5 to Watch

Kudos to Class of ’97 grad Brendan Fyfe and his volunteer band of Sport & Event Marketing alumni for building the George Brown College 5 to Watch program into a premier Canadian sports marketing property.

Since its inception, the program has awarded 25 5 to Watch winners from 186 nominations and raised over $200k for student bursaries at George Brown. One of those award winners being T1’s very own Norm O’Reilly who was honoured in 2013.

Other notable winners include TSN’s Matt Silver, Under Armour’s Matt Shearer, Scotiabank’s Jacquie Ryan, NHL’s Sophie Kotsopoulos and Canadian Olympic Committee’s Andrew Baker.

There are three things I admire about the program:

1. It’s a “Hall of Fame” for people in their prime. Just look at the past winners. They aren’t retiring. They aren’t selling their agencies. They aren’t getting ready to write their memoirs (not one of these comments apply to me FYI.) They are the hottest and smartest players in our industry today and will be for some time.

2. Talent attracts talent. By honouring and promoting the best, the younger people in our industry are provided with role models and templates to mirror. Hopefully this property helps retain some of our best young minds who may be getting lured to stray.

3. Given it sold out last year this may cause more harm than good, but the 5 to Watch Award Ceremony is one of best networking events of the year (you know I’m going to list my events at the top….ha!).  But seriously, get a half dozen tickets early, early, early for your team and block off your afternoon to make yourself handsome. Okay that’s my strategy. You probably don’t need the extra prep time. In any event, if you haven’t been to the beautiful George Brown Waterfront campus, here is your chance.

Like anything in life there is, however, room for improvement:

1. To date, only 1/4 of the nominees and 1/4 of the winners have been women. While I have no data, I am positive this industry is a lot more gender balanced than that. I am shocked that any sort of bias exists, but there must be a fundamental reason for this inequality. That problem can be solved by YOU!

2. Another issue that the organizers have stressed is ensuring national representation of nominees. While there is an industry concentration in Toronto, there is a massive sports marketing community in the Province of Quebec, as well as provincial sports bodies, university athletic departments, community sports leaders and junior hockey teams from coast to coast.  If ever there was a year to ensure more nominees came from across our great land, 2017 is it!

3. Not enough people outside the industry know about them. We can be the world’s biggest clique in this business and sometimes that’s a great thing, but other times it’s a liability. Awards like the 5 to Watch need to have a larger profile across the Canadian marketplace. Not only will it be great for the winners, it will have tremendous benefit for the professionalism of Sports Marketing.

One quick note: The organizers are looking for new blood to drive it forward. The core group of volunteers have done five years of heavy lifting and it’s time for some fresh input  I don’t know if they are accepting non-GBC alumni, but to me this seems like a prime volunteering role if you’re looking to “network before you need to.” This would certainly be an effective platform!

Nominations are now open. It’s a great opportunity to honour the next generation in your organization, even though you will probably have a challenge narrowing it down to five from your own talent pool. As well, it’s a great opportunity to build profile for your property, organization, company or agency. Place a special emphasis on finding nominees who don’t look like the past winners.

Nominate. Celebrate. Motivate.

See You in Two Months

We are exactly two months away from the 2017 edition of the Canadian Sponsorship Forum, CSFX17 for short, to be held in Ottawa in conjunction with the JUNOS. I should clarify that the two months applies if you read this on the day I wrote this, which is/was January 31, 2017. If you read it later in the week, or month, I will leave the countdown arithmetic to you. Sound good?

Since I am such a creature of habit, it’s usually around this time out from the event that I write something disguised as a blog, but closer to a pitch, in an effort to rally your support and attendance at our conference . Sometimes I attempt to be funny by providing you a top 10 list of not so secret tips on how to navigate our Xperience. Other times I pursue an inspirational tone by talking about the value of networking and learning for your career. Often nostalgia dominates my tone as I reflect back (is there any other type of reflection by the way?) on my motivation for starting this conference in the first place, but I am sure everyone has heard that story one or three too many times.

Consider this edition a simplistic and straightforward informational notice. Why so plain you ask? Well our online sleuthing tells us that a lot more of you read my blog than ever open up our propaganda email. Of course if I make this blog too much propaganda, you will portably tune me out forever. However, I am going to take my chances that I can entertain you while I’m blatantly selling you.

The questions is, are you up to the challenge? If so, let me know. Feel free to tell me if I was boring, neither good nor bad, or if I was actually somewhat entertaining. You can tell me in the comments section, reach out to me directly, use your loudest social media vehicle or tell me in person in Ottawa on March 31st! See, I already have you thinking about it. So when I see you in two months, what else will we talk about?

