Building business culture is a lot tougher than constructing stadiums. Coaching people is not like laying bricks. But people are going to take you a lot higher than a few stories if you just empower them, coach them, pay them well, and - as important - get out of their ways. And this sounds so much easier written than done. Investing in people should be numbers 1 - 99 in any business' priority list. That's what I've learned and always hope for.

I’m surrounded by passionate and talented people at Orlando City and Orlando Pride. A lot of other brilliant people have moved on. They helped us propel this young franchise to heights we could only wonder and hope for. They do it every single day. I like to think that, even though they work very hard, someone has blazed a trail for them. However, a trail quickly disappears without maintenance. And a professional path should be a never-ending trail. Some people may point you the right direction here and there. But ultimately, it’s a lot about being brave enough to keep pushing forward, while staying humble to recognize when U-turns are necessary. Great culture accounts for flexibility. And being flexible is a must for any organization that wants to remain in business these days. The world is just evolving too fast, with no time left for stubbornness or know-it-alls.?