Be Where Your Feet Are #2

Messaging matters. It matters as a Leader and Manager. It matters as a Parent. It matters as a Coach. It matters as a Spouse. When a message is meaningful and consistent, it influences our subconscious, reinforces our aspirations, reminds us what matters most and acts as a reminder that we are not alone in this journey called life. These past few months, pacing through my house on endless conference calls, I have become acutely aware that the messages we placed throughout our home to encourage our children have, in fact, been inspiring and uplifting me. Today I share with you a photo of one of these messages in the hope of sharing one weekly for the foreseeable future. Those who know me well, will appreciate and understand my innate desire to share positivity and inspiration, especially from one of my all-time favorites, the legendary Steven Covey: “The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.”

This sign sits atop the fireplace mantel in our kitchen and serves as a constant reminder to evaluate the intersection of our priorities and time management. What is critically important? What are our core commitments? Is that where our time has been spent? When I was the President of HoopsTV (a small, ahead-of-its-time start-up that created incredible content but could not monetize it quickly enough in the dotcom bubble burst era), I worked for brilliant, sports industry entrepreneur Seth Berger. Seth built AND1, a $200M+ sneaker and sports apparel company, far from his start selling tees from the trunk of his car, and truly lived the “Main Thing” principle throughout his career. He believed that effectively leading and running a company (or a division or a department or a group) came down to spending 80% of your time on the three (and only three) priorities. Any time spent outside that 80%, he considered ‘noise’ and a waste of time...and he had the discipline to stick to it. It was Seth who recommended a weekly priority-vs-calendar review that I have practiced for over 20 years, an exercise that encourages me to measure, challenge, grade and adjust my core priorities against my meeting schedule and accomplishments. Keep yourself honest. You, as a leader, owe this to your stakeholders – whether they be family, employees, players, fans, peers or investors.

What is your “Main Thing”? At home, mine is to raise my daughters into strong, confident young women. At work, to create the most inspiring, innovative and impactful place to work in the world. In my relationships, to build and reinforce relationships founded in honesty, empathy and commitment. In my faith, to take action on the principles and teachings I know can make the world a better place. What are yours? Do those you work among during the day or return home to at night know them? 

How can you be more disciplined in focusing your time and efforts on your “Main Things”?

Would declaring your core priorities to those around help you achieve them more effectively? 

What have you learned in your own disciplined pursuit of your priorities that can help us all be better? 

In the spirit of Seth Berger and my brother-in-law Steve Francis who gave me the sign, I challenge you to audit your calendar today to assess how much of your time is spent on the “Things” you say matter most to you. What were the results? How honest will you be with yourself? What are your choices and what will you change? The decisions are yours – make sure your feet are where they are supposed to be. 

#sportsbiz #leadfromtthefront #bewhereyourfeetare #hbse #76ers #Devils #PrudentialCenter

S.O.