Sourced from: Canadian Sponsorship Forum

We will talk about how the Songwriters Circle was your favourite event of the weekend.

We will talk about how amazing it was that we had both Facebook and Google presenting this year.

We will talk about how hearing Don Amero talk about music as medicine got you thinking.

We will talk about how many new industry friends you have made.

We will talk about how the Forum seems like the best class reunion you’ve ever had.

We will talk about how amazing the production of the JUNOS were compared to the last time you saw them live.

We will talk about how the Forum should partner with a music property every year.

We will talk about how men have been excluded, again, from our Women’s Only leadership panel.

We will talk about how the influx of tech speakers invented wonders you never thought possible.

We will talk about how the removal of morning runs from the agenda made you feel less guilty.

We will talk about how the IMI Happy Hour is the best networking event of the year.

We will talk about how the Taylor Swift tour case study blew you away.

We will talk about how you have finally figured out the hook to sell that title sponsorship.

We will talk about how there was no way you could have imagined yourself lip syncing.

We will talk about how the injection of younger speakers really spiced things up.

We will talk about how excited you are about our 2018 host partner.

We will talk about how surprised you were that our 2018 host partner wasn’t at the Forum, the first time this has ever happened.

We will talk about how your daughter couldn’t believe you were going to a conference to talk about Hatchimals!

We will talk about how the founder of Spartan Race made you feel like a slob during his keynote

We will talk about how come I don’t need as much sleep as you.

We will talk about how much you loved Sarah McLaughlin when you were in university.

We will talk about how great it is to be Canadian and in Ottawa during our 150th!

We will talk about how great the T1 team is.

We will talk about how many people are here as we are steaming towards record attendance.

 

Steel Curtain

The curtain came down quickly and ferociously on my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night. Unfortunately, the Black & Yellow have badly tarnished their infamous reputation of having a ferocious Steel Curtain defence for much of the past forty years. Sunday, it looked like a shower curtain.

In a world where we often make far too many comparisons between sports and business, this unhappy fan needs to drag you through one more analogy therapy session. It’s because I can’t really understand what happened when I evaluate the loss through my sports-loving eyes. The fan in me actually thought we were going to win, by ten points no less!

So the business thinker in me needs to take over. I heard a question on ESPN Radio this morning that resonated. Why don’t more teams copy what the New England Patriots have done for the past two decades? How come they alone are re-writing the record books at a furious pace? How come the most hated sixth-round draft pick ever has the chance to be one of the most successful QBs in history? (Please don’t name him the most successful QB of all time because of the potential for five Super Bowl wins. Bart Starr won five NFL titles and Otto Graham won seven professional football titles.) But win, lose or draw Super Bowl LI, the Pats are still amazing for what they have accomplished.

To provide you with the most objective comparison I can, I am going to evaluate the success of the Pats organization with that of my Steelers from one moment in time. Sunday Night. It will be a debilitating exercise for me but one from which I think I can provide myself with daily reminders about what it takes to be successful. And, of course, because I love threes. Mh3 is going to serve this up in three digestible courses.

Purpose

I didn’t know whether to label this one pain or purpose. My Steelers looked disinterested from winning the game until the end. I could have also named this one passion. Passion, for me, is the most powerful word in business. It’s the one trait that can overcome all other shortcomings in a candidate or within a culture. If you are talented and also passionate than you are going to be a star. If your organization is loaded with talent and passion, watch out for competition. So why did I use the word purpose? Why did I consider the word pain? Because I think that the Pats have been playing with a purpose all season, caused by immense and unjust pain that is fuelling their passion. All of this can be accredited to one man, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who spent two years chasing down Tom Brady to punish him for Deflategate. The Pats shouldn’t be mad at the commissioner, the rest of the league should be. He has fuelled their already mighty fire and increased it to torch mode. This team is on a mission from Goodell to win that Lombardi Trophy and make him say nice things about them post-game in Houston. Want to get yourself fired up? Want to get your organization fired up? I am convinced that pain, desperation and anguish will always bring out the strongest character in human beings, much more than the pursuit of happiness. Scientifically, I challenge you to examine the origins of the best songs, the innovations created during wars and the philosophy produced by depravation. Pain creates purpose. Add a little, or a lot, to your next planning meeting and watch the idea fireworks explode!

