The End of the USTA By Javier Palenque

if you prefer to listen to the article click here for the podcast.

On my flight back to the states from Buenos Aires last week, I was thinking about what I can write for the new Doctor that oversees tennis in the USA, to enlighten him for the benefit of the sport. For a moment I thought I would give him brilliant thinking for a limited-minded organization and then I thought, if I do that, they will dismiss it as they think what they do is OK, we all know it is not, so I thought I will do others do the talking for me and this way my points will be proven. What points?

1)?????The leaders and board of the USTA do not know what to do to grow the sport.

2)?????I am unequivocally correct as usual. Yeah, sorry, that’s the way it is.

For this reason, I decided to summarize the key points of a medical article (hopefully he reads those) I read years ago on bureaucracy in the medical field, ?So I reduced it too easy elementary-grade reading for USTA executives, so they cannot claim that the words are too complex or the ideas too baffling or hide behind their wall where incompetence reigns and pretend that they never read any criticisms, and somehow they think this helps the organization. (Here is the article for you to read, don’t bother if you know what to do and are an executive at the USTA.

The article is called “Understanding the bureaucratic mind”, for the Doctor, a better title would be “Understanding the mind of the USTA executives and its failed culture”. This title is easier to understand. The italics text are my observations for clarity when you read the article below.

The bureaucratic mind has two needs: to achieve the financial goal set for it, and to keep being employed. With employment comes a pension, perks, status, a title, and the chance to move up in the organization.

For the USTA this way of thinking means, we do the least of all things to create the least waves and do nothing about what we see wrong, it’s all about survival and the leaders pay us so well that we just keep quiet even though we know they are wrong. This is called lack of leadership anywhere in America, are you going to continue this nonsense Doctor? just like all your predecessors? pretending to be a leader is in the modern era, ridiculous, especially when your organization claims it's a not-for-profit that helps no one.

The bureaucratic mind is akin to the legal mind. Both believe in the supremacy of rules. The legal mind calls these laws; the bureaucratic mind, well, rules. Both minds believe that without rules other humans not gifted with their insight into human nature would go off the rails and descend into anarchy. Neither believes that individuals can govern themselves with few rules or that training produces autonomy. Much time is spent devising rules for every situation. Both minds have deeply pessimistic views of human nature and its ability to self-direct and learn and believe rules are written to make life easier for everyone and to ease the burden of thinking.

In the USTA this explains the overconfidence and complete lack of emotional intelligence of the staff and explains the ignorance of their arrogance in all of their doings. Associating the USTA with a competent organization is of course absurd. Please do not believe me or get offended, simply look at the funding and the poor results and participation numbers of youth and adults, they are horrible, yet the USTA people still manage to have hubris and believe they do something for the sport, they do not. In the real world, it’s called ineptitude. Are you going to call this out Doctor? or look the other way? This is your chance to show leadership or neglect.

Conformity and legality run on rules

The bureaucratic mind understands that once a rule is in place it applies to everyone. An exception would destroy the rule. The bureaucratic mind requires many helpers to carry out tasks as bureaucratic work expands, and work must be spread over a broad base.

Simpler jobs must be delegated. The bureaucratic mind makes the major decisions and spreads responsibility. No decision is seen to be taken unilaterally to avoid criticism; instead, decisions (most of which have already been made) are made by group dynamics and group problem-solving meetings that are directed to the conclusion. This is necessary because few want the responsibility but many need to be heard. “This is what you should do” is a refrain at these meetings.

The key to working with this mindset is to understand its flaws and needs because certain things are incompatible with it. Although streamlined and open, this system is not very innovative and those wanting to do more work than the average area were seen as disruptive and threatening to the common agreed-upon standard.

In Business terms, this is called the destruction of the organization from within, this is what makes the managers and upper-level management state absurd notions like, that the USTA is a socially responsible organization, it is not, that the USTA is a not-for-profit, we all know it is not, that the USTA invests all profits in the sport like the PR person likes to write in all press releases, we all know that is not true, and that the USTA has a mission, which the USTA never accounts or measures and consciously deceives people into thinking that they actually care, this is, of course, disingenuous and dishonest. All falsehoods only the board and executives believe, and when questioned, no one has the gravitas to answer. Not one single board member is honest enough to say, " we are wrong and Javier is right", not one is truly shameful for a board of people who actually get paid to think for the benefit of the sport.

Rules reduce productivity but increase predictability

This mindset can be studied like an exotic species. To study it, realize what the mind needs and do not threaten it. It will soon be unable to solve problems without considering more than one solution. You will learn how the mind works and what its deficiencies are. There is no need to fear becoming bureaucratic by exposure any more than the bureaucrat will become like you, but one needs to be able to cover up reactions to its more outrageous rules and proclamations as it senses agnostics to its control. It does not debate.