Preparation

Did you hear the joke about the NFL team who had full contact practices the week of their conference championship game? If this was 1987 or 1967 that would be no joke. But in 2017? It is true. The New England Patriots had full pad, tackle to the ground practices leading up to the championship game. This team’s preparation has been legendary for years. If you haven’t read the story about them practicing against Seattle’s goal line pass (remember the Super Bowl interception?) in the pre-season that year, you must! But it’s true. The Pats staff was so upset about fumbles and missed tackles in their previous playoff game, they moved aside the tackling dummies and pylons, and told their stars to go at it. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers were learning how to use Facebook, holding pep rallies and planning their wardrobe for Houston. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating but preparation is the key to anything. If you want to have a great meeting with your boss, prepare! Think about what questions they will ask you. Try to understand what challenges are on their plate for the week. Technology is amazing but it still cannot make up for old fashioned blood, sweat and more sweat if you want to win a piece of new business, sign a new sponsor, get that internship or out hustle the other guy or gal.  If you watched this game you felt like the Steelers had never even heard of Chris Hogan. Otherwise, they may have come within 15 yards of him at some point. The Steelers didn’t prepare hard enough. This in’t just a coaching issue. Everything you read from the Pats locker room is that the team prepares so incredibly well because their leader on the field (Tommy Brady) works so hard. In your organization, who is that de facto on-field leader who raises the bar for everybody else? Neither motivational speeches or butt kickings can match the powerful presence of a standard bearer. Every organization needs one. Who is your Tom Brady?

Poise

New England came out at the beginning of the first and third quarters smacking the Steelers right in the mouth. It took the life out of the Steelers. You could see it on the sidelines. You could see it in the eyes of the coaches. You could see it in the eyes of the players. The result was a Steelers team that lost their confidence, completely abandoned their mojo and played without poise. At the end of the first half they decided not to use their timeouts, happy to escape down “only” 17-9. What? You are in a championship game! Every possession, every yard, every point is huge, yet the coaches decided to run and hide. In business, we all face adversity. That isn’t the cause of problems. Problems start when you lose your poise. When you doubt yourself, your capabilities, your organization, your team. No business, organization, charity, government or community group has many days on the calendar where challenges aren’t flooding in. Building your ship to withstand the worst challenges is the best organizational design theory in the world. As a leader, it is even more important for you to keep your poise because the world is watching. I love Mike Tomlin, because he is my team’s coach. But I can’t say i loved how he withered in the looming shadow of Bill Belichick’s hoody.

I know these ramblings may make little sense to you, but they will help me swallow my pride and watch the Super Bowl. More importantly, they validate to me that sport imitates life and there can be something to be learned from any disappointment. Even a slip in the shower with the mouldy curtain providing your only defence!

 

 

Bobcat Fever

All isn’t so bad in America after all.

At least not in Athens, Ohio, where I spent three inspiring days teaching in the MBA/MSA (Sport administration) program at Ohio University. Ohio is the number one graduate sport business program, according to the rankings. A title they proudly claimed in 2012, 2013, and 2015.

But first a word about Athens. It’s one of those small towns that could lure me out of living in a big place like T.O. Its population is approximately 24,000, which makes the fact that it is home to a 24,000 person university all the more intriguing. The downtown core of the community and the university are one. The school was opened in 1804, set high on a hill painted with gorgeous views of rolling terrain. Apparently designed by the same architect who created Harvard, the whole place has a calming buzz.

Athens is also friendly beyond belief. I walked everywhere, and with everywhere I walked people stopped to say “hello” to me. I don’t really know why, but it certainly was nice. If I walk down Yonge Street in Toronto, nobody says hello. Did I look like a professor? An aged foreign exchange student? The father of a new sports recruit? An out-of-work Obama looking for a part-time gig? I don’t know the answer to the question, although I answered every hello with an equally chipper hello back. Then I would slowly turn my head as they went by to make sure they weren’t secretly posting me on Facebook Live Antonio Brown style, nor laughing hysterically at the toilet paper strung out of my backside from my morning ritual. Nope. Nope. Nope. They were being nice.

I guess Athens hasn’t received the memo from the PE yet. Nice isn’t America’s way anymore.

As nice as the people of Athens were, the 28 students in my workshop were amazing. In fact, amazing isn’t a powerful enough word. I just don’t have a stronger one. Let me work on that.

The group were the second year MBA/MSA students, carefully selected from across the country. Each of them were passionate, driven, ambitious and delightfully unique. They told me their stories. Shared with me their dreams. Admitted their weaknesses. Talked about their futures. 

The purpose of my visit was to run a one credit workshop around one of my favourite topics – entrepreneurship in sport. I used to teach it as a semester long course in Laurentian’s SPAD program but changed it up dramatically for this workshop. Time was a clear driver of this change. Taking a sixteen week course down to a couple of days required a reboot to the approach.

The reboot resulted in the design of a workshop that focused on my personal beliefs as the most critical factor in the success of any enterprise. The entrepreneur themselves. As well, that reboot also resulted in a slight adjustment in focus. My objective wasn’t for everyone in the room to run out the door and magically become entrepreneurs. My focus was for the participants to become more entrepreneurial in spirit. Obviously biased but I feel entrepreneurial people are the key to success in any enterprise, regardless of size, mission, structure, or purpose.

I write pieces of this on a wet winter January morning, minutes after meeting an aspiring film maker who has invested thee years and all of his savings of his life into creating a documentary. That’s an entrepreneur. This afternoon I will huddle with the CEO of one of our largest NFP clients, who has rebuilt his organization despite encountering massive funding cuts literally the week he assumed his new title. That’s an entrepreneurial leader. 

There are thee parts to this discussion for any person wanting to understand their inner entrepreneur. 

1. Can you sell yourself to yourself? There are going to be dark moments and ugly hurdles. Do you have the passion, focus, and courage to succeed?

2. Can you sell yourself to others? You can’t do it alone. Who will come to your side for this voyage? Who will pick up arms for this battle? Who will leap off that cliff holding your hand?

3. Can you sell yourself to customers? You are the brand. You are the business. But a business isn’t a business until you make a sale. A sale isn’t made until you get paid. 

These questions made for an engaging discussion with this group of Bobcats. Taking stock of yourself isn’t easy, but it’s a process that can benefit anyone. However taking stock of yourself and sharing it with some strange Canadian is an even more challenging task. These OU kids, however, were more than my match. 

I came home from this trip and blurted out to anyone that there is some incredible talent for hire in this class. There is one young lady I want to sign up tomorrow. Even if it means she would become our entire Athens office. She’s a rockstar. Additionally it would be really nice to work somewhere where total strangers said Good Morning. Something to consider. 

Resolved

Happy New Year!

At some point this month that greeting won’t be appropriate, but I feel it’s still okay this early in 2017. Before you know it the holidays will be forgotten, your bills will need to be paid and your resolutions will be tested.

Speaking of resolutions, did you make some? Is that a tradition you honour or despise? Is it a source of pride or failure? Do you share yours publicly or keep them private? If you do share, who do you share them with?

Some years I make them and others I don’t. If I were to provide you with a firm declaration, one way or the other, you could rightfully accuse me of being untrue. Not that I wouldn’t be telling the truth, there just isn’t a truth to tell.

But I certainly will not, could not, mislead you to believe that I don’t do a ton of thinking about the future when it comes to the new year. I think it’s a combination of time on my hands and the celebration of holiday milestones, magnified by the interaction with friends and family. The media also plays a big role. Year in Review articles. Best of lists. Top ten tributes. Lives lived memories. Forecasts. Predictions. Speculations.

You would be a fool or a lover of Russian government not to look back at 2016 and suggest that was a normal year, it wasn’t. In terms of global turbulence, I think it was a ride unseen since 2008. The world would have to end very early in January of 2017, which very well may happen, for history not to look back at MMXVI and not say that was the year the world turned in a different direction. If you felt unsteady on your feet, queasy in your belly and light in the head, I don’t blame you.

Depending on who you read, who you ask or who tweeted you last, the year 2017 is going to be the worst ever, the most dangerous ever, the most violent ever or the most reviving ever. But let’s face it, history, especially recent history, has proven to us that the forecasters, pollsters, economists, experts, political commentators and trend-spotters are so dramatically off the mark that they should all be sent back to whatever schools educated them for a nice giant refund, ’cause what they learned ain’t working.

I have no predictions for 2017. If I did have a brain big enough to make them, I am not sure I would have the confidence to shout them aloud. Especially when people are so quick to criticize these days, like I just did. But I do feel good about my upcoming year. I bet you do too.

Why is that? I think there is an interesting question to chew on here. Why does the concept of a new year so motivate us? Why does it empower us to believe we are supercharged? How come when the clock strikes midnight from 12/31 to 01/01 do we suddenly down a bottle of superpowers?

How come we don’t feel the same way at the beginning of a new quarter? Or a month? Or a week? Or even a new day? How about a new hour? If one tick of the clock can be enough to change our entire lives forever when the rollover of a calendar year is involved, how come the same can’t be said for a few seconds during any day that ends in a “Y”?