An epiphany comes when you realize you do not need bureaucrats but can simply observe the type as a personal survival mechanism. Do not let it know it is under observation. It is very wary.

At the USTA this is the norm, and as the leaders' age with the old thinking, all they can accomplish is age the sport while surviving themselves. It would be up to the Doctor to change this, yet this is for sure way beyond his abilities to tackle this problem, much less lead it or make the right choices. This is called the useless status quo, they will pretend something is improved but hope no one calls them out. This is the real world is called incompetence.

Also, the bureaucratic mind needs sameness and conformity, so it is mind-numbingly slow. That is one of its weaknesses; it is fearful of change and protective of the status quo.

The bureaucratic mind believes the title is more important than the work done and keeps its position while reducing the actual work performed. Successful bureaucrats are those who can adapt to what is asked of them. Soon they have few other influences as those who question and do not adapt to the status quo stop talking to them or leave to find more exciting work elsewhere.

At the USTA this explains choosing a CEO who has no idea how tennis is learned, engaged, and delivered. It is almost like the blind leading the blind and the board rather than making tough choices is filled with individuals who lack the gravitas to make the changes needed to ensure the survival of the organization. They will only focus on the US Open which has an ever-decreasing appeal every year that shrinks and shrinks. Yet still, they change nothing to keep the status quo. This is called in the real world, irresponsibility.

To cope with bureaucratic minds the best thing to do is to seem to agree while ignoring and avoiding all signs of rebelliousness. One can be amused by their machinations and contradictions while being agnostic about it all. Do not share this with less ironic minds.

Bureaucratic minds do change. This happens rapidly after years of monolithic behavior. Prepare for the change by having a new plan ready. Then one can be at the leading edge and your plan can be adopted.

It is worthwhile seeing the defects of a situation and being prepared to solve the problem with a new plan at short notice.

This takes leadership, but as the new Chairman will soon learn that his role is really a pretend show for two years, nothing of any significant value can ever be changed. Most Chairmen are happy to sit in the president’s box and somehow think that they are important. Sorry to say that you are not, nor is the presidents box. What is important is what you do not do and that is to engage more families and kids in the sport, for the benefit of the nation. So, the structure by default rewards weak and idealess chairmen who cannot possibly change anything of value and whose role is to pretend to care, pretend to change, and pretend to lead. A pathetic role for any serious person.

Surgeons and bureaucrats are different people. Each needs the other but cannot convince the other of anything as their basic principles and psyches are different.

They should mutually ignore each other, live together, and keep out of each other’s way until the time of rapid change occurs.

Would it not be nice if the Doctor did what is needed at the organization?

1)?????Get rid of the culture that hinders growth.

2)?????Get rid of the people that thrive in this bad environment.

3)?????Reduce payroll by 50%

4)?????Close PD immediately

5)?????Focus on the customers

6)?????Bring in people who know how to grow the game.

You see Doctor, all you will do is pretend this article was never written and hide behind the board, and hope no sponsor reads this. A true display of imagination, valor, integrity, and a desire to serve the nation. The sport needs a paradigm change, and the people you work with want to change nothing. So are you going to waste two more years of the sport or are you going to come to terms that your responsibility to the sport is beyond what you think it is? One will serve the sport and one will serve the status quo. Whom are you going to serve?

Have you ever thought of what benefits the status quo brings the nation and to how many people? of course, I think differently, and this is why I wrote this article. You cannot lead the best-funded sports not-for-profit in the country and have the least amount of kids and oldest adults and side with the status quo as you have been all these years as a board member. You cannot, yet all your predecessors did and the sport is where it is, the lowest participation rates ever, the oldest adults, the highest attrition rates, the lowest tv ratings, the most expensive sponsorship costs, the highest price for a "honey deuce", the lowest number of young adults playing and the most lost amount of real estate lost to pickleball among the many problems the status quo has created. What are you going to do, Doc? continue to pretend or be serious, honorable, and do what is best for the sport?

I am so sorry to state that a doctor’s guidance will be only one more nail at the end of the USTA.?Doctor Hainline, why not do the right thing with the sport? it is really easy, in all the years you had at the board, the failure was the same

I say NO to ineptitude and YES to growing the game.

I can be reached at [email protected]

If you are reading this and want to learn just how correct I am, watch this video from a known business professor and consultant. If you are a USTA executive, you can continue to pretend none of this material exists and thinks falsely you care about the sport, go on!