This new year stuff is powerful. It has its own industries. It has its own events. It has its own commentators. It has billions of loyal followers. It has one powerful brand.

Hopefully I don’t sound jealous, nor skeptical. It is not frustration or lack of motivation. It’s a healthy desire to bottle this power that I feel today and export it to March, tap into it in May, chug it in September and shower in it in November. It’s a clarity of vision and focus that seems to be missing at other items of the year. It’s a spring in my step that sometimes loses its bounce. It’s a perception that all my glasses are fuller by more than half, before the leaks spring wildly.

If I could figure this out, then perhaps I would have no shyness in sharing my resolutions. If I could find the map, then I would tell all of you where I am going. If I knew I wouldn’t fail, then perhaps I would be more resolved.

Do me a favour? Poke me in three weeks, three months, three hundred days from now. Remind me to reread these words. To roll them around in my mouth for a while. To lip them in front of a mirror. To sing them in a shower. To chant them in my head on a morning run. I think they would have a powerful impact on helping the new year me, be me.

What We Do Matters

As the year winds down we often retreat into reflective mode where we consider the success or perceived failures of our year. It’s almost impossible not to look back and provide a scorecard for yourself.

Did you get that new job? Buy that new house? Lose that old weight? Run that new goal? One of my personal productivity habits is to record three things every day that have gone well. Three. Every day. I would say I have probably missed no more than ten days of acting on this habit in 2016. It’s a powerfully simple tool to stay positive and focused on what you are trying to achieve day in and day out.

What would you write down if I asked you to list three things that went well for you in 2016? What would you write if I narrowed the ask down to three things that went well at work in 2016, would that help? If I narrowed the ask even further by asking you what three work things you are most proud of from 2016, would that be even more helpful? What if I tweaked the question? What if I asked you what three things did you achieve in 2016, at work, that Matter The Most? Would that be even better?

Or would it be harder? Do you need me to define the terms? Are you skeptical of the question? Do you not believe what you do matters? If so, I am here to remind you how much it does. It’s not a message I imagined ever needing to share, but a recent conversation I had hit a nerve with me.

I was talking with an acquaintance whose child is in the business. The child is employed on client-side for a big company that does big sponsorships and big properties. The reply that dad provided to my inquiry as to how the offspring was doing startled me. “Child is doing well,” he said. “But I remind Child often they aren’t critical to the company’s business and that puts Child in a dangerous spot if there were ever layoffs.” Oh man. Do you really think that our business is not important? The very sector your own child is working in?

My immediate reply was emotional. I pounced on the fact that Child was working for a well-respected brand on great properties, with a talented team well admired in the industry. IMHO, Child would be a sought-after asset in our industry if for some reason the powers that be deemed them non-essential to the organization’s success.

My follow up reply was personal. I let Dad know that beyond the lack of appreciation for the skills and experience that Child is acquiring, there he was propagating a bigger falsehood. That what we do doesn’t matter. That a job in the Sponsorship Department is not as vital as the engineers, chemists, salespeople, bankers, traders, researchers, managers, financiers, marketers, promoters, counters, analysts, etc. who populate the many other departments of the organization. Forgive me for my bias, but what we do matters.

It matters to the companies that employ us and it matters to the stakeholders that engage with us. It matters a lot. Because in our world we have one of the few professions in the world where you can sell snow tires and raise money for kids to play sports at the same time. We can open new chequing accounts and put musical instruments in schools. We can sell beer and fund the career of a new fashion designer. We can raise money to cure disease. We can feed the hungry. We can build and uplift a community. We can fund animal protection. We can build new pools. We can clean up waterfronts. We can help a team compete. We can create international champions and champion local heroes.

What we do matters. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. In fact, I would suggest that what we do can matter more on a value basis than many other functions in a company.

Sorry to pick on you, Dad. I know you are Old (actually he’s younger than me chronologically), but I didn’t know you were Old School.

Now it’s time to reflect a little more. I am sure you can now easily share the Three Things You Did This Year That Really Mattered.

 

T1derful Party Aftermath

Hollywood could have saved themselves some do-re-mi by skipping the production of Office Christmas Party and sending some cameras down to The Spoke Club last Thursday for our T1derful Holiday Party.

It seemed like every agency in the city, and many of our respective clients, decided that December 1, 2016 being on a Thursday was too good of a party date to pass up. So we appreciate that there were a lot of choices on your dance card and 206 of you picked our party to attend! For those of you who crashed our party that I don’t know, please email me by December 15, 2016 so our Finance department can send you the appropriate invoice. I don’t know you, but you owe me.

For those of you who didn’t crash, or didn’t invite yourself (ahem), or didn’t fly in from Calgary or Dubai, or stayed at your own party, or got sick the day of, or didn’t RSVP, or… sad music here please… didn’t get invited, sorry we missed you. But hey, there is always next year!

Which is too bad, because this year you missed our T1derful custom holiday card photo activation, with T1’s resident black belt and content hunter, Gab, manning the set, his lens, and all of your iPhones!

image3
While the humans played at their best Westminster poses, Brandy ‘stayed’ with no hint of a ‘ruff’. Alas, it seems staying on her best behaviour just wasn’t in this holiday story. She was later seen at Citizen suffering some heavy petting by a slow dancing T1’er who will go nameless (but not shameless).
With so much ho-ho-holistic #T1derful action, Santa didn't perform with workshop-like efficiency to find out which clients have been naughty or nice. Due to his ego-competence, I am going to regretfully postpone my 2016 T1 Client of the Year Awards blog - somewhat indefinitely.
With so much ho-ho-holistic #T1derful action, Santa didn’t perform with workshop-like efficiency to find out which clients have been naughty or nice. Due to his ego-competence, I am going to regretfully postpone my 2016 T1 Client of the Year Awards blog – somewhat indefinitely.
Sweet ol’ Grandma didn’t take the cake, she just baked the cookies. She was angry that her nephew didn’t show up at the party.
Looking dapper is what our T1er’s do best. At least until their eyes go all aglow from “sampling” the Thinking Thirst cocktail menu.
Looking dapper is what our T1’ers do best. At least until their eyes go all aglow from “sampling” the Thinking Thirst cocktail menu.
The proof is in the holiday photo. Nobody can bring a dysfunctional family together quite like Grandma.
The proof is in the holiday photo. Nobody can bring a dysfunctional family together quite like Grandma.
Now you know our secret. The real ‘Elf’ actually works for T1 year-round.

This year you missed our T1derful signature drinks:

  1. First Snowflake: Champagne poured over Crème de Cassis and garnished with berries, tastes like a wonderland of Kir Royale magic
  2. Double Mistletoe: When you’re itching for a party in your mouth but you’re at a work function, this mix of Cognac, Cointreau, Rum, Lemon and Orange is a proper celebration
  3. Three Wise Men: What do you get when you cross blood orange simple syrup, lime juice and vodka with ginger beer? A Blood Orange Moscow Mule that will make you see into the New Year

tro-1762_table_topper_4x6

This year you missed our T1derful band featuring Robbie & Matthew.

Image Source: Mike Meehan
Image Source: Mike Meehan

This wasn’t their craziest T1 gig. That may have been when we asked them to play live on the CN Tour EdgeWalk to help launch AIR MILES’ Detour promotion where we worked alongside AIR MILES, Live Nation, Squareknot, and North Strategic. Much love to Robbie & Matthew. When they say they will play one more song, it really means 17 more!

I only remember snippets of conversation from the night, but here are a few T1derful bits:

  • How long have you worked at T1?
  • Was I the best intern you ever had at T1?
  • I must be your worst client!
  • I really liked working for your wife…
  • Somebody told me that you sold the agency, I don’t know who, but somebody.
  • I lost my name tag in the washroom. What do you mean you didn’t handout name tags?
  • You keep dumping me off on strangers.
  • I heard that so-and-so is hiring, are they here?
  • What’s the name of your tall guy again? How tall is he actually?
  • How come I have never been invited to this party before?
  • Nobody will tell me where the after party is…

If you didn’t attend, I am somewhat sorry about this blog. I suspect by now you have a T1derfully bad case of FOMO.

The Postseason

This week is always the worst week of the year for me.

The beginning of the Postseason. My Postseason. The week when I’m no longer pacing the mud patch called a football field at Lawrence Park Collegiate. The first week after our last game, where I have no high school practices, no community team practices, no games to scout, or teams to direct.

To be technically clear, I spend much of the fall leaving my office at 3PM, heading 25-minutes north to LPCI, pushing my senior Panthers for two-plus hours. Racing home ten minutes to collar my 13-year-old and his gear before a F1-worthy zigzag further north to our practice field at Keele & Steeles. For the hours of 6:30 to 8:30PM I now have a collection of Bantams from all walks of life to teach and prepare. Night falls and the cold sets in well before we are finished. Post practice includes the usual chit chat with parents followed by our regular run to South Street Burger where chocolate milkshakes, cheeseburgers, or large fries seemed to reenergize my hardworking Toronto Jet.

This year it comes with a weightier finale. The same week we lost the Toronto City Championships, the Grey Cup and Vanier Cup were played. Except for some OFSAA Bowls this week, Canadian football is closed for business until the spring. For the next four months, until my spring Toronto Jets hit the field, I will have to cope with withdrawal pains.

I am going to miss the rituals of fall.

The daily weather check to determine what to wear to practices. It’s amazing how in the same day you can have a rainstorm, a warm evening setting sun, and moonlit chills. I have a longstanding tradition of only wearing shorts when I coach the Jets, so this required some creative jewel warming during the late fall.

Facebook messages from my high school players telling me they “forgot” they had tutoring, a job interview, or drivers ed. Guess I was a little more anal about my schedule when I was 16.

The pre-game self-talk to not yell at the kids, not yell at the refs, not yell at my fellow coaches. Some may say I need to work on this.

The text messages from parents with varied excuses why their kid won’t make practice, accompanied by their plea that it not impact playing time.

The camaraderie and banter among players and coaches that reflects so powerfully in the bonds you build working, striving, and training to get better as one.

The ever obsessive play scripting that kept me from my work, reading, cleaning around the house…

The pitch-black wind sprints as the players worked harder and harder to improve themselves.

The spine damaging yellow school bus rides to places all across Southern Ontario while trying to keep a wild pack of 13-year-olds quiet enough so I could nap or chat with my coaches.

My game day morning runs. I love these. I head out from my office, west through the Annex and loop around Varsity Stadium. Not due to any affection for U of T, but rather I get inspired by the goalposts, yard lines, and benches of a football field.

My post game runs to Starbucks. Runs as in journey, not runs as in jogs. There is something about a walkabout with a cappuccino that I need to help transition my mind from war mode to home mode.

I briefly flirted with “retiring,” if there is such a thing for a volunteer, as a high school coach if we had won the City Championships. I am not sure why. Maybe I was afraid it could never get better. It was such a magical season at Lawrence Park as we made our way to the City Championship. Along the way we had to recover from a tight three-point regulars season loss to our arch-rival. An end of season tie against another rival after we blew a big lead. It’s amazing how a tie can feel like a loss for one team and a triumph for another. We had to come back from a 14-point deficit to win our first playoff game. Staunch defence and stellar punting allowed us to win our semi-final versus the same regular season rival, despite only earning three first downs the entire game. Then we had an unfortunate lapse in the final, where nothing went right and our opponent was a well-oiled machine. But losing didn’t make me angry. Because we didn’t lose, we won second.

Getting that close to the title made me hungrier.

Hungrier to get back out there.

Hungrier to get the whistle in my mouth.

Hungrier to be a better coach.

Hungrier to see who signs up.

Hungrier to keep the legacy going.

Hungrier than I can explain for the Postseason to end.

Overtime

This week started in Overtime and is staying there right through Grey Cup.

Monday I had a 2-1/2 hour final New Business presentation for an amazing AOR opportunity. Monday afternoon I had football practice for my Lawrence Park Panthers as we prepared for our first appearance in the City Championship since 1982. Monday night I had my Toronto Jets football banquet where I was honoured to hand out awards to my Spring and Fall Bantam teams. Including the Fall “Jet” award to my son. The Jet goes to the player who contributes the most on and off the field in practices, games, on the bus, etc. I would rather have my kid win that award over MVP any day. Although our two MVP’s are two of the best kids I have ever met, and their parents are mightily resisting my requests to adopt them!

Tuesday I was honoured to present What Your Sponsors Really Think of You at AFP. That was the official title. My unofficial title was Why Your Sponsors Hate You. It went well, I was thrilled by the audience feedback. I love the AFP Congress. If you have never been, block the dates for 2017! Tuesday after my Panther football practice I was scared and thrilled to be the opening keynote for an an event staged by the Honourable John Tory. The Mayor’s Music Sponsorship Roundtable was designed to provide Toronto’s grassroots music industry insight into sponsorship best practices, an opportunity to establish new and innovative partnerships with Canada’s biggest corporate brands, and help bolster popular support for the City’s music strategy. I was given five minutes, and not one second more, to get the crowd warmed up for the panel. You can see, and review, my speech here! If you want to see the cool video my team developed that went along with my speech, go here. If you want to see them together, please squint!

Wednesday morning I was presenting an awesome deck developed by my Consulting and Creative teams, at AFP. This one was called What Canadians Want Companies to Sponsor. But my unofficial title was Selling Heartvalves Not Eyeballs. I have to admit I wasn’t my best for this presentation. I probably didn’t rehearse enough (I usually do every deck many times) and halfway through I lost my JuJu. But only one person left during my 90-minutes so maybe I did okay.

I then raced into Metro Toronto Convention Centre bathroom. Changed my clothes faster than a volunteer firefighter from Arnprior. Hopped in a waiting Uber and arrived at Birchmount Stadium in time for the 1:00pm kick off between my Lawrence Park Panthers and the Etobicoke Collegiate Rams. At stake? The City of Toronto high school football championship. Unfortunately we lost. Badly. But as I said to my players, there are a lot of people who have played high school football in Toronto who never went nearly as far.

llp-silver

Now onto some much bigger football championships.

Our team is busy busy completing the Nissan Rally of the TITANs, which we kicked off two weeks ago as a cross-country challenge featuring Nissan’s new TITAN truck, as they make their way to Toronto for a big Grey Cup.

Tomorrow kicks off a ton of Grey Cup Festival events including our Nissan TITAN Street Festival and an amazing event at Ripley’s, as I have heard from many people scrambling for last minute tickets. Saturday is the Vanier Cup in Hamilton. I am heading down with some high school coaches to see if Calgary can keep up with the powerful Laval Rouge et Or. Then Sunday comes the big game!

Deep down I am an Ottawa Rough Riders fan. J.C. Watts, Condredge Holloway, Tommy Clements for me baby! So I will be cheering for the ageless Henry Burris and the RedBlacks. If you are down at BMO Field, drop by the Nissan TITAN Tailgate party we are throwing.

It was an Overtime week for me for sure. I am typing this with one hand because my other is occupied caressing my silver medal!

National Philanthropy Day

This week I was in a meeting at Google and I was talking about the amount of Fundraising that occurs in Canada.

When asked I blurted out, “I bet it’s $10 billion worth.” Then I added, “I guess we could Google it!” – thinking I was being funny since the meeting was at Google. Like you, nobody in the meeting laughed. But that is what we used to do before Google and Search was invented. We guessed. Often the smartest people in the room were afforded that title based on their ability to guess.

Many a time when a colleague has been stumped to answer a question, I am sure you suggested they “Just Guess.” You weren’t actually asking them to guess, but you were asking them to think. Use their judgement. Take a stand. Put a stake in the ground.

I am a big believer in informed guessing. Informed guessing really isn’t guessing. It’s applying critical thinking. It’s becoming a lost art. Or perhaps thinking is a science. Probably it is both.

So let’s think about the numbers. According to a supplement in the Globe and Mail this past week, the actual number is $12.8 billion donated by Canadians. That’s a ton of dough! It also doesn’t include the amount of money contributed by corporate sponsors to charities. Still if you ask many charities, they don’t have enough or can’t generate enough.

If you are a not-for-profit, how do you tackle the challenges ahead of you. I actually won’t suggest you guess. This is too important for that. My best advice is to learn from others, and the group behind National Philanthropy Day, AFP Toronto, provides you with one of the best opportunities in the world to do so. Next week they will host the AFP Congress featuring three days of learning, discussion, and networking at the Metro Convention Centre. Whether you are a novice or a pro, a start-up or an established charity, a brand intern or an entrepreneur, I recommend you attend.

But I would also suggest you attend even if you are not in the sector. I know it’s super short notice but I have three good reasons. First, it is the second largest and most influential congress of its type outside of the International Fundraising Congress in Holland. Secondly, the role that not-for-profits play in our society is ever-increasing and evermore important. Thirdly, and connected to the second, this growing importance in our society requires that these groups attract even stronger and more abundant talent. The sector has ongoing demands for new voices, new skills, new approaches, and new minds. It is currently filled with some of the most talented and passionate people in the world and they need more people on the team.

I have blogged many times about the vital role of passion in the workplace. If you want to do more than just donate or volunteer, than commit more of your professional life to philanthropy. You will quickly find that a rewarding career is only just the appetizer in your new world.

If a radical career change is too much than get involved by ensuring your brand, your enterprise, or your institution becomes purpose-driven. What higher good are you serving than just making money for shareholders and owners. (Yes I need to look in the mirror on this one).

I am taking a guess that as the world evolves, it needs more great people doing great work. Google it. It’s